You typically cannot administer an estate without obtaining Letters of Administration. These legal documents grant you the authority to manage and distribute the deceased person's assets if they died without a will. However, if the estate is small, typically under a certain threshold (such as £5,000 in the UK), and does not include property, some banks and institutions may release funds without requiring Letters of Administration. Additionally, jointly owned assets often pass directly to the surviving owner without the need for this document.