The administration of a deceased’s estate is the process of getting in and distributing the assets of a deceased person in accordance with his or her will.

A valid will details who is to be the executor and how all of the deceased person’s estate is to be distributed. If the will does not deal with both matters, a partial intestacy may arise such that the assets that have not been dealt with by the will are dealt with by the law of intestacy and the statutory formula in the Succession Act 2006 (NSW) will be applied to that asset.

Where a deceased person leaves a will and the assets are of a size (over about $20,000) or a type (the deceased held an interest in real property or land), an application for a Grant of Probate will generally be required.

Applications are made by Summons and filed in the Supreme Court of New South Wales under the Probate & Administration Act 1898 (NSW). Applications for Probate are generally required to be made within 6 months of the testator's death. If the application is not made within that period, an explanation of the reasons for delay may have to be given in the form of an Affidavit of the executor.

Costs

The costs of the legal work of and incidental to obtaining the Grant of Probate are regulated by a scale of fees. A smaller fee is charged for smaller estates however, the fee is fixed according to the scale. Similarly, the filing fees payable to the Court are based on a separate scale.

The legal work expected to done in the administration of the estate after the Grant of Probate is obtained are usually estimated separately and will largely depend upon the level of work required – such as if there are numerous bank accounts, shares or properties, where there is more work required to be performed.

Assets that do not form part of the estate

Where there are jointly owned assets (as opposed to co-ownership or ownership as tenants in common), they do not form part of the deceased person’s estate and automatically become owned by the surviving joint tenant, subject to formalities to update title particulars.

Contact us

We can assist and advise the executors or administrators of a deceased person’s estate in relation to his or her or their role or responsibilities and the most efficient ways to administer the estate and obtaining a Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration if required.

For free initial telephone advice in relation to the administration of a deceased’s estate or in relation to your own estate planning needs, please call one of our Estate and Estate Planning Lawyers on (02) 9525 8688.