A grant of Probate is a legal document sealed by the Supreme Court of New South Wales. It authorises an executor (or executors) to manage the estate of a deceased person in accordance with the provisions of the deceased’s will. The executor is the person who is responsible for applying for a grant of Probate, which allows the executor to call in all assets, pay all liabilities and distribute the net assets of the estate to the beneficiaries.
Before a Probate application can be made, a notice of intention to apply for Probate is required to be filed with the Supreme Court of New South Wales. This form gives the deceased’s creditors an opportunity to claim upon the estate. This notice must be filed at least 14 days before a Probate application can be made.
An application for Probate must include the following:
- Summons for Probate.
- Grant of Probate.
- Inventory of Property.
- Affidavit of Executor.
- Original Last Will and Testament of the deceased person.
- Death Certificate of the deceased person.
The Supreme Court of New South Wales currently grants noncomplex applications within 20 working days from the date the application is made. This time can differ in more complex matters or if the backlog of the Court becomes larger.
A Probate application must be made within six months of the date of death of the deceased person. Once a grant of Probate is obtained, a notice of intention to distribute is required to be filed with the court. Distribution of the estate must not occur until one month after the notice is filed and at least six months from the date of death of the deceased person.
The legal costs for applying for a grant of Probate are charged in accordance with a regulated scale which covers the following work:
- Obtaining instructions from the executor to obtain the grant of Probate.
- Attending on the executor to verify details of the estate and liabilities of the estate.
- Preparation of the required Court documents.
- Attendance upon Executor to sign documents.
- Lodging documents with the Supreme Court of New South Wales.
- Answering requisitions raised by the Supreme Court of New South Wales.
- Perusing the Grant of Probate and advising the executor.
Any costs incurred for work done in addition to the above and in the administration of the estate are not regulated and will be set out in our cost’s disclosure agreement.
The disbursement costs associated with obtaining a grant of Probate and distribution of the estate include Court filing fees. The filing fee for the application of Probate is charged in accordance with the value of the estate. See below table outlining the filing fees.
| ESTATE VALUE | FILING FEE APPLICABLE |
|---|---|
| Less than $100,000.00 | $0.00 |
| $100,000.00 or more, but less than $250,000.00 | $761.00 |
| $250,000.00 or more, but less than $500,000.00 | $1,033.00 |
| $500,000.00 or more, but less than $1,000,000.00 | $1,583.00 |
| $1,000,000.00 or more, but less than $2,000,000.00 | $2,109.00 |
| $2,000,000.00 or more, but less than $5,000,000.00 | $3,515.00 |
| $5,000,000.00 or more | $5,860.00 |
*These filing fees are current as of August 2019
Other disbursements include the following:
- Notice of Intention to Apply for Probate $47.00.
- Notice of Intention to Distribute $47.00.