Wills, Probate & Estates

Administering a deceased estate is one of the least understood parts of dealing with a death. Most people encounter words like "probate," "executor," and "letters of administration" for the first time in the weeks after someone dies. This hub brings together the site's guidance on what these terms mean, what actually needs to happen, and in what order.

What Is Probate and Estate Administration?

Probate and estate administration is the legal process of confirming a will (or, without one, applying the local intestacy rules), giving someone legal authority to act, and then collecting the deceased person's assets, paying their debts, and distributing what remains. It sits after the funeral itself and typically runs for months rather than weeks: the paperwork phase of a death, distinct from the emotional and practical work of the funeral and immediate aftermath.

Why Estate Administration Matters

Institutions holding money or property won't simply release it to family on request. They need legal certainty about who's authorised to act, which is exactly what probate or letters of administration provide. Getting the process wrong, or skipping steps, can leave an executor personally liable for mistakes, delay beneficiaries for months longer than necessary, or (in the case of no will at all) see an estate distributed by a fixed formula that has nothing to do with what the family actually wants or the person would have chosen.

Key Concepts

• Probate: a court order confirming a will is valid and giving the named executor authority to act (in Australia, granted by the state Supreme Court). See what is probate, and when is it needed.
• Letters of administration: the equivalent order when there's no valid will (intestacy), or no willing executor.
• Executor: the person named in a will responsible for administering the estate: gathering assets, paying debts, and distributing what remains. See what does an executor do.
• Intestacy: the fixed legal formula that decides who inherits when someone dies without a valid will. See what happens if someone dies without a will.
• Family provision claim: a claim by an eligible person (spouse, child, or dependant) for greater provision from an estate than a will or intestacy gave them (the term used in Australia and England and Wales). See can you contest a will.
• Insolvent estate: an estate whose debts exceed its assets; debts are paid in a set priority order and any shortfall is written off rather than passed on to family. See do you inherit someone's debts when they die.
• Joint tenancy: a form of co-ownership where a deceased owner's interest passes automatically to the surviving owner, outside the will and without probate, unlike tenants in common, where the deceased's share instead passes through the estate. See what happens to jointly owned property or bank accounts when one owner dies.

How It Works Where You Are

Probate, intestacy, and the rules for contesting a will are set by each country, and in Australia and the US by each state. The overall shape of the process is similar, but the court or registry, filing fees, who inherits without a will, inheritance or estate taxes, and time limits to contest all differ. The general guides (what probate is, what an executor does, what happens without a will, and whether you pay tax on an inheritance) compare countries. In Australia, probate, intestacy, and family provision law are all state and territory legislation: the Supreme Court registry, filing fees, statutory legacy amounts, and time limits to contest a will all differ by state, even though the process is consistent nationwide. Always confirm the current rule with the court registry (or a solicitor) for the place where the person lived, rather than assuming a figure or timeframe you've read applies everywhere. Country-specific guides:

Australia

• What probate is and when it's required in Australia, and probate fees compared across NSW, Victoria and Queensland
• What an executor does in Australia
• Dying without a will in Australia and contesting a will in Australia
• Debts, tax on an inheritance, and superannuation after a death in Australia
• Jointly owned property when someone dies in Australia

United Kingdom

• Jointly owned property when someone dies in the UK

United States

• Jointly owned property when someone dies in the US

Common Mistakes

• Applying for probate nobody actually requires. Many small estates and jointly-held assets pass without a grant at all, so check with each institution before assuming probate is needed.
• Distributing the estate too early. Executors who pay out beneficiaries before debts, tax, and the family-provision claim period have passed risk becoming personally liable for a shortfall.
• Assuming intestacy means "the family decides." It doesn't. A fixed statutory formula applies regardless of what relatives might agree between themselves informally.
• Missing the time limit to contest a will. Family provision time limits run from the grant of probate, not the date of death, and are strict.

Where to Get Help

• Moneysmart (moneysmart.gov.au), in Australia: government guidance on wills, probate, and deceased estates.
• Australian Taxation Office: Australian deceased estate tax obligations, including final returns.
• The Public Trustee in the relevant Australian state (with equivalents in other countries): will storage, and professional estate administration where no family member can or wants to act.
• A solicitor experienced in succession law: worth engaging for contested estates, blended families, complex assets, or a family provision claim.

Related Topics

• End-of-Life Planning: writing a will and recording wishes while you're still able to, rather than administering an estate after a death.
• Death Certificates: the document every part of estate administration depends on.

Common Questions

Do you need a solicitor to apply for probate or administer an estate? No. Executors and administrators can generally apply personally (in Australia, in every state), and courts commonly publish guides for people applying without a lawyer. A solicitor earns their fee once there's real complexity: a large or unclear estate, contested claims, or an executor who simply doesn't have the capacity grief has left them with.

How long does the whole process take? A straightforward estate commonly takes 6 to 12 months from death to final distribution: weeks for the death certificate, weeks to months for the grant if required, then months of asset collection, debt payment, and the standard waiting period for potential family provision claims. Complex, contested, or interstate estates commonly take well over a year.

What's the difference between contesting a will's validity and making a family provision claim? They're different legal claims. A family provision claim accepts the will as valid but asks for a bigger share because the provision made was inadequate. Challenging validity argues the will itself shouldn't stand, because of forgery, lack of capacity, or undue influence. See can you contest a will for both.

Who pays for the funeral while all this is being sorted out? Funeral costs don't wait for probate. Banks routinely release funds from the deceased's account against the funeral invoice, and support exists even where the estate has nothing to draw on. See what to do when someone dies and who pays for a funeral if there is no money.

Knowledge Base

Fundamentals

• What Is Probate, and When Is It Needed? — Australia
• What Does an Executor of a Will Do? — Australia
• What Happens to a Pension or Retirement Savings When Someone Dies? — Australia: superannuation
• Do You Inherit Someone's Debts When They Die? — Australia
• What Happens to Jointly Owned Property or Bank Accounts When One Owner Dies? — Australia · UK · US
• Do You Pay Tax on an Inheritance? — Australia

Costs

• How Much Does Probate Cost? Comparing NSW, Victoria and Queensland Filing Fees

No Will

• What Happens If Someone Dies Without a Will? — Australia

Disputes

• Can You Contest a Will, and How Does It Work? — Australia

Death Certificates

• How Do You Get a Death Certificate in Australia?
• How Do You Correct an Error on a Death Certificate?
• How Do You Register a Stillbirth in Australia?
• How Do You Get a Death Certificate When Someone Dies Overseas?

Forum Discussions

• My Dad Died Without a Will — Does His Partner of Four Years Get the House Over Us Kids?
• Dad Named Me Sole Beneficiary on His Super — I Didn't Expect a Tax Bill on It