Deceased Estates

What Is Probate?

The Supreme Court inspects the Will, along with other necessary documents and an Affidavit by the nominated Executor(s), before granting a seal of Probate. The grant of Probate authorises the Executors to act with the respect to the Deceased’s Estate to call in the assets (including selling Real Estate), prior to distribution of the Estate in accordance with the provisions of the Will.

What If There was no Will?

Where a person dies without a Will, they are said to have died ‘intestate’. In those circumstances, it may be possible (if there is agreement from the beneficiaries in intestacy) to apply for ‘Letters of Administration’ from the Supreme Court to appoint the agreed Administrators to act on behalf of the Estate.

JosephDavid Lawyers are able to assist both with securing Probate and with securing Letters of Administration with regard to deceased Estates. We charge a fixed price for obtaining a grant of Probate or Letters of Administration in accordance with the scale costs as set by the Legal Profession Uniform Law Regulations, Schedule 3.

Administration Stage

Following the grant of Probate or Letters of Administration, it is then important to ‘call-in’ the assets of the deceased for distribution and then sell the Deceased Estate at fair market value. This involves contacting banks, financial institutions, Nursing Home/Aged Care home refundable deposits, superannuation funds, shareholding exchanges and other bodies as required to provide the necessary documentation to transfer the funds into our Trust Account.

Once all the funds are received into our Trust Account, we prepare a Distribution Statement for the Executor/Administrator’s review and the beneficiaries’ acceptance. Upon acceptance, we distribute the Estate as agreed, to finalise the matter.

Find out More

We charge a fixed price for obtaining a grant of Probate or Letters of Administration in accordance with the scale costs as set by the Legal Profession Uniform Law Regulations, Schedule 3. We are also able to defer the payment of our fees until the Estate funds have been paid into our Trust Account, in the Administration Stage.

We are able to provide a Fixed-Price for the ‘Administration’ component of the Estate matter, depending on the number and complexity of the assets to be called-in. We provide this estimate upfront, during your first free initial consultation, for your consideration and agreement, before the charges are incurred.

Contact Us Now for Free to see how we can help assist in securing Probate or Letters of Administration and assisting with the Distribution of the Estate.