Acting as Executor where the deceased has left a valid Will

It is important that you are reading the deceased’s most recent Will and that you are able to locate the original. If you cannot locate an original will, it is a good start to phone local law firms or law firms that the deceased has previously used. If you cannot locate an original will, then the estate process will be change significantly.

Our Lawyers’ Wills & Estates Solicitors can assist you to try and locate the deceased’s Will through searches and enquiries with Southern Highlands Law Firms.

Make a list of everything the deceased owned, what assets they may be entitled to, as well as any liabilities they have.

The account of assets and liabilities may be composed of the following:

What happens next will vary in each individual scenario as it will depend on how the assets are held as well as the value of the assets. This is again where Our Lawyers Wills & Estates solicitors assist you and guide you through the process.

In certain circumstances, a ‘Grant of Probate’ is required before the assets are available for distribution.

Probate is an application made through the Supreme Court.

Before submitting the application, you must place a notice on the Supreme Court online registry confirming your intention to do so. This notice period is 14 days and allows other interested parties time to take action if required.

The application itself consists, in part, of an Executor’s Affidavit which references the death certificate, an inventory of property and will also include the original Will.

The application is accompanied by a filing fee set down by the Supreme Court. This fee is proportionate to the value of the Estate.

The estate will need to deal with the assets in an appropriate way in order to attend to distribution.
If there is property involved and it is not held as Joint Tenants, then a Grant of Probate will always be required before anything is actioned on the property.

With other types of assets, it is up to the asset holder (ie the Bank) to decide at what point they require a Grant of Probate. This is generally based on a dollar value and assets over that value will require a Grant of Probate.
Once all the assets have been converted to cash or arrangements have been made for the assets to be transferred without being sold, the Estate will then pay its debts and the balance will be distributed to the beneficiaries in accordance with the Will.

The executor will generally have what is referred to as the ‘Executor’s Year’ to complete the administration process. This timeframe is not set in stone and can be variable depending on, for example, the makeup of the estate, any possible disputes and the age of the beneficiaries.

It is worth remembering that if you do not distribute within 12 months from the date of death, there may be interest payable on certain gifts and the executor can be personally liable for this in certain circumstances.
It is important for an executor to be well informed of their responsibilities as well as the potential risks throughout the administration process. This is where proper legal advice is vital.

At Our Lawyers, our Wills & Estates team is led by Sara Price who is the only Accredited Specialist in Wills & Estates in the Southern Highlands. Sara and her team can guide you through each step of the process and work with you to ensure a smooth process of administrating and distributing the Estate.