Probate in Victoria: A Practical Guide for Executors

The executor's office and the grant

An executor derives office from the Will, not from the Court, and may generally take appropriate protective or preservatory steps before a grant issues — arranging the funeral, securing and insuring property, and engaging advisers. That is not a general licence to deal with the estate. The grant of probate proves the Will and the executor's authority, and many asset dealings, transfers, steps in litigation and distributions cannot safely or practically proceed without it, because banks, share registries, Land Services Victoria, superannuation trustees, aged-care providers and others generally require the grant before dealing with the executor as legal personal representative.

Where there is no valid Will, or no executor is able or willing to act, the equivalent grants are Letters of Administration or Letters of Administration with the Will Annexed. The person who takes out those grants is an administrator and derives authority from the grant itself.

When a grant may be needed

There is no universal estate-value threshold in Victoria above which probate is automatically required. Whether a grant is needed in respect of a particular asset depends on the current requirements of the asset-holder and on how the asset was held. Common situations in which a grant is generally required include:

• Land held solely in the name of the deceased, or as a tenant in common — Land Services Victoria's requirements for transmission or sale generally call for a grant.
• Accounts, share registrations, managed investments, bonds and refundable accommodation deposits where the asset-holder's current release requirements call for production of a grant.
• Estates in which litigation is contemplated, a Part IV family provision claim is anticipated, or a third-party dispute is foreseeable.

Each asset-holder's current requirements should be checked directly before assuming a grant is or is not required.

Based on our experience at Parke Lawyers, a grant is sometimes unnecessary where real property passes automatically to a surviving joint proprietor, the deceased's bank balances held in sole name are below about $100,000, there is no refundable accommodation deposit, and any share portfolio is modest — typically below about $15,000. Those figures are not legal thresholds. They describe the pattern we see, not a rule. Each bank, share registry and other asset-holder sets its own requirements, those requirements change from time to time, and they must be confirmed in the particular estate before any step is taken on the assumption that no grant is needed.

Assets that may not require a grant

Some assets may be dealt with without a grant depending on the circumstances:

• Land held with a surviving proprietor as joint tenants may pass by survivorship on evidence of death, subject to any competing beneficial interest and any resulting-trust or other equitable issue that would displace the presumption at law.
• Superannuation does not automatically form part of the estate. A valid binding death benefit nomination generally requires the trustee to pay the benefit as directed, subject to the governing legislation, the fund's rules and the nomination remaining valid at death. A non-binding nomination records the member's wishes but leaves the trustee to exercise its discretion under the governing rules. Where the benefit is paid to the legal personal representative, it becomes part of the estate.
• Life insurance may be paid directly to a nominated beneficiary outside the estate depending on the terms of the policy.
• Assets held on trust for the deceased or by the deceased on trust for another are dealt with on the terms of the relevant trust, not simply under the Will.
• Small holdings that an asset-holder is prepared to release on production of the Will, death certificate and indemnity may be dealt with without a grant on that asset-holder's terms.

Beneficial ownership may differ from legal ownership. Where an asset appears to pass automatically but the beneficial position is unclear, legal advice should be taken.

Application process

Applications begin in RedCrest-Probate, the Court's online probate platform, under the Supreme Court (Administration and Probate) Rules 2023. The process is not wholly electronic. For an ordinary probate application, follow the Court's current application checklist:

1. Locate the original Will and any codicils (documents amending the Will), obtain the cause-of-death death certificate, and identify the assets and liabilities at death.
2. Publish the notice of intention to apply and allow the required 15-day notice period before filing.
3. Complete the RedCrest application and prepare and swear or affirm the supporting affidavit. Scan and upload separately the affidavit, Will and codicils (if any), cause-of-death death certificate, and inventory of assets and liabilities; submit and pay the applicable fee.
4. After submission, post the original Will and codicils, certificate identifying exhibits, and RedCrest-generated originating motion (the document commencing the application), as directed by the Court. The Court retains the original Will.
5. Respond to any requisition — a request for further evidence or correction. If a grant issues, it is electronic and available in RedCrest-Probate. Asset holders need both the application number and unique identifier shown on the grant to view it.

Administration applications have different supporting evidence; there may be no Will to prove. Under rule 6.02, an affidavit must explain delay if a first application for representation, or an application to administer an unadministered estate, is made more than three years after death. The Court's ordinary practice is not to grant probate or administration to more than four people. Where there are additional named executors, leave to apply later may be reserved; the appropriate arrangement depends on the facts.

You may use a solicitor, a trustee company, apply yourself, or seek the Probate Office's optional small-estates assistance if eligible. The Court publishes a small-estate limit of $137,210 for deaths between 1 July 2026 and 30 June 2027; confirm eligibility with the Court rather than treating that assistance limit as a test of whether probate is required. The optional service prepares the grant application, not the subsequent estate administration. As at 1 July 2026, its total is $323: $285 for the service plus the $38 notice. An eligible small-estate self-application incurs the $38 notice fee without that service fee. Other expenses remain separate and fees may change. See the Court's small-estates eligibility, options and current fees.

Notice of intention

The applicant must publish a notice of intention to apply on the Supreme Court's online probate publication service. Under the current Supreme Court (Administration and Probate) Rules, the notice must have been online for at least 15 days before the application is filed. The current notice period and form should be confirmed on the Court's website at the time.

Timing and what can cause delay

As at 12 October 2026, the Probate Office reported that it was reviewing applications received in the week commencing 7 September 2026 — approximately a five-week review queue. This is a temporary, variable snapshot, not a standing processing-time estimate, a guaranteed time to grant or a permanent backlog. Check the Supreme Court's live application review status before planning around the current queue.

Keep the stages separate: obtaining information and preparing documents; the notice being online for at least 15 days before filing; online lodgement and posting the required originals; receipt and review by the Court; any requisitions and responses; and, only after the grant, estate administration. Preparation can overlap the notice period, but the Court queue does not replace it. The reported review week is not a promise that every application from that week will receive a grant then.

Dated indicative timeline: the minimum 15-day notice plus the roughly five-week queue reported as at 12 October 2026 suggests about seven weeks from notice publication to initial Court review, assuming prompt filing, receipt of complete originals and a similar queue. Preparation may overlap the notice period. This is a planning illustration of that snapshot, not a guaranteed grant date or a standing turnaround estimate. Preparation or posting delays, changed Court workload and requisitions can add time; the post-grant administration period is additional.

Requisitions, missing or damaged Wills, informal will applications, execution or capacity questions, caveats, substituted executors, resealing and overseas elements can extend the process. Their timing depends on the evidence, parties and Court workload. Check names and addresses against the Will, death certificate and asset records, and resolve execution or document discrepancies before filing where possible.

Obtaining the grant is distinct from completing administration. Collecting or selling assets, paying debts, tax obligations, creditor issues and possible family provision claims determine what can safely happen after the grant; see administration and distribution.

Missing originals and informal documents

Where the original Will has been lost or destroyed, an application may be made to prove a copy on affidavit evidence dealing with the circumstances of the loss, the terms of the Will, whether a presumption of revocation arises and, if it does, the evidence relied upon to rebut it, and the position of persons interested on intestacy. That application is distinct from an application under section 9 of the Wills Act 1997 (Vic) for a document that does not satisfy the ordinary execution requirements to be admitted as an informal will. Section 9 requires the Court to be satisfied that the deceased intended the document to be the person's will. The two applications rest on different evidence and should not be confused. Legal advice should be taken before either is attempted.

Executors unable or unwilling to act

Not every named executor ends up proving the Will. Common variants include:

• Where more than one executor is appointed, they may apply together, or one may apply while another does not.
• A named executor who has not intermeddled in the estate may renounce probate.
• A named executor may simply not prove, in which case leave to come in and prove later may be reserved.
• Where the named executor has died, lacks capacity or is unwilling to act, another person entitled may need to apply.
• Where no executor is able or willing to act, a grant of Letters of Administration with the Will Annexed may be required so that the Will is still carried into effect.

An executor who has already intermeddled — dealt with estate assets as executor rather than merely protecting them — may not be free simply to renounce, and should obtain advice before taking or declining further steps.

Caveats and contested grants

Two very different kinds of dispute are often confused. A probate dispute concerns whether a document is a valid Will, or who is entitled to a grant. A Part IV family provision claim does not challenge the Will; it seeks provision, or further provision, from the estate for an eligible person.

A probate caveat filed before a grant prevents a grant from issuing while it remains operative. A caveat ordinarily expires six months after lodgement under rule 8.03(1) of the Supreme Court (Administration and Probate) Rules 2023, subject to the rest of that rule. Under rule 8.02(b), the Registrar gives the caveator notice that an application for the grant has been made. Rule 8.03(2) then provides for expiry 30 days after that notice is given unless, within that period, the caveator serves on the applicant and files with the Registrar a statement of the grounds of objection, or a Judge otherwise orders under rule 8.03(3). That exception prevents expiry by reason of the 30-day provision; it does not itself abolish the separate six-month expiry rule. Do not assume a response makes the caveat indefinite: obtain advice about the applicable expiry and any necessary Court order. These notice-triggered steps require prompt attention. A caveat filed without proper grounds can carry an adverse costs risk for the person who filed it. Where a grant has already issued, the mechanism is generally an application to revoke the grant rather than a caveat. Advice should be taken promptly in either situation.

Administration and distribution

After the grant issues, the personal representative calls in the assets, pays the estate's liabilities and tax, keeps proper accounts and, at the appropriate stage, distributes to the persons entitled under the Will or on intestacy. The personal representative owes fiduciary duties to the estate and to the beneficiaries.

Distribution timing is informed by sections 99 and 99A of the Administration and Probate Act 1958 (Vic), together with the personal representative's fiduciary duties, rather than by a categorical embargo. Section 99 ordinarily requires a Part IV family provision application to be made within six months after the grant, subject to the Court's statutory power to permit a late application; it is not an absolute six-month prohibition on every distribution. Section 99A protects a personal representative in respect of a distribution only where the statutory conditions it sets are satisfied. Neither provision excuses the personal representative from considering known or notified claims, debts, tax, contingent liabilities and the facts of the estate. A personal representative who distributes without properly weighing those matters may be exposed to personal liability if a claim is later upheld. Family provision claims are distinct from proceedings about whether or what grant should issue; overlapping proceedings may exist on the facts.

An interim distribution may be appropriate on the estate's facts, with an adequate reserve for outstanding liabilities and claims. A property sale, unresolved tax, creditor protection or a dispute may require administration to continue after the grant. Do not promise beneficiaries a fixed payment date before assessing these matters. Fiduciary duties require the representative to act in the interests of those entitled, rather than for personal advantage.

Creditor notices under section 33

The Supreme Court notice of intention to apply concerns the proposed grant: it tells the world that an application for a grant is about to be made. A notice to creditors and claimants under section 33 of the Trustee Act 1958 (Vic) serves a different purpose during administration: it invites persons with claims against the estate to come forward within the stated period.

Publishing either notice does not erase liabilities the executor already knows about. Any statutory protection depends on compliance with the applicable requirements and on the executor continuing to have proper regard to claims of which they have notice. The current statutory text and the Court's current material should be consulted, and advice taken, before relying on a notice as protection.

Court fees, legal costs and remuneration

Four things should be kept separate: the fee to publish the online notice, the Court's filing fee for the grant, disbursements such as death certificates and title searches, and professional legal fees. The grant filing fee is calculated on the gross value of Victorian assets only. The Probate Office fees effective 1 July 2026 are:

Fees generally change annually. The Supreme Court's current Probate Office fees should be checked before filing. The Court's schedule effective 1 July 2026 also lists $51.80 for a republished notice of intention, $354 to file a caveat, $51.80 on filing an amended originating motion (item 4.2), and $22.50 to file a request to amend an issued grant of representation (item 4.6). Amending the application's originating motion and amending the issued grant are different fee items; these are separate from professional fees and should be checked when the step is needed.

Legal costs properly and reasonably incurred in obtaining the grant and administering the estate are generally payable from the estate. That is not a guarantee that every cost an executor incurs is recoverable; costs that are unreasonable, or not properly referable to the administration, may not be.

Professional fees depend on the estate and the agreed scope. Obtaining the grant is separate from administering the estate afterwards. Costs information should identify whether property transactions, tax work, contested or unusual applications and third-party expenses are included or separately charged. Ask for written costs information and confirmation of the scope before instructing a practitioner.

An executor is not automatically entitled to remuneration. Payment may be provided for in the Will, agreed by all informed beneficiaries with capacity, or allowed by the Court as commission under sections 65 to 65E of the Administration and Probate Act 1958 (Vic). Court commission compensates the executor for pains and trouble in administering the estate rather than reimbursing ordinary out-of-pocket expenses, which are dealt with as estate expenses. An application for commission is a distinct post-grant process governed by rules 10.02 and 10.03 in Order 10 of the Supreme Court (Administration and Probate) Rules 2023. Rule 10.02 requires a summons in Form 3–10A and affidavit in Form 3–10B; rule 10.03 requires the administration account in Form 3–6AA, verified by affidavit, to have been filed with the Court before applying. Where there are multiple legal personal representatives, all must verify the account, even if not all apply for commission. Where remuneration is instead agreed with beneficiaries, the consent must be genuinely informed and properly documented. Remuneration authorised by the Will, and the remuneration of a professional executor under the terms of its appointment, are separate matters again.

Land and titles

Where the deceased held land solely, or as a tenant in common, the personal representative deals with the land under the Transfer of Land Act 1958 (Vic) and Land Services Victoria's requirements. Depending on the subsequent steps intended — transmission of the deceased's interest to the executor as legal personal representative, transfer to a beneficiary named in the Will, or sale — different forms and evidence apply. Current Land Services Victoria practice should be checked at the time.

Land held with another as joint tenants may pass by survivorship on evidence of death, subject to any competing beneficial interest and any equitable issue that would displace the presumption at law. The position on the facts should be confirmed before treating the land as outside the estate.

Shareholdings

Shares owned by the deceased ordinarily form part of the estate, subject to the company constitution, any applicable agreements and transmission provisions. The company's own assets belong to the company, not directly to its shareholder's estate.

Listed shareholdings are administered through the relevant share registry. Registry policies and forms differ and change from time to time; the current requirements of each registry holding the deceased's shares should be checked. Where a grant is required by the registry, the executor generally lodges the evidence and forms the registry specifies, before the shares are transferred, sold or transferred to a beneficiary in specie (as shares rather than cash). Coordination with the broker sponsoring the holding in CHESS, the electronic share settlement system, may be required. On related issues see our guides on lost share certificates in deceased estates and CGT in deceased estates.

Business interests

Business interests are among the more complex assets an executor may encounter. The path forward on the facts depends on the structure and its governing documents:

• For a sole trader, the deceased's individual legal identity does not continue, but the estate may include a functioning business — goodwill, employees, stock, plant, contracts, licences, debtors and creditors — capable of being preserved, continued for a period, or sold. Whether the personal representative may continue trading depends on the Will, statutory powers, the relevant contracts and licences, and the risk involved.
• For a partnership, the terms of the partnership agreement and the Partnership Act 1958 (Vic) govern what happens to the deceased partner's interest.
• For a private company, the company itself continues. Succession to control is a separate practical issue from administering the shareholding. Control depends on the shareholding, the company constitution and any shareholders' agreement — see our guide on private company shares in deceased estates.
• For a discretionary trust, the trust assets do not pass under the deceased's Will merely because the deceased was a trustee, appointor, beneficiary or practical controller. The trust deed determines succession to offices such as trustee, appointor, principal or guardian. Separately, estate assets may include shares held by the deceased in a corporate trustee, beneficiary loan accounts, unpaid present entitlements and any other transmissible legal or equitable rights. The deed, corporate records, resolutions and accounts must be reviewed together before deciding what forms part of the estate and who controls the trust after death.

Early professional advice on the specific structure and its documents is often useful.

Sources and further reading

• Administration and Probate Act 1958 (Vic) — current in-force version
• Wills Act 1997 (Vic) — current in-force version
• Trustee Act 1958 (Vic) — current in-force version
• Supreme Court (Administration and Probate) Rules 2023 (Vic)
• Supreme Court of Victoria — How to apply for a grant of probate or administration
• Supreme Court of Victoria — Probate Office fees
• Supreme Court of Victoria — Wills and deceased estates proceedings, including caveats
• Supreme Court of Victoria — Probate Office summons for commission

Frequently Asked Questions