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Administer a deceased estate

We take executors through the whole administration, so the estate closes properly and nothing follows you afterwards.

Someone chose you to finish their affairs, and you can’t ask them what they meant by any of it. That is the part nobody warns you about. The work itself is real enough: debts to find and settle, creditors to notify, tax to deal with, a final accounting to produce, and in most estates a grant of probate before you can formally touch anything. But the order matters, your decisions bind you, and distributing too early can leave you personally out of pocket to a creditor who turns up later. You want to get this right, because it is the last thing you get to do for them.

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The liability stays off you

You meet the executor's obligations in the right order, so a late creditor or an unexpected tax bill is the estate's problem rather than yours.

Tax settled before anything moves

The estate's tax position is dealt with before a distribution, not discovered after it.

Beneficiaries kept in the picture

The people waiting on the estate get a clear timeline and a clear accounting. That is most of what keeps an administration from becoming a dispute.

What does administering a deceased estate involve?

Administering an estate means collecting what the deceased owned, paying what they owed, meeting the estate’s tax obligations, and distributing what is left to the people entitled to it. Where there is a valid will, the executor named in it does that work. Where there is no will, or the named executor cannot act, the court appoints an administrator instead. Both roles carry the same duties, and both carry personal liability if the estate is administered wrongly or distributed too soon.

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What's the difference between an executor and an administrator?

An executor is named in the will. An administrator is appointed by the court when there is no will, or when the named executor cannot or will not act. The duties and the personal exposure are the same either way.

Do I need probate before I can do anything?

For most estates, yes. You need the grant before you can formally deal with the assets. Some things pass outside the estate altogether, including property held as joint tenants and most superannuation, and those do not wait on probate.

How long does it take?

A straightforward estate is usually administered inside 6 to 12 months. Real property, a business interest, or a claim against the estate will take longer, and an estate that becomes genuinely contested can run for years.

Can I be personally liable for getting it wrong?

Yes. Distributing before the creditors are paid, or not following the terms of the will, can leave you personally liable. That exposure does not end when the estate closes. Advice through the administration is what keeps it from happening.

Holding an estate you did not ask for?

We take executors through the whole administration, from the grant to the final distribution, so the estate closes properly and nothing follows you afterwards.

You were trusted with this, and you have never done it before

You have to find every asset, satisfy every creditor, deal with the tax office, and get the right amount to the right people in the right order, under rules you have never had to learn. Get that order wrong and the liability is yours, not the estate’s. Meanwhile the people waiting on the money are the same people you will sit next to at Christmas.

We will review the will and tell you what the administration requires.
We will identify and collect the estate's assets, including those that pass outside it.
We will prepare your application for probate or letters of administration.
We will advise on the estate's debts, creditors and tax obligations.
We will supervise the final distribution and close the estate.

Is this your situation?

You have been named executor, or you have had to apply to administer an estate with no will, and the size of the job is only now becoming clear. There are accounts to track down, a house to keep insured, a superannuation benefit that apparently is not part of the estate at all, and beneficiaries already asking when the money comes. You have been told you need probate, without being told what that means or how long it takes. At the same time you are answering questions from family members who each have a firm view about how it should be done, and you are doing all of it while grieving the person who asked you. You did not set out to learn estate law. You just do not want to get it wrong.

What's included in your estate administration service

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Will review and an administration plan for the estate.
Probate or letters of administration application.
Asset identification and collection, including assets outside the estate.
Creditor, debt and estate tax advice.
Final distribution to beneficiaries and estate closure.

Where executors get caught

Executors who do this without advice usually find out what they missed after the fact. A creditor surfaces once the money is already distributed. A beneficiary asks for the accounting and does not accept it. The tax office raises a liability on income the estate earned while it was open, and there is nothing left in the estate to pay it with.

When that happens the claim does not go away, it attaches to you, and good intentions are not a defence. Family disagreements about the will’s terms, the pace of the administration, or what an asset is worth rarely settle themselves either. They harden while the estate sits open, and an estate that sits open gets more expensive and more contested every month it stays that way.

What working with us looks like

We work through the administration with you from the start. We read the will and tell you what it actually requires, map every asset and liability including the ones that pass outside the estate, prepare the application for the grant, deal with creditors, settle the estate’s tax position, and supervise the final distribution.

At each stage you know what happens next, what is a legal obligation and what is your call, and where the risk sits. If a dispute starts, and we plan for that possibility on every estate, we deal with it so it does not stall the administration or reach you personally. When the estate closes, every obligation has been met, every beneficiary has what they were entitled to, and there is nothing left open behind you.

Three steps to closing the estate

From the grant through to the final distribution, in order.

Map the estate

We read the will, identify every asset and liability, and tell you what this administration is going to require.

Get the grant

We prepare and lodge the probate or letters of administration application, and deal with creditors and the estate's tax while it is on foot.

Distribute and close

We supervise the distribution to beneficiaries and close the estate, with the accounting to support it.

Lawyers who have taken executors through this before

Being named executor is a mark of real trust, and stepping into it while you are grieving is harder than anyone expects. The weight you are feeling is proportionate to the job, not a sign you are handling it badly.

We have taken executors through administrations at every level: single-asset estates that close inside a year, and estates spread across businesses, properties in more than one state, contested wills and beneficiaries who have stopped speaking to each other. We know which obligations are hard duties and which are matters of judgement, and we know where the exposure actually sits. You speak for the person who is gone. Our job is to make sure you do it correctly.

Our great lawyer guarantee

Six principles we hold to, whatever you bring us and however long it takes.

Take the time

We listen carefully to understand what you want to achieve, then step you through the advice and the documents.

Share our knowledge

We pass on as much as we can, so you can make your own informed decisions.

Stick to our knitting

We only do what we are good at, so you never pay for our learning.

Work as one team

Someone is always available to answer your question or point you the right way.

Fair pricing

A fixed or capped quote for advice and documents, so you do not carry the price risk.

It is your show

We are in it for a front row seat to witness your success, not for our egos.

Not sure what you are supposed to do first?

Tell us what the estate holds and how far you have got. We will map out what has to happen, in what order, and what you are actually on the hook for.

Speak to a lawyer 1300 654 590