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Obtain a grant of probate

We prepare and run the probate application, so the court gives you the authority you were already trusted with.

Being named executor is meant to be a mark of trust. Then you try to act on it, and every institution asks the same question before it will talk to you: where is the grant of probate? The application goes to the Supreme Court, and it wants precise documents, particular affidavits and procedural knowledge that most people need exactly once in their lives. An error gets the application returned. A return adds weeks, and during those weeks the accounts stay frozen, the estate keeps paying for the house, and the beneficiaries keep asking you why nothing is happening.

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Lodged complete the first time

The application goes in with the documents the Registry actually wants, which is what keeps it from being returned and the timeline from doubling.

Authority every institution accepts

A sealed grant is the one document banks, titles offices and share registries are obliged to act on, so the frozen accounts open.

You know what follows

The grant is the start of the administration, so you finish the application knowing what your obligations as executor are from there.

What is a grant of probate, and when do you need one?

A grant of probate is an order of the Supreme Court confirming that the will is valid and that the executor named in it has authority to deal with the deceased’s assets. Most banks, property registries and government agencies require a sealed grant before they will release anything or transfer title. In South Australia the application goes to the Probate Registry of the Supreme Court and has to meet specific technical requirements; an incomplete or incorrect application is returned rather than corrected, which adds weeks to something that otherwise runs in a matter of them.

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What is a grant of probate, and why do I need one?

It is a court order confirming that the will is valid and that you have authority to deal with the estate. Banks, land titles offices and share registries generally will not release assets or transfer title without seeing it.

How long does it take?

A straightforward application usually runs 4 to 12 weeks from lodgement to grant, depending on the estate and on the Registry’s workload at the time. A requisition for further material adds weeks to that, which is the main reason to lodge complete.

What if the original will cannot be found?

It may still be possible to obtain a grant using a copy. The court has to be satisfied that the original existed and was not revoked. That takes additional evidence, and what the court wants depends on how the original came to be lost.

Does every estate need probate?

No. Assets held as joint tenants pass by survivorship. Superannuation death benefits paid to a dependant sit outside the estate, and some institutions release small balances without a grant. Whether you need one depends on what the estate holds rather than on its total value.

Need the grant before anything can move?

We prepare and run probate applications through the Supreme Court, from the first review of the will to the sealed grant in your hand.

You cannot do what you were trusted to do until a court says so

Banks freeze the accounts, property cannot be transferred, share registries will not deal with you, and the beneficiaries are waiting, all because the grant has not issued yet. The application is technical enough that small mistakes get it sent back, and every rejection extends a delay that is already costing the estate money and costing you the confidence of everyone waiting on you.

We will review the will and confirm what your application requires.
We will prepare the court documents and the supporting affidavits.
We will lodge with the Supreme Court and handle the correspondence and requisitions.
We will obtain your grant of probate and deliver it to you.
We will advise on the administration steps that follow the grant.

Is this your situation?

You have been named executor and you are trying to do right by the deceased, by the beneficiaries and by the law, all at once. The bank will not discuss the accounts with you. The agent cannot list the house without authority. The beneficiaries have started asking questions you are not yet able to answer. You have looked at the Supreme Court’s probate requirements and the forms and affidavits read as though they were written for lawyers, which they were. You are worried about making a mistake that sends it back and pushes everything out further. You would rather hand the application to someone who does them routinely and spend your attention on the parts of this that are actually about the person you lost.

What's included in your grant of probate service

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Will review and application requirements advice.
Grant of probate application preparation.
Affidavit and supporting evidence preparation.
Supreme Court filing, correspondence and requisitions.
Delivery of the grant and advice on what comes next.

Why probate applications get sent back

Executors who prepare the application themselves often have it returned on a technicality: a missing affidavit, a valuation in the wrong form, a procedural requirement that is not obvious from the court’s published material. Each return adds weeks.

Those weeks have a price and it is measurable. The accounts stay frozen while the mortgage, the insurance and the rates keep coming out of an estate that cannot yet pay them properly. Beneficiaries who have been waiting without explanation start to wonder whether the executor is up to it, and an executor who looks to be struggling attracts pressure and, occasionally, a claim. Getting the application wrong nearly always costs more than getting it right the first time.

How we get the grant issued

We review the will and the estate assets, identify every document the Registry will want, and prepare a complete, court-ready application at the first attempt. We draft the affidavits, handle the filing, and answer any requisition from the court ourselves so nothing sits waiting on you.

When the grant issues you hold a sealed court document that every bank, land titles office and share registry in the country must accept as your authority to act. You also get told what happens next, because the grant is the beginning of the administration rather than the end of it. You come out of it with the authority you were trusted with and no loose ends behind you.

Three steps to the grant

From the will on your kitchen table to a sealed court order.

Assemble the application

We review the will and the estate, obtain the valuations and evidence the Registry requires, and draft the affidavits.

Lodge and follow it

We file with the Supreme Court and deal with the correspondence and any requisitions ourselves.

Hand you the grant

We deliver the sealed grant and set out the administration steps that come next.

Lawyers who prepare probate applications that do not come back

The trust arrives at the worst possible moment. You are grieving, the family is raw, and the legal system is immediately asking you for things that feel impossible to produce.

We prepare probate applications constantly, from single-asset estates to estates with overseas assets, business interests, beneficiaries in several states and a will someone is unhappy about. We know what the Probate Registry requires, which valuations it will want, how it treats a will that has been amended or damaged, and what gets an application requisitioned. The point of that experience is narrow and practical: the application goes in complete, so it comes back as a grant rather than as a request for more.

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.

Waiting on probate before you can act?

Send us the will and a list of what the estate holds. We will tell you what the application needs, how long it should take, and get it lodged complete.

Speak to a lawyer 1300 654 590