If you are the executor of an estate or a beneficiary under a will there are a number of ways that a lawyer can help you.

If you are an executor a lawyer will help you step by step through the process of applying for probate from the publication of notices to the return of court documents.

Your solicitors will arrange for the publication of a notice of the intended application in the online registry. They will also be able to:

• prepare a draft of all the required Supreme Court papers for application and lodgement;
• correspond with:
  • banks;
  • Centrelink;
  • Medicare;
  • veterans affairs;
  • health insurance funds;
  • superannuation funds;
  • the ATO; and
  • all other appropriate authorities in order to provide notice of the death;
• compile an inventory of the assets and liabilities of the estate; and
• identify and correspond with all beneficiaries.

Once the grant of probate is returned a solicitor can also help organise for a further notice to be published. This is a notice of intended distribution of an estate and is published in order to protect the executor from any claims that may be made by creditors. Creditors are individuals or businesses claiming to be owed money by the deceased person.

If there is no will or if there is a problem with the deceased’s will such as the named executor is incapable of acting you may need to apply for letters of administration. This is a certificate granted by the Supreme Court that allows you to act as an executor. A lawyer can advise you on making this application.