Obtain death certificate
To obtain the original death certificate of the deceased, an application to the Registrar of Births Deaths and Marriages is required. A photocopy is not sufficient.
Advertise your intention to apply
A notice of intention to apply for Probate is to be published on the NSW Probate Registry Website.
Drafting the Application and Filing Court Documents
New South Wales Probate will prepare, have signed and file the following documents in the Supreme Court of NSW:
- Summons for Probate (Form 111)
- Grant of Probate (Form 112)
- Affidavit of Executor (Form 118) exhibiting an original death certificate and the Inventory of Property (Form 117)
- The original Will – including Codicils
Anyone claiming to have an interest in the estate can file a caveat in the Supreme Court of NSW to object to the Grant of Probate (objection). If they have evidence, the Court won’t make the Grant of Probate until the claim is resolved.
If a caveat is filed, the Registrar of the Supreme Court sends a notice to the person lodging the caveat and to the executor about the matter. When this occurs, it is no longer a simple Probate matter and specific legal advice needs to be sought.
Fortunately, objections only occur in about 1.5% of all Probate matters.
