Once a grant has been obtained the Estate must be administered in accordance with the Will or if there is no valid Will then in accordance with the Administration Act 1903 (WA). For more information about the importance of a Will and the effect of intestacy (dying without a Will) please click here.
Fixed Fee Pricing
Our clients benefit from greater certainty and peace of mind with Fixed Fee Pricing
We do not bill by the hour
Experience tells us that clients dislike the hourly rates regime which most lawyers still use, and prefer the certainty of fixed fees.
Click Here Administering the estate generally means the Executor or Administrator as the case may be, will collect the assets of the estate, pay the valid liabilities and estate related expenses, and then distribute the net proceeds to the beneficiaries. This process can quickly become complicated depending on the status of the estate and its assets and liabilities.
BBV provides legal services in relation to administering the estate once the Grant of Probate has been obtained.
In applying for a Grant of Probate the executor must swear or affirm an affidavit stating that they will administer the estate according to law. The law imposes strict duties and responsibilities on an executor of an estate. This is another reason careful consideration should be given in your lifetime as to who you wish to appoint as your executor in your Will.
We always recommend that executor or administrators obtain legal advice where there are any complexities in administering an estate, particularly if there is a risk that a claim may be brought against the estate. In most cases the legal expenses incurred in obtaining advice can be recovered from the estate and will not be an out-of-pocket expense for the executor.
Click for more information about the role of an executor.
Leslie Buchbinder
DIRECTOR
A Grant of Probate should be obtained in WA if the deceased person held assets in WA. If there are no assets in WA, the Supreme Court of Western Australia will not be the appropriate court to apply to.
To apply for a Grant of Probate the executor will require the complete original Will and the original death certificate and a copy. The executor must be very careful with the original Will and ensure it is complete with no pages missing and is not damaged in any way. The staples or binding of the original Will should not be removed, even to make a copy. The original Will should also not be written on or marked or folded.
Once these documents have been obtained the executor must complete an affidavit providing certain information as required by law regarding themselves and the deceased person and their Will.
In the affidavit the executor will also provide a Statement of Assets and Liabilities of the estate and will swear or affirm the correctness of that Statement. This is referred to as a Rule 9b Statement of Assets and Liabilities, because Rule 9b of the Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1967 (WA) sets out in detail the information required in the statement.
The affidavit’s contents must be correct, and it must also meet all the formal requirements of an affidavit, among other things being page numbered and sworn or affirmed in the presence of an authorized witness.
Finally, a Motion for a grant of probate must be prepared and filed with the application.
An application can only be made 14 days after the death of the deceased person.
The lawyers at Bowen Buchbinder Vilensky can prepare and file the application on your behalf or can assist you in preparing the application yourself.
The application for a Grant of Probate in usually filed in person at the Supreme Court of Western Australia Registry. However, in light of the COVID-19 restrictions the application can also be posted to the Registry at:Supreme Court of Western Australia
Level 11, David Malcolm Justice Centre
28 Barrack Street
PERTH WA 6000Care should always be taken when posting original documents and a complete copy should be retained for your records.There is a cost involved in applying for a Grant of Probate. There are Court filing fees payable upon filing the application. The Supreme Court of Western Australia accepts payments made by cash, cheque, Visa, Mastercard or Eftpos.As of 1 August 2020 the Supreme Court filing fees for Probate and Estate related documents are as follows:
- $370 – Filing application for a grant of probate or administration
- $106 – Depositing a will of a deceased person
- $106 – Depositing a will or instrument under section 44(1) of the Wills Act 1970
- $2.25 per page – Copy of a will or any other document
- $25.90 – Certification fee
- $133.50 – Exemplification of a grant
- $133.50 – settling and sealing a citation or a subpoena
- $54 – Search fee
David is also highly approachable which is important when dealing with lawyers. There are some lawyers who are so far up themselves that you hesitate to call them, but even though David is a brilliant lawyer, he is also very down to earth.
Les is a wonderful lawyer. He has an amazing grasp of the English language and is always polite and grounding to speak to. With Les there are never problems to which there aren't solutions. And he's always up for the challenge. More than this, and it may seem weird to say this, whenever I meet Les he makes me want to be a good man. He's a real humanitarian and inspires the best in me. For that reason I always look forward to seeing him again.
Les was very professional and always kept my interest at the forefront of his mind. He is thorough and clear in his communications. He is also very supportive and I like how he runs meetings, providing all the options and helping sort out which ones are for me.
I can honestly say that in complex commercial litigation matters, David demonstrates an uncanny ability to think clearly, out of the box, and he adopts a pragmatic and very cost-effective approach. This is especially the case in relation to fixed fee pricing.
