HOW LONG DOES PROBATE TAKE IN QLD?

How Long Does Probate Take In Qld Using Craven Lawyers?

If you are an Executor or a beneficiary under the Will of a deceased person, you probably want to know “how long does it take to get Probate Qld?”.  The reason you want to know is because until Probate has been obtained, the administration of the estate cannot start, and the assets and liabilities of the deceased cannot be finalised. Fortunately for you, at Craven Lawyers we have many years of experience in getting Probate for clients and can answer your query. The time it takes to get Probate in QLD for a deceased estate is generally six to eight weeks from when the advertisement in the Queensland Law Reporter is published. There are three things which will have an impact on the time it takes to apply for a grant of Probate: 

1. When the notice of intention to apply for Probate is published in the Queensland Law Reporter (QLR).
2. When the application for Probate is filed in the Supreme Court of Queensland.
3. The quality of the material filed in the Supreme Court, and if there are any requisitions issued by the Court. A requisition issued by the Court is something the Court requires to be corrected before it will issue the Probate.

When Executors require Probate, they must understand the steps involved and the time it takes to complete each step. To help executors, we have provided the information below about how long Probate takes in QLD. 

If you are an Executor and need Probate, the Craven Lawyers Probate Team is here to help. We provide an efficient and cost-effective solution for getting Probate. We know what we are doing and can provide a streamlined service to ensure Probate is obtained quickly. Call the Craven Lawyers Probate Team to find out how we can help you.  

How to Obtain a Grant of Probate in Queensland

There are several steps in the probate application process to apply for Probate in Queensland.

Step 1

You need to apply for and obtain a certificate of death. For deaths registered in Qld, you can apply for a Death Certificate here https://www.qld.gov.au/law/births-deaths-marriages-and-divorces/birth-death-and-marriage-certificates/death-certificates/applying-for-a-death-certificate

Generally, the Births, Deaths, and Marriages Registry will issue the certificate of death about two weeks after the funeral.

Step 2 

Locate and retrieve the original last Will of the deceased.

Suppose the deceased’s original Will is with a solicitor. In that case, they will need the death certificate before releasing it to the Executors named in the Will. Where the Will names more than one Executor, joint instructions about releasing the original Will must be provided.

Step 3 

Draft the Notice of Intention to Apply for Probate. 

Step 4 

Advertise the Notice of Intention to Apply for Probate in the Queensland Law Reporter. To advertise in the Queensland Law Reporter, you can access their portal here https://queenslandreports.com.au/. The cost to advertise in the Queensland Law Reporter is $161.70. The Queensland Law Reporter is published every Friday. To advertise in the Queensland Law Reporter, you must submit the Notice to them by 3:30 pm on the Monday before the Friday when you want it published. The Notice will be published the following week if you miss this deadline. This means there will be a further delay of seven days to you getting the Probate. 

Step 5 

Give a copy of the notice published in the Queensland Law Reporter to the Public Trustee of Queensland.

Step 6 

Prepare the court documents: 

1. The Application for Probate. 
2. The affidavit supporting the Application for Probate. 
3. The affidavit of Publication of Service. 

Step 7

Get your affidavits signed before a relevant witness, which includes a lawyer or Justice of the Peace. 

Step 8 

File your court documents in the Supreme Court of Queensland registry. You can file the application in person or by post. 

You cannot file your application for Probate in the Supreme Court of Qld until: 

• Fourteen days have passed since the Notice of Intention to Apply for Probate was published in the Queensland Law Reporter.
• Seven days have passed since serving the Public Trustee of Queensland with a copy of the advertisement published in the Queensland Law Reporter.

Step 9

Wait for the Supreme Court to issue the Grant of Probate.

Generally, it takes the Court approximately four to six weeks to process Qld Probate Applications. If the Registrar has no questions about the Qld Probate Application, the Grant of Probate will be issued.

Step 10 

Obtain the grant of Probate from the Supreme Court registry. 

What can cause delays in Qld Probate Applications?

While the Supreme Court generally issues Probate in Qld within six to eight weeks, the following circumstances can cause delays in it being granted:

1. Delay in applying to the Births, Deaths and Marriages registry for a death certificate.
2. Errors in the certificate of death. Before you can start the Probate process, these errors must be corrected.
3. Difficulties in locating or obtaining the original Will of the deceased.
4. Delay in the Executor/s signing court documents for Qld Probate Applications.
5. Incorrect court document completion resulting in the Probate Registrar requisitioning the Qld Probate Application. For this reason, we always recommend you engage an experienced Probate lawyer to assist you in preparing your Qld Probate Application.
6. Responding to questions raised by the Registrar about the death certificate, Will or Application in general.

What Happens If The Court issues Requisitions For Corrections To Be Made Before Issuing The Probate? 

If the Court issues a requisition to you when applying for Probate, they will send you a letter advising you of the issue. You need to attend to whatever problem the Court identifies with your application. Examples of issues which they may raise include: 

• The date on the Will is not correct. 
• The Will is not dated.
• The Will is damaged/has holes in it, and there is no explanation how this happened. 
• The Will does not contain an attestation clause. 

What Are The Consequences Of Delays In Getting Probate?

The longer it takes you to get Probate, the longer it will take before you can distribute the Estate of the deceased person. You cannot administer the estate until you have obtained Probate. If you are a beneficiary under the Will, then the longer it takes, the longer you will need to wait until you can receive your entitlement. 

What can I do to prevent delays with my Probate Qld Application?

Getting legal advice and engaging QLD Probate Lawyers like Craven Lawyers can help you avoid delays in being granted Probate. We have a streamlined Probate process to ensure clients get their Probate issued quickly. The experience, expertise and knowledge of our Probate Qld Lawyers enable us to avoid delays in getting a grant of  Probate for clients.

Things you can do as an Executor to help speed up the process for us in getting you Probate are: 

1. Get the Death Certificate.
2. Locate and retrieve the original Will. 
3. Review, sign and return Court documents to us on time.