Apply for Probate in Sydney

Lodging a Sydney probate application with the Supreme Court of NSW

Where a Sydney application is filed

Probate for a New South Wales estate is granted by the Supreme Court of New South Wales. Its Probate Registry is in the Law Courts Building at Queens Square, 184 Phillip Street, Sydney NSW 2000, with the registry counter on level 5, and documents can be posted to the Supreme Court at GPO Box 3, Sydney NSW 2001. In practice, most Sydney executors never attend the registry at all: the application itself is filed electronically through the NSW Online Registry, and only the original Will and the signed affidavit need to reach Phillip Street.

The two notices a Sydney executor has to publish

New South Wales is unusual in requiring two separate notices. Before the application can be filed, you publish a Notice of Intended Application on the NSW Online Registry and wait 14 days. Later, before the estate is distributed, you publish a Notice of Intended Distribution, which opens the window for creditors to come forward. Both are lodged through the same portal, and both are steps we handle for Sydney clients as part of our fixed fee. Our full NSW probate guide works through the wording and timing of each notice.

Getting your affidavit witnessed in Sydney

The affidavit supporting a Sydney application has to be sworn or affirmed in front of an authorised witness — a solicitor, a barrister, a notary public or a Justice of the Peace. JPs sit at most council libraries, court houses and Service NSW centres across the metropolitan area, and free JP services are usually available without an appointment. If you would rather not chase one down, our solicitors can witness the affidavit for you.

How long a Sydney grant takes

The Supreme Court publishes the date to which it has processed uncontested probate applications, so you can see how far behind the registry is running before you file. Allow the 14 day notice period first, and then, for an application that is complete and correctly sworn, commonly around four to six weeks for the grant to issue. If the registry raises a requisition — a request for more information — the application goes back into the queue, which is the most common reason a Sydney grant is delayed.

Sydney property in the estate

Where the estate includes a Sydney property, the title is dealt with through NSW Land Registry Services once the grant issues. If the property was held as joint tenants, a Notice of Death is lodged and a grant is usually not needed for the transfer itself. If it was held solely, or as tenants in common, a Transmission Application is lodged so the executor can then transfer or sell it. Both are lodged electronically by a conveyancer or property lawyer.

If there is no Will

Where the deceased left no Will, a Sydney next of kin applies for a grant of administration instead of probate. The registry, the notices and the online filing process are the same, but the entitlement to apply and to inherit is set by the NSW intestacy rules. Our NSW letters of administration guide covers that process.

Where we act around Sydney

We act for executors right across greater Sydney — the CBD and inner city, the Inner West, the Eastern Suburbs, the Lower and Upper North Shore, the Northern Beaches, the Hills District, Parramatta and Western Sydney, the Sutherland Shire, the St George area and the Macarthur region. Because a NSW probate application is filed online, we can act for you without you ever coming into the city.