Probate represents a large part of what we do at SA Estate and Succession Lawyers. We assist individual executors, other law firms and even Trustee Companies to obtain Probate.
Probate is the legal process of proving that a deceased person’s will is valid and authentic. Probate allows the executor to administer the estate of the deceased person according to the will.
Probate is necessary when a person dies with certain types of assets that are solely in their name, such as bank accounts over the individual bank’s probate release threshold (sometimes $50,000.00 and sometimes $100,000.00 or lower levels for some credit unions), shares, property or refundable accommodation bonds from aged care facilities.
Often Probate looks like an easy thing to do – after all, it is something that can be completed in part on line. But Probate is always much trickier than people expect. Probate can be a complex and time-consuming process that requires a lot of paperwork, legal knowledge and attention to detail. It is advisable to use a lawyer to help you get probate rather than doing it yourself. A lawyer can help you prepare and lodge the probate application with the SA Supreme Court, which is the authority that grants probate in South Australia. A lawyer can also help you deal with any issues or complications that may arise during the probate process, such as locating and valuing assets, paying debts and taxes, resolving claims or disputes, and distributing the assets to the beneficiaries. If you are concerned about the cost of Probate, the solution that works best for the clients of SA Estate and Succession Lawyers is usually a ‘Probate only’ terms of engagement whereby we do the things that you really ought use a lawyer for and give you the tools to complete all of the work that you can do yourself. This often saves substantial cost when compared to most law firm service offerings whereby the law firm will, after Probate issues, hold the estate monies int heir trust account and charge an hourly rate to administer the estate – generally by doing things you can do yourself.
At SA Estate and Succession lawyers we will never hold any monies of yours or the estate. At SA Estate and Succession Lawyers we operate on a fixed price guaranteed outcome basis in all Probate matters. We will set our fixed fee up front with you at the commencement of the matter so you and we have total transparency as to your costs in all things. We will even tell you what you can easily do yourself and give you everything you need to do it while still being available to hold your hand through the estate administration process.