Probate and letters of administration in Western Australia

First documents to gather

• Death certificate.
• Original will and later testamentary documents.
• Executor and beneficiary details.
• Asset and liability list.
• Property title and mortgage information.
• Superannuation and insurance information.
• Relevant family and relationship history.

Probate versus letters of administration

The correct application depends on whether there is a valid will and an available executor.

• Probate - the Supreme Court's recognition of a valid will and the named executor's authority to administer the estate.
• Letters of administration - granted where there is no valid will (or no effective executor), typically to a person entitled under the intestacy rules.
• Letters of administration with the will annexed - where a valid will exists but does not appoint an executor, or the named executor cannot or will not act.

Application-only service versus full estate administration

These are different scopes of work and are quoted differently.

• Application-only - preparing and lodging the court application (motion, affidavit, statement of assets and liabilities and supporting evidence) to obtain the grant.
• Full estate administration - the application plus collecting assets, paying liabilities, managing property, dealing with superannuation and insurers, preparing estate accounts and distributing to beneficiaries.
• Some executors only need the grant itself; others need ongoing help through to final distribution. Tell us which you need so the quote matches the work.

How much does probate cost in WA?

Probate cost has three parts: the Supreme Court filing fee, professional fees and disbursements. The Supreme Court of Western Australia lists a $418.00 fee for filing an application for a grant of probate or administration, effective from 1 July 2026 (verified against the Court's published fee schedule on 25 July 2026 - confirm the current figure before filing, as court fees change from time to time).

• Supreme Court filing fee - a fixed amount for lodging the application (see above).
• Professional fee - advice, preparation, affidavits, filing and responding to routine requisitions.
• Full administration - collecting assets, paying liabilities, managing property, accounts and distributions.
• Disbursements - certified copies, valuations, accountants, advertising or foreign documents.
• Some firms charge a percentage of the estate; Legal Care charges a fixed fee based on the work involved, quoted after an initial consultation.

When complexity changes the scope

The following circumstances commonly increase the work involved and should be raised early so the quote reflects it:

• An informal, damaged or ambiguous will, or a will that is difficult to locate.
• No available or willing executor, or a dispute about who should act.
• Assets held overseas or across multiple jurisdictions.
• A possible dispute, family provision claim or challenge to the will's validity.
• A property that needs to be sold, or an estate with tax, business or trust issues.
• An insolvent estate, or unclear or missing beneficiaries.

Who normally pays probate costs?

Proper estate-administration expenses - including the Supreme Court filing fee, disbursements and reasonable professional fees for the work - are commonly paid or reimbursed from estate assets, not the executor personally, though the executor should keep records and ensure expenses are properly incurred before reimbursement.

Dying without a will: the WA intestacy distribution order

Where a person dies without a valid will, the estate does not pass according to informal family wishes - it is distributed under the Administration Act 1903 (WA), and a suitable person (often a beneficiary) may need to obtain letters of administration before dealing with estate assets. In broad terms, and subject to the detail of the Act and any current statutory legacy figures, which we confirm for the specific estate:

• A surviving spouse or de facto partner (who meets the Act's requirements) generally has priority.
• Where there is a spouse/de facto partner and children, the surviving partner is generally entitled to the deceased's household chattels (the term used in the Act), a statutory legacy (a fixed sum set under the Act and adjusted from time to time - ask us to confirm the current figure), and a share of what remains, with the balance shared among the children.
• Where there is a spouse/de facto partner but no children, the surviving partner's entitlement is generally larger, and extends to the whole estate only where no parent and no sibling (or child of a deceased sibling) also survives. Where siblings or their children survive, the surviving partner generally receives the household chattels, the statutory legacy and one half of the residue only - a spouse does not automatically receive everything.
• Where there are children but no surviving spouse or de facto partner, the estate is generally shared equally among the children (with a deceased child's share generally passing to their own children).
• Where there is no spouse, de facto partner or child, the Act sets out a further order of entitlement - parents and siblings (and a deceased sibling's children), who in some circumstances share the estate between them rather than one class excluding the other, then grandparents, then aunts, uncles and cousins.
• Where no eligible relative can be found under the Act, the estate may ultimately pass to the State.
• Jointly owned assets (such as property held as joint tenants) commonly pass by survivorship outside the intestate estate, and are not distributed under these rules.

Deed of family arrangement

A deed of family arrangement is a legally binding document beneficiaries and the executor or administrator can use to vary how a deceased estate is actually distributed, whether the estate passes under a will or under the intestacy rules. It is sometimes used to resolve a dispute between beneficiaries, to address an outdated or ambiguous will, or to better reflect beneficiaries' actual circumstances. It generally requires the agreement of every affected beneficiary and the legal personal representative, cannot be used to reduce the entitlement of a beneficiary under 18 or a beneficiary without legal capacity without Court approval, and can have transfer duty, capital gains tax and other consequences that need separate advice before it is signed. Whether a deed of family arrangement is appropriate depends on the estate and the beneficiaries; ask us to confirm whether the firm can assist in your circumstances.

Process

1. 1

   Locate and assess the testamentary documents.

2. 2

   Identify the proposed applicant and entitlement.

3. 3

   Gather evidence and estate information.

4. 4

   Prepare and lodge the appropriate court application.

5. 5

   Collect assets, address liabilities and administer the estate.

6. 6

   Distribute when legally and practically appropriate.