{"id":5251,"date":"2015-11-25T15:20:01","date_gmt":"2015-11-25T07:20:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.brooklegal.com.au\/?p=5251"},"modified":"2018-08-14T12:47:48","modified_gmt":"2018-08-14T04:47:48","slug":"a-brief-guide-to-probate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.brooklegal.com.au\/articles\/a-brief-guide-to-probate\/","title":{"rendered":"A brief guide to Probate"},"content":{"rendered":"

What is Probate?<\/b><\/h2>\n

Good question! \u00a0Many people think that once a person dies, the Will<\/a> they drew up magically appears in the hands of the executor. \u00a0The executor then calls everyone detailed in the Will together to hear what they were left and they then all leave with their entitlements.<\/p>\n

Before any assets or possession are distributed, the Will has to go through Probate; the legal process necessary to carry out the instructions specified in the Will of the deceased.<\/p>\n

Probate is made of three general steps:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Registration of the last Will of the deceased to the Supreme Court.<\/li>\n
  2. Authorization of a Grant of Probate.<\/li>\n
  3. Distribution of assets and possessions.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Registration of the last Will<\/b><\/h2>\n

    The executor of the Will is the person responsible for registering the last Will to the Supreme Court of their State (for Perth, it is the Supreme Court of Western Australia).\u00a0 Even though the Will may have been drawn up legally, once the person has died, the Supreme Court must decide that the Will presented by the executor was the last Will and testament of the deceased.<\/p>\n

    Grant of Probate<\/b><\/h2>\n

    Once the Supreme Court is assured of the validity of the Will, it will authorize a Grant of Probate<\/a>; this is a legal document that assigns the executor with the legal powers to carry out the instructions set out in the Will.<\/p>\n

    A Grant of Probate is usually required if the deceased:<\/p>\n