14/01/2023
I’m a Probate Lawyer in Adelaide
Did you know Pablo Picasso, the famous artist died in 1973 and because his Will was so badly written it took six years to settle his estate at a reported cost of US$30M. What little was left was eventually divided up amongst his six heirs.
Executors….what???
If you are named in someone’s Will as an Executor, you may have to apply for Probate. This is a legal document which gives you the authority to distribute the estate of the person who has died according to the deceased’s person’s Will. As the Executor you do not always need Probate to be able to deal with the estate. For example if all the assets of the deceased’s person are also in the name of another person who is still living, then all the deceased’s person’s assets go to that living person. As an Executor, you have a fiduciary duty to the beneficiaries of the estate. That means as the Executor you must take care of the deceased person’s assets as though the estate has been lent to you so that you can distribute the estate to the beneficiaries according to what the Will says.
Probate or Letters of Administration
Probate is often required to deal with the assets in a deceased person’s estate. Retirement facilities such as nursing homes holding the deposit paid at entry into the facility invariably require Probate if the deceased person was a resident of the facility the time of their passing. Most banks and financial institutions usually require Probate if significant funds of the deceased are held by the financial institution. If the deceased person died without a Will (ie., intestate) then one of their relatives may need to apply for Letters of Administration. This person is known as the ‘Administrator’ of the estate. It is not always necessary to apply for Probate or administration when someone passes away but any application for Probate or Letters of Administration can only be made to the Supreme Court of South Australia.
Contesting a Will is a formal objection raised against the validity of a Will.
An invalid Will, will most likely lead to the Will being Contested.
