When someone dies, the person who will deal with their estate usually needs a grant from the Supreme Court of NSW before banks, share registries and NSW Land Registry Services will deal with them. There are 2 main kinds of grant. Which one you need depends on whether there is a valid will, and that choice drives how long the whole process takes.

We use the Doe family to illustrate. Jane (48) and John (50) are married and live in Western Sydney. They have 2 children together, Mia (19) and Leo (15), and John has a son, Sam (24), from a previous relationship. They own their home as joint tenants and an investment unit in Penrith as tenants in common in equal shares.

What is probate?

A grant of probate is the court confirming that a will is valid and that the executor named in it has authority to deal with the estate. The executor applies, and once the grant issues they can collect the assets, pay the debts and distribute the estate as the will directs.

If John dies with a will naming Jane as executor, Jane applies for probate of John's will.

What are letters of administration?

Letters of administration are granted where there is no valid will. The court appoints an administrator, usually the person with the greatest entitlement under the intestacy rules: the spouse or de facto partner first, then the children. The estate is then distributed under those rules, not according to what the person might have wanted. Our guide on dying without a will in NSW explains who inherits.

If John dies without a will, Jane applies for letters of administration, and she has to account for the entitlements of Mia, Leo and Sam.

Letters of administration with the will annexed

Sometimes there is a valid will but nobody can act as executor. The will may not name one, or the executor may have died, be unwilling or be unable to act. In that case someone else, usually a main beneficiary, applies for letters of administration with the will annexed. The estate still passes under the will. Only the person managing it changes. The registry processes these applications in the same queue as probate, although notices to or consents from the beneficiaries may be needed.

Probate vs letters of administration at a glance

Do you always need a grant?

No. Whether a grant is needed depends on what the deceased owned and how they owned it.

• Joint tenancy property: property held as joint tenants passes automatically to the surviving owner. The survivor lodges a notice of death with NSW Land Registry Services and no grant is needed for that property. See joint tenants vs tenants in common.
• Super with a binding nomination: super is paid by the fund trustee, not under the will. A valid binding nomination to a dependant usually means no grant is needed for the super.
• Small bank balances: each bank and share registry sets its own limit for releasing funds without a grant, and the limits differ between institutions. Some will release smaller balances on a death certificate, a copy of the will and their own indemnity form. Ask each institution what it requires.
• Land in a sole name or as tenants in common: a grant is almost always needed before the property can be transferred or sold.

When John dies, the home (joint tenants) passes to Jane, and his super is paid under his binding nomination, without a grant. His half of the Penrith unit and his shares in his company do need one.

What are the steps to get a grant in NSW?

1. Find the original will: the court needs the original, not a copy. Check the deceased's papers, their solicitor and any safe custody arrangement.
2. Get the death certificate: it is issued by NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, usually arranged through the funeral director.
3. Secure the assets and list them: notify banks, super funds, Centrelink and the ATO, and get date-of-death balances and values. The application includes an inventory of assets and liabilities.
4. Publish the notice of intended application: a notice of the intended application is published on the NSW Online Registry website. It tells creditors and anyone who may want to object that an application is being made.
5. Allow for the 14 day notice period: at least 14 days' notice of the intended application must be given, and the registry does not deal with the application until the notice period has ended.
6. File the application online: the summons, the executor's or administrator's affidavit, the inventory, the original will (if there is one) and the death certificate. Applications are usually filed online through the NSW Online Registry, and the original will (and any codicils) is sent to the registry by post or delivered in person.
7. Answer any requisitions: if the registry is not satisfied with something, it issues requisitions (written questions or requests for further evidence). Each round adds time.
8. Receive the grant: once the registrar is satisfied, the grant issues and the executor or administrator can deal with the assets.

How long does probate take in NSW?

In our experience, a straightforward probate application is granted in about 4 weeks from filing, or 6 to 8 weeks in busy periods. In a November 2025 statement, the Supreme Court said that probate should be granted in less than 3 weeks from filing where no requisitions are needed.

The registry also publishes a weekly processing table on its wills and probate page. As at early October 2026 it was assessing probate applications filed about 2 to 3 weeks earlier, and noted delays due to the high number of applications. Requisitions add weeks on top of that, which is why getting the application right the first time matters.

The grant is only one stage. A straightforward estate usually takes around 6 to 12 months from death to final distribution, because of the time needed to collect assets, sell or transfer property, lodge tax returns and wait out the period for family provision claims.

Why do letters of administration take so much longer?

With a will, the court mainly needs to be satisfied that the will is valid and the executor is who they say they are. Without a will, the court must first work out who is entitled to the estate, and that is a question of evidence.

Proving a negative is hard. Take the only child of a parent who has died without a will. Before granting letters of administration, the court will want to be satisfied that the parent had no spouse or de facto partner and no other children. That usually means affidavits from family members and others who knew the person well, and every gap in the history can lead to a requisition.

Applications by someone who is not next of kin are treated as complex applications, and in some cases the court can require an administration bond backed by sureties, for example where a beneficiary is under 18. The registry's own processing table shows the difference: as at early October 2026 it was assessing letters of administration filed in July 2026, around 3 months behind, against 2 to 3 weeks for probate. Taken together, letters of administration can take a year or more.

What does an executor or administrator have to do?

The grant gives authority, but it also brings legal duties. The executor or administrator must act in the interests of the estate and its beneficiaries, not their own.

• Collect and protect the assets: insure property, close or freeze accounts and keep estate money separate from their own.
• Pay debts and expenses: funeral costs, debts, tax and the reasonable costs of administering the estate, which come out of the estate.
• Deal with tax: lodge the deceased's final tax return up to the date of death and any estate returns. See tax on inheritance.
• Wait before distributing: executors usually publish a notice of intended distribution and wait until at least 6 months after death before distributing, which helps protect them from personal liability if there is a later family provision claim.
• Distribute and account: distribute as the will or the intestacy rules direct, transfer assets into any testamentary trusts, and keep full estate accounts.

An executor can sign a contract to sell estate property before the grant, but generally cannot settle until the grant has issued and the property can be transferred, which involves a transmission application with NSW Land Registry Services. The court will not speed up an application just because a sale has been agreed, so a short settlement is risky.

Transferring property after the grant

Once the grant issues, real estate in the deceased's sole name, or their share as a tenant in common, is moved into the executor's or administrator's name by registering a transmission application with NSW Land Registry Services. From there it can be sold or transferred to the beneficiaries. Our page on deceased estate property transfers explains how this works.

What does it cost to file?

The Supreme Court filing fee depends on the gross value of the deceased's NSW assets, and is the same for probate, letters of administration and reseals. The fees below are from the court's fee schedule from 1 July 2026, as at October 2026.

Publishing the online notice costs $59. For example, if John's NSW estate had a gross value of $1.2m, the filing fee would be $2,663. Court fees usually change each 1 July, so check the current schedule before filing.

Planning ahead makes this easier

A valid will with a named executor and a substitute is the simplest way to keep your family on the faster probate path. Checking how your property is held, and whether your super nominations are current, also reduces what needs a grant at all. Our estate planning page covers wills, powers of attorney and our fees.

If you need help with a probate or letters of administration application, or want to put a will in place, contact us to arrange a time to talk.

This article is general information only, current as at October 2026, and is not legal, financial or tax advice. Estate planning, tax and Centrelink rules change over time and their effect depends on your circumstances. You should obtain advice specific to your situation before acting.