A filing fee of $1,114.00 must accompany an application for a grant of representation (either Probate or Letters of Administration) in the Supreme Court of South Australia. Each State and Territory will charge differently and for jurisdictions other then SA you should consult the relevant Probate section Supreme Court's website.

In SA, if the deceased died prior to 26 June 2014 an administration bond may also be required.

To my knowledge the Probate Registry of SA accepts cash, cheque, money order, credit card and EFTPOS. On the advice of the Registrar, cheques and money orders may be made out to “Probate Registry”. However, for the sake of keeping a clear record, I recommend that you make cheques and money orders out in favour of the “Supreme Court of South Australia Probate Registry” or in the very least “South Australia Probate Registry”. A receipt will be generated for the estate file.

Fees and overall costs will also depend on whether you are obtaining a grant in common form (which most the most common type and is an order made ‘on the papers’), or in solemn form (where there are contentious issues and a hearing is required).

Depending on the complexity of the estate, it is certainly possible and preferable to apply for a grant of Probate yourself without engaging a lawyer. The court forms and additional information that you will need to complete this process can be obtained via the Supreme Court of South Australia’s website (http://www.courts.sa.gov.au/RepresentYourself/ProbateRegistry/Pages/default.aspx). Other online resources, such as the Legal Services Commission of South Australia (http://www.lawhandbook.sa.gov.au/ch36.php) may also be of assistance. The Probate Registry cannot advise you on how to fill out court forms in a substantive sense, however you can ask them procedural questions. Incomplete or inadequate forms will require amendment and if this is the case, the Registrar will return all documents to the nominated recipient, together with a list of requisitions (questions) to be addressed before re-filing. The Court will not charge additional fees if your application is requisitioned. If time is a critical factor in your application it may be prudent to obtain a lawyer to assist you, as grants may take several weeks or even months to issue.

If a lawyer is engaged to assist you in obtaining a grant of Probate or Letters of Administration, their fees will depend on whether they charge you on an hourly basis (time billing) or as a fixed fee. Most lawyers will reveal how much they will charge you over the phone with a general condition that “this may increase if circumstances change”. I recommend that you seek out a lawyer who offers fixed fee services to avoid any surprises.

Please keep in mind that it is not always necessary to obtain a grant in order to administer an estate. This will depend on the nature and extent of the estate assets. For instance, if the estate includes real property (real estate) a grant will always be required in order to transfer this property into the name of a beneficiary or into the name of the legal personal representative (e.g. executor) for sale. If the estate is of low value (in the order of $20,000 or less), a grant is unlikely to be required.

I hope that this response is beneficial.

Kind regards,

Christie