Probate what is it,when is it required?
‘Probate’ is a term you may have heard before in relation to a Deceased person’s Will or Estate.
When a person dies and they meet a certain criterion of assets, their Will has to be sent to the High Court with an Application for a Grant of Probate.
The word Probate means ‘to prove’ and essentially this is what happens - the Will is validated by the High Court as the Deceased’s last Will and Testament and the person(s) named as Executor(s) in the Will are officially authorised to administer the Estate.
The documents sent to the Court include an Application for Grant of Probate, an Affidavit (written evidence) signed by the Executor(s), the original Will and a draft Grant ready to be sealed by the Court. There is a filing fee of $200.00 which is payable by the Estate.
The High Court seals the written Grant, which attaches a copy of the Deceased’s Will, and sends it back to us. We are then able to proceed with uplifting assets. The High Court keeps the original Will and the Probate then becomes an official public record.
The criteria is broad:
If a person has NZD$15,000.00 of assets in their sole name in any one financial institution, i.e. Bank, Kiwisaver provider, insurance provider etc then Probate is required to uplift the funds.
If a person owns property in their sole name, then Probate is required in order for ownership of the property to be changed.
Note 1: If there are overseas assets, sometimes Probate must be resealed in the particular overseas country before overseas assets can be uplifted.
Note 2: Probate only applies where a Deceased person has a Will. If a person dies without a Will, a different process is followed.
If you have any questions about the process for obtaining Probate, please contact our Estates team for advice.