Being appointed as Executor of someone’s Will means that you are the person with the primary legal responsibility for the carrying out of the deceased’s wishes as noted in that person’s Will. This ‘administration’ of the deceased’s estate involves winding up the deceased’s affairs and distributing the assets to the entitled beneficiaries.
A source of great confusion to a lot of executors is the topic of Probate, what it means and when and why it is needed.
Probate means that the authenticity of the deceased person’s Will has been proven and confirms the Executor’s authority to administer the estate in accordance with the provisions of the Will. The process of obtaining Probate allows others to object to the Will, and if there are any objections, to determine if the Will is valid, because it is always possible that
(1) there was a later Will (which, if valid, would replace the older Will), or
(2) the Will was made at a time the deceased was not mentally competent to make a Will, or
(3) the Will was the result of fraud, mistake or “undue influence” or
(4) the Will was not properly “executed”, or
(5) the so-called Will is actually a forgery, or
(6) for some other reason the Will is not fully valid.
Obtaining a Grant of Probate means that the court has recognised that the Executor has the right to administer the deceased’s estate and also that the Executor has title to the assets of the deceased in his or her capacity as the legal representative of the estate.
Tove Easton
Principal Lawyer
Easton Lawyers
62 Maple Street, Maleny Ph 5494 3511
6b/3 Obi Obi Road, Mapleton Ph 5478 6500
tove@eastonlawyers.com.au
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