Help with administering deceased estates

At Queensland Public Trustee, our team of friendly staff have the expertise to help and support you with guidance and services to administer a deceased estate. We know that this can be a stressful and difficult time, so our aim is to provide clear information and services to help you through the process.

The ways we can help you:

Deceased estate administration services

We provide services and act as executor in cases where we have been nominated in a Will as the executor and in other cases where an executor may hand over all or some of the executor tasks to us.

Our team of staff are experienced in the administration of deceased estates, with access to specialist units including legal, taxation and property. We provide independent and impartial support and the information that is right for you. We are skilled at administering estates while providing support to people experiencing loss and grief.

We may also handle estates if the:

  • executor chooses not to do it or does not act within three months
  • executor is not a resident in Queensland
  • executor has died since the Will was made
  • person who died did not have a Will and Queensland Public Trustee is requested to do so by the next of kin.

Fees and charges for deceased estates services

Queensland Public Trustee charges for services depending on the individual circumstances and the tasks involved.

Find out more about our fees and charges.

For full estate management, you can use our fee estimator tool.

Handing over executor duties

If you’re concerned about the responsibility and liability of the executor role, or you just don’t have the experience or time to manage it, you can approach a solicitor or Queensland Public Trustee about what options are available. You can find out more about what is involved in the process of administering a deceased estate to decide if it’s something you can manage or need support with.

Find out more about the steps involved in administering a deceased estate.

What you need to do to hand over executor duties to us depends on whether you have already been granted probate (the authority from the Supreme Court to administer the estate).

If you don’t have probate, you’ll need to contact your nearest Queensland Public Trustee office and provide a copy of the Will and details of any assets and liabilities. You will also need any other executors and all the beneficiaries to agree to the Queensland Public Trustee administering the estate.

If you do have probate, you will need to provide all the above, plus explain what you have already done in the role. Queensland Public Trustee will determine if we can take on duties based on this information. We may have to decline to take on executor duties if any of the below apply:

  • the deceased estate is insolvent
  • there are no assets
  • there is significant legal conflict
  • most assets are overseas.

Where we can support, we can either take over full administration, or we can help with certain tasks within the process as detailed in the section below.

Find out the estimated costs involved for us to administer an estate using our fee calculator.

Support to administer a deceased estate

We can also help with individual tasks in the process, for example, applying for probate, completing documentation to enable the transfer of property or attending to the taxation for deceased estates.

For further information on how we can assist, or the costs involved with these individual tasks, please contact us on 1300 360 044.

They were timely. They were understanding. They contacted us all the time. They would explain things so that the layperson would understand. We all had different opinions of things as a family, and they explained it, so we all understood.

Specialist units of Queensland Public Trustee

Queensland Public Trustee has several specialist units which support us in administering deceased estates, including our taxation, legal and property units.

Taxation in deceased estates will generally require the services of a professional. Queensland Public Trustee is a registered tax agent with a team that provides professional taxation services and information to our customers.

Find out further information on tax related matters in a deceased estate.

We also have an intestacy entitlement unit which specialises in researching family trees and tracing beneficiaries in Australia and overseas.

Real-world example: Finding a beneficiary when you die without a Will can involve some detective work

  • Simon emigrated from England to Australia in the 1940s. He never married or had children and died without a Will. Simon led a reclusive life, and his one friend knew little about him, except that he had a sister in England. When QPT was securing his belongings, we found his birth certificate and two photographs. One photo was of workmen and a truck with a company name on it, and the other was of his father in a police uniform. We contacted the local police, parish priest and the trucking company. We received three letters back and the priest gave the married name and address of Simon’s sister Jane who lived in the next village. Jane had lost touch with her brother many years ago and didn’t know he’d died until she heard from the police and the priest. It was extremely fortunate that Simon was from a small village where everyone knew everyone else. Would your family be easy to locate if you died without a Will?

Book an appointment to make your Will

If you are thinking about making a Will, you can use our free Will-making service by booking an appointment with one of our team. Find out more about how this works and where our teams are based across Queensland.

Book an appointment to discuss my Will

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

  • Find out about our fees and charges or use our fee estimator tool for a guide on the costs of full estate administration.

  • The process of administering a deceased estate usually takes 6–12 months, but it can take longer. Queensland Public Trustee will wait six months in most circumstances to see if anyone makes a claim against the estate. Other factors may contribute to extended timeframes with the administration such as legal actions, delays with the sale of assets or differing views among the beneficiaries.

  • Queensland Public Trustee can take over the full administration of the estate or help with specific tasks in the administration. Find out about handing over executor duties or support with specific tasks.

  • Throughout the administration, beneficiaries will receive regular updates about what we have done and what is left to do. Beneficiaries will be contacted to find out what their views are about certain actions that we need to take. For example, we might ask the beneficiaries whether they want an asset sold or transferred to them.

  • Where Queensland Public Trustee is appointed as an administrator or financial attorney for a person with impaired decision-making capacity, Queensland Public Trustee is required to consider whether a claim should be made against the estate. This consideration process is undertaken regardless of whether Queensland Public Trustee prepared the Will or is acting as executor of the estate.

    If the situation arises where Queensland Public Trustee is acting in multiple capacities, Queensland Public Trustee has a range of policies in place to support this decision-making process and ensure all interests are considered independently of each other.

    Further details on these procedures can be found:

  • We have a team that specialises in developing family trees and tracing next of kin throughout Australia and overseas.

Last updated: 21 November 2024