Kiwilaw* - 'yield to principle, not to pressure'

Probate, wills, estate administration, reseal grants, transmission to executors

How to obtain a ‘grant of administration’ – usually ‘probate’ – for $690 (or a bit more, or a bit less)

Want to download or share the above 'Probate in New Zealand' booklet?

Buy it for AUD13.50 (about $15 NZ) – using AUD only because the publishing platform does not offer NZD – click here

No one can uplift your loved one’s savings (if more than $15,000) unless they have the High Court’s written permission to administer your loved one’s estate. It’s like a ‘special permission’ note, but it has a fancy legal name – a ‘grant of administration‘. 

This is also usually needed if your loved one owned land.

This ‘grant of administration’ is called ‘probate’ if there’s a will, or ‘letters of administration’ if there’s no valid will or the person applying isn’t the ‘executor’.

If you are the person who can apply for this (probate or letters of administration), Kiwilaw can help!

Our fee for probate is usually $490 (including GST).  You also pay the High Court fee yourself, which is $200 (but might be waived for financial hardship).  So, it’s usually a total of $690.

Our fees are lower than other law firms because we use tech to save time. It’s all reviewed and supervised by the same lawyer (Cheryl Simes) who researched and wrote the ‘bots’ for this.

‘Letters of administration’ cost a bit more – usually $690  (plus the $200 High Court fee, unless it is waived for financial hardship). Sometimes it’s $590. Sometimes it’s more. It depends on the legal requirements in your case. (We will let you know beforehand.)

 

Clients have told us they found it ’empowering’ to do this themselves instead of being dependent on a solicitor.

 

“I was dreading doing the probate and you really made the whole thing SO EASY… it was such a relief for which I will always be grateful…’“— Auckland client, Dec 2019 (photo – stock image)

Most likely need probate? There's a valid will?

Use our free, no-obligation enquiry form now – let us confirm our $490 fee today!
Remember – just because a lawyer holds the will, it doesn’t mean they hold the purse strings!  Check the fees first!
(No will? Keep reading, and use the form at the bottom of the page.)

Enquire here

You make the application by sending paperwork to the High Court.

You don’t have to turn up to court in person.

Kiwilaw prepares the paperwork for you.

The secret of Kiwilaw’s low fees is the advanced document-automation software that Kiwilaw uses. The software’s ‘interview’ asks you the questions and automatically prepares draft documents. That saves time that would otherwise add to the costs.

Especially for probate, it usually takes Kiwilaw only a few minutes to do the legal work and final editing.  That’s because of the magic software.  (However, we ask for 7 days. We have to balance this with other work, plus personal commitments.)

The other time-saver is the work that you do yourself once Kiwilaw couriers the documents to you.

You follow the detailed instructions provided.

You arrange to swear or affirm the affidavit with a JP, solicitor, or court registrar.

You sign and copy and send everything to the High Court.

In short, you are Kiwilaw’s secretarial assistant. You do not pay for a legal secretary’s time.

The High Court checks the paperwork and processes the application..

If everything is in order, you receive the grant of administration in the mail.  As of May 2022, the High Court processing time was about 8 weeks. Previously it was about 3-4 weeks. By November 2022 the delay had reached 10 weeks, and currently (January 2023) it seems still to be at about that level.

(If – unusually – an issue arises, Kiwilaw will help you fix it, usually for no extra charge.)

Once probate is granted (or letters of administration), it’s your choice:

  • do all the actual estate-administration work yourself
  • use other professionals to do it (such as your loved one’s solicitor, or a different solicitor, or a trustee company or accountant)
  • get some advice and delegate specific tasks, while doing other aspects yourself.

See estate administration.

Act now! Use our no-obligation enquiry form - start below!

We will ask you some questions and invite you to upload a copy of the will (if any).

We will tell you what type of application you need and what it is likely to cost – and why (if more than $490 for probate or $590 for letters of administration). Absolutely no obligation!
Remember – just because a lawyer holds the will, it doesn’t mean they hold the purse strings! Check their fee and compare.
(When we say ‘no obligation’, we mean it. This form is not a ‘lead magnet’ – we will not add your email address to a database for later marketing. We will simply tell you now what is involved if you use our services.)

Initial information - Step 1 of 8

Take your time, there's no rush

Yes, this form is more complicated than a standard online 'contact form'.

That's because we want to provide full legal guidance, which requires careful consideration of numerous different facts.

We start by asking whether there has already been any type of 'grant of administration' in your loved one's estate. The answer is almost always 'no'. (It would be 'yes' if, for instance, probate had been granted in Australia, or letters of administration had been granted 20 years ago and the administrator had died before completing the job.) It's important to get this right - the wrong answer sends everyone off on the wrong track!

We then ask whether there's a will - including anything that is an invalid will.

A valid will includes a duly signed and witnessed will of which you can only find a copy. (There's a separate question about whether the original will is available.)

If there's a valid will, we ask about executors and whether they are available, and other factors that can cause complications.

We check that a grant of administration is definitely needed - we don't want to waste our time or your money.

If there's no valid will, we ask about your loved one's relationships and surviving family members, because that determines who can be the applicant/s. We ask about the value of the estate because that changes the options. We ask about specific procedural steps that may or may not have been taken. We check a couple of other points that can cause complications.

We ask about your loved one's death, to check for factors that could require additional work (and fees).

We ask you to check a final list of issues that may cause complications if they apply in your loved one's case.

At the end of each short page, click 'NEXT' to continue. You can also save (and resume later).

If the answers don't fit your situation, there's a chance to add information at the end.

Finally, before you submit, you can review your answers.

It covers the same material as a phone call, but in less time and with more safeguards.

Let's start....

 

We need your email address so we can reply to you. We don't add you to any mailing lists. We don't collect email addresses for marketing purposes.
For screening and enquiry purposes, this does not have to be their full name. However, if you decide to go ahead, we will then need their full name.
The answer will normally be no. It would be yes if, for example, the person died some time ago, their executor obtained probate, and the executor has since died, without completing the administration of the estate. It will also be yes if a grant of administration has been made overseas.
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