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

Probate applications

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High Court filing fee for probate jumps from $200 to $260 – on 1 July 2024 – pay now and avoid the increase!

After 30 June, the court fee to apply for probate or letters of administration will be $260. However (as clarified on 13 June), if you pay online before 1 July, you don’t have to pay any extra if your documents aren’t sent to the court until later.

Currently it’s $200.

This change has just been announced.

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ChatGPT – don’t trust it (yet) – its legal analysis is wrong

Curiosity – and opportunity – combined. I decided to try ChatGPT.

I asked, ‘Explain who will inherit in New Zealand if someone dies without a will, with a surviving spouse, and with 3 children, and if they leave more than $500,000 in property.’

See below – screenshot of the answers.

Spoiler alert – Kiwilaw does it better, using human brains.

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If there’s no will, no lawyer ‘acts for the estate’ until letters of administration are granted

Banks and law firms create unnecessary issues and confusion by insisting that a lawyer can act for an intestate estate (where there is no will) before letters of administration are granted. This is wrong in law and wrong in practice.

[Read more…] about If there’s no will, no lawyer ‘acts for the estate’ until letters of administration are granted

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How can I get a copy of someone’s will after they have died?

Often Kiwilaw is asked how someone can get a copy of their parent’s will, or maybe their grandparent’s, because the enquirer believes they should have inherited something.

There is no requirement in New Zealand for wills to be registered or to be publicly searchable, except through the probate process.

So it can be a bit challenging.

[Read more…] about How can I get a copy of someone’s will after they have died?

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How to upload your probate application – and pay by credit card

In New Zealand, the Ministry of Justice’s ‘File and Pay’ service now allows applicants to:

  • file completed applications for probate or letters of administration online – by uploading scanned application documents instead of sending them by mail or courier – and/or
  • pay the $200 court filing fee by credit or debit card (instead of by cheque or internet banking).
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Probate – do it yourself? or do you use the solicitor who holds the will?

Registrar John Earles runs the Probate Unit of the High Court. He is not keen on people taking a DIY approach to probate applications.  It’s too easy for them to get things wrong, and they expect advice from his staff which his staff are not allowed to provide.

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