• The deceased had assets in Western Australia at the date of death such as bank accounts, shares or real estate solely in his or her name.
• The deceased owned real estate at the date of death as tenants in common with another party.

The Court only has jurisdiction if the deceased left assets in Western Australia. The Court will not issue a grant if there are no assets in WA.

You may not require a grant of probate if:

• The deceased owned real estate at the date of death as a joint tenant with another person such as a spouse or partner. In this case the title can be transferred to the surviving party without a grant of probate being required. Forms are available from Landgate for this purpose.
  
  
• The deceased's bank account was jointly held with another person such as a spouse or partner. Such bank accounts will normally be transferred to the surviving party on production of a death certificate to the bank by the surviving party.
  
  
• The deceased's only other assets were personal possessions.
  
  
• The only property left by the deceased (other than items of personal property) is a car or a motor bike.

We recommend you contact the institutions (such as banks, superannuation funds, and insurers) holding the assets. If there are assets solely in the name of the deceased, the institution will usually tell you whether they require a grant of probate to release those assets or what they will need to release the assets.

The application for probate is made by filing a motion, affidavit and statement of assets and liabilities.  Step 4 has more information about this.

You must collect and have ready for the Court when you file your application:

1. The original will.
2. The original death certificate.
3. An original codicil (if applicable).
4. Original signed consents or renunciations

Leave the will in its original state

Do not staple, pin or paperclip anything to the will when preparing your application.

Do not remove staples or bindings to photocopy the will

You will need to have the following information to complete the motion, affidavit and statement of assets and liabilities:

1. Your full legal name and residential address.

2. The deceased's full legal name and residential address.

3. Any other names for the deceased (for example, if their name is different in the will, or they held assets or incurred liabilities in another name)

4. The deceased's marital status on the date the will was signed (not the date when they died)

5. The full names and current residential addresses of the witnesses to the will and to any codicil.

6. Information about the deceased's assets and liabilities as at the date of death:

   • Street address or Property details of any land owned

   • Share details as described on the share register including the company, number of shares and value per share

   • Bank account details - name of bank, branch, last 6 digits of account number and balance.

   • Make, model and registration number of any vehicles

You may can either engage a lawyer to prepare and file these documents for you, or you can do it yourself.

There is an on-line Probate wizard which you can use if you are making the probate application yourself. Probate Online Application

You should seek legal advice if you find that Probate wizard is not suitable for your application or if you have problems completing the application.