Deceased Estate Administration: Steps and Records

What a Deceased Estate Includes

The estate inventory records the deceased’s assets and interests alongside the liabilities payable from them. Start with ownership evidence, because an asset connected with the deceased does not necessarily belong in the estate inventory.

A solely owned bank account or property usually needs estate administration. Land held as joint tenants ordinarily passes by survivorship. A tenant-in-common interest is different: the deceased’s undivided share can pass under their will or intestacy law. Landgate’s tenancy guidance explains this distinction for Western Australian land.

For example, a one-half tenancy-in-common interest belongs in the ownership inquiry. Recording the whole property as an estate asset would overstate the deceased’s interest. A joint-tenancy title instead calls for a survivorship check, including whether the tenancy remained intact at death.

Superannuation and insurance require their own payment-entitlement checks. Benefits payable directly to another person can sit outside the estate. Record the fund or insurer’s decision before treating a payment as an estate receipt.

The estate’s administration trust also differs from a testamentary trust. The administration trust deals with the deceased’s affairs while the estate is settled. A testamentary trust is created under the will and can continue after administration finishes. Keep its accounts and tax identity separate from the estate administration records.

Confirm Authority and Build the File

Confirm who can act and what authority each asset holder requires before collecting estate assets. Locate the latest will and codicils, obtain the death certificate and record the proposed representative’s identity and contact details.

An executor administers under the will. Where there is no valid will, an administrator ordinarily obtains letters of administration and applies the jurisdiction’s intestacy rules. Those rules set statutory shares for eligible relatives. Letters of administration with the will annexed can apply where a will exists but no executor can act.

The WA Public Trustee’s explanation of grants distinguishes these roles. Whether a grant is needed also depends on the assets and each holder’s requirements. Keep the application work with the probate process or letters of administration file.

Use this sequence to organise the administration:

1. Establish the will position and responsible representative. Record the grant decision and any limits on authority.
2. Build the opening inventory. Confirm balances and ownership at death, then identify missing records.
3. Collect or realise assets. Record estate receipts and keep the source evidence for each movement.
4. Resolve liabilities and tax. Assess claims, applicable notice periods and the reserve needed before any distribution.
5. Complete authorised sales or transfers. Match each transaction to its settlement or registration evidence.
6. Reconcile final accounts and distribute the available balance. Obtain beneficiary receipts and account for any retained assets.

After a grant arrives, begin by matching its named representatives to the opening inventory. Check that every account or asset being collected falls within their authority.

File component	Records to obtain	Result to record
Authority	Will, codicils, death certificate and grant where required	Who acts and under which authority
Cash and investments	Account identifiers, balances at death, statements and holding notices	Opening balances and missing periods
Property and other assets	Title searches, ownership shares, registration details and valuation evidence	The estate’s actual interest in each asset
Liabilities	Loan statements, invoices, creditor correspondence and guarantees	Amount, supporting record and unresolved status
Tax	Earlier returns, assessments, income statements and adviser details	Outstanding years and the pre-death/post-death division

Assign the representative’s wider obligations to the executor duties file. This workflow needs a named person responsible for each record, without duplicating that duties analysis.

Collect and Reconcile the Assets

Collect estate assets into an identifiable administration record and reconcile each receipt to the source account. Keep estate money separate from personal money. The deceased estate bank account guide covers account access and obtaining the underlying statements.

Ask each asset holder for the balance at death and the subsequent transaction record needed to explain the amount released. A closing payout can differ from the opening balance because of interest, fees or later payments. Record those movements separately so the inventory and receipt reconcile.

For every receipt, retain the payer, amount, receiving account and supporting document. Match transfers between estate accounts on both sides. Counting both legs as new receipts would inflate the estate’s cash inflow.

An unexplained pre-death transfer becomes an inquiry, not an automatic asset recovery. In a hypothetical file, a statement shows a $12,000 debit to an unfamiliar recipient. Record the PDF filename and page, transaction reference, account and amount. Request the receiving-account evidence and any loan, gift or purchase records.

If the records establish a loan still owed to the deceased, record the supported receivable and its recovery status. If the payment bought goods, follow the ownership documents. Keep an unresolved payment on the inquiry schedule until the evidence supports its treatment.

For a deceased sole trader, trace business bank accounts alongside personal accounts. Reconcile customer debts and unpaid suppliers to the business records. Distinguish assets owned personally from company assets, property held as trustee and jointly owned interests. A bank account used for business does not settle the ownership question.

The Australian Business Register’s deceased-estate guidance explains the separate registration requirements where the representative continues an enterprise. The deceased sole trader’s existing Australian business number cannot simply continue in the estate’s name.

Obtain valuation evidence for the administration decision being made. A sale needs support for the price obtained. An in-specie transfer needs a recorded value and allocation basis. These later values can differ from the date-of-death inventory or valuation basis required for the probate application. Preserve both, with their purpose and valuation date.

Where statement review consumes the file team’s time, FinTrace handles the analysis for you. The service converts supplied PDFs into a searchable Excel ledger and flags suspicious transactions with source filename and page references. That saves hours of manual statement review while keeping the evidence beside each finding.

FinTrace also helps forensic accountants follow transfers across the supplied accounts, freeing their time for interpretation. You engage the service per matter, at a fraction of the cost of performing the same statement-analysis work manually. Request a matter assessment with the approximate pages, accounts and timeframe. Statements follow assessment and quote acceptance.

Transfer Property, Shares and Vehicles

Choose the dealing that matches the asset’s destination. Transmission records the representative’s authority over the deceased’s interest. A beneficiary transfer gives effect to an entitlement. A sale converts an estate asset into proceeds payable to the estate.

“Transmission application probate” commonly describes the land-registry step supported by a grant. Keep the title search and registry requirements with the grant. The grant alone does not update the land register.

“Probate sale” and “house in probate” are informal descriptions of estate property or a sale during administration. They do not create a separate legal title status. Identify the registered owner, the seller’s authority and the registration steps needed for settlement.

Asset and jurisdiction	Official route	Records and distinction to confirm
NSW land	NSW Land Registry Services transmission dealings, including the executor/administrator route	Current title, ownership share, grant and identity evidence. The Registrar General’s schedule distinguishes representative and beneficiary transmissions.
Queensland land	Titles Queensland’s transmission guidance	Title, applicant’s capacity and evidence supporting the relevant transmission application. Select the route for the representative or entitled person.
Western Australian land	Landgate transmission applications	Grant, matching title details and required identity/supporting evidence. A surviving joint tenant uses the survivorship route instead.
Shares	The relevant share registry’s deceased-estate process, including Computershare’s estate service	Holding statement, holder reference, registration names, death evidence and authority documents. Distinguish transmission to the representative from transfer to a beneficiary or buyer.
Victorian vehicles	VicRoads’ deceased-estate process	Registration details, death evidence, representative’s identity and entitlement documents. Registration records the operator and must be considered separately from ownership.

Keep confirmation of registration or completed transfer with the inventory entry. For a sale, reconcile the gross proceeds through settlement deductions to the net estate receipt. A single form or grant does not satisfy every registry’s requirements.

Tax Returns and Estate Income

Separate the deceased’s final individual return from the estate’s trust returns. The first concerns the person’s affairs up to death. The estate’s returns concern income earned during administration after death.

Give the responsible tax adviser the pre-death income statements and bank interest, prior returns, assessments and any outstanding correspondence. For the estate, provide post-death interest, rent, dividends, expenses, asset disposals and account balances. Keep income distributions identifiable because present entitlement affects who pays the tax.

Use the form and instructions for the income year being reported. For 2026, the ATO publishes the individual return and instructions and the Trust tax return. The trust form directs preparers to the trust instructions. The ATO’s deceased-estate guidance also directs trustees to Appendix 8 for the estate-specific instructions.

A return is not automatically required for every estate in every year. In the first three income years, the ATO lists these triggers for an estate trust return:

• Net income exceeds the individual tax-free threshold.
• A beneficiary is presently entitled to estate income at the income year’s end.
• A beneficiary is not an Australian tax resident.

For the fourth and later income years, a return is required if the estate earns any income, including capital gains. A voluntary return can also claim franking credits. Use the ATO’s lodgement guidance to document the decision.

The commonly searched deceased estate three-year rule concerns income-tax treatment. The ATO permits an application with the first trust return for individual-rate treatment and the full tax-free threshold. Its guidance applies that concession for the first three income years unless the estate’s circumstances materially change. Tax offsets do not apply and no Medicare levy is payable.

An income year is a tax reporting period. The first estate income year starts the day after death and ends at the next financial-year end, so it can be short. Three income years do not mean three full years after death. The concession cannot be extended beyond those income years.

Later estate rates differ, and the adviser must select the scale for the relevant year and present-entitlement position. The ATO’s estate tax guidance explains the concession and later treatment. It is not a deadline requiring every estate to finish within three years.

To discuss the deceased’s tax affairs, use the ATO’s notification and contact route. Its individual enquiries number is 13 28 61. Have the representative’s authority, identity details and relevant tax file numbers ready. Beneficiary-level asset tax questions belong with the inheritance tax guide.

Check Liabilities Before Distribution

Pay beneficiaries only after the representative has assessed liabilities, claims and the reserve needed to complete administration. Match each creditor demand to its invoice, contract or statement. Retain the tax calculation and distinguish amounts paid from estimates still awaiting assessment.

If available assets may not meet liabilities, stop beneficiary distributions and obtain insolvency advice before selecting which debts to pay. The Australian Financial Security Authority explains insolvent deceased estates, including administration under Part XI of the Bankruptcy Act 1966. State estate-administration rules can also apply.

A grant does not start one national distribution countdown. The following ordinary timing checks use different starting events. They must be considered alongside creditor notices and known claims.

Jurisdiction	Timing and notice checks	Effect on the distribution decision
NSW	The NSW executor guide identifies six months after death and at least 30 days after the notice of intended distribution.	Confirm the grant where required, account for debts and consider every notified claim. Expiry of those periods does not resolve a known dispute.
Victoria	Family provision applications ordinarily have a six-month period after the grant under section 99 of the Administration and Probate Act 1958. Creditor notices under section 33 of the Trustee Act 1958 allow at least two months from the last notice.	Assess the section 99A protection conditions and any notified intention to claim. Keep unresolved liabilities and tax covered before payment.
Queensland	Section 44 of the Succession Act 1981 protects qualifying distributions after six months from death without notice of a family provision application or intended application. If notice is received, its further protection uses nine months, subject to notice of commenced proceedings or service.	Check the actual notice history and any proceedings. Section 135 of the Trusts Act 2025 sets a notice closing day at least two months after publication. Treat that creditor/beneficiary notice process separately from family provision timing.

In NSW, the ordinary family provision application period is 12 months from death. That differs from the six-month distribution checkpoint. An extension can also be sought, so assess the notice history and protection conditions before paying beneficiaries.

For an interim distribution, record why the retained assets cover outstanding liabilities and the remaining administration. Separate capital from estate income in the schedule for the tax adviser. The final distribution follows when the remaining obligations and entitlements are settled.

A late claim, uncertain debt or proposed payment before an ordinary protection period needs legal advice about that estate. Keep the distribution on hold while the representative resolves the affected amount. Calendar expiry alone does not establish that a reserve can be released.

Finalise the Estate and Verify the Record

Finalise the estate by reconciling the accounts, completing the authorised distributions and documenting the remaining balance. Every receipt, payment and transfer must have a source record. The final accounts must reconcile to the assets still held.

Consider this fictional estate after the applicable notices and claim checks. The beneficiaries are equally entitled to the residue, and the representative proposes an interim cash distribution.

Estate cash schedule	Amount	Supporting record
Opening estate cash collected	$300,000	Bank release and opening ledger
Later sale receipts and interest	$105,000	Settlement statement and bank entries
Debts and administration costs already paid	-$25,000	Paid invoices and ledger
Cash held before distribution	$380,000	Reconciled bank balance
Retained tax provision	-$15,000	Adviser’s calculation
Reserve for an unresolved liability	-$10,000	Claim file and representative’s reserve decision
Interim amount available	$355,000	Approved distribution schedule
Beneficiary A payment	-$177,500	Verified payment instruction and bank entry
Beneficiary B payment	-$177,500	Verified payment instruction and bank entry
Cash remaining in the estate	$25,000	Closing bank balance matching both reserves

The $380,000 bank balance does not make $380,000 distributable. After the interim payments, the ledger must still show the $15,000 tax provision and unresolved $10,000 reserve. Resolve the claim and actual tax before preparing the final balance distribution. Obtain each beneficiary’s receipt and reconcile it to the payment record.

If a legally approved prior-gift adjustment affects entitlement, carry that approved amount into the distribution schedule before allocating payments. Keep the detailed gift evidence and calculation in the separate entitlement file.

For post-grant administration in NSW, use the executor guide’s collection and distribution steps. The Queensland Public Trustee workflow proceeds through assets, liabilities and tax to a final statement for beneficiaries. In Victoria, the legislation linked above governs the notice and distribution checks alongside the estate accounts.

For Western Australia, the Public Trustee administration guide places asset collection, creditor payments and tax before distribution. The Administration Act 1903 remains the legislative route.

For a WA post-grant distribution, match the grant and will to each beneficiary’s entitlement. Resolve liabilities and notified claims, retain supported tax and claim reserves, and reconcile completed transfers before releasing the available balance. Record completed Landgate dealings with the financial accounts and obtain beneficiary receipts. The grant alone does not establish the amount available for payment.

In South Australia, use the Supreme Court probate guidance and the Public Trustee administration process. Apply the Succession Act 2023 to the estate’s circumstances. The earlier Administration and Probate Act 1919 has been repealed. For relevant land, also record the RevenueSA notification requirement, including its one-month period after the grant.

Before closing the file, resolve any missing statement period with the account holder’s transaction record. An unresolved title needs the current register and confirmation of the required dealing. An unexpected tax notice needs comparison with the lodged return and retained provision before further payments.

Keep a closing asset list even where the cash balance is zero. A property or shareholding still awaiting transfer remains an administration item. Where formal court approval of accounts is needed, use the separate passing of accounts process. Close the distribution record only when its payments and remaining assets match the reconciled accounts.