Probate Lawyers in Box Hill, Melbourne
We act for executors and families from our Box Hill office, preparing applications for probate and letters of administration and guiding or taking on the administration that follows. A straightforward probate application is a fixed fee of $1,650, and letters of administration where there is no will $1,980, each including GST.
Spencer Alexander Lawyers is a Box Hill, Melbourne law firm acting for executors, administrators and families in obtaining probate and letters of administration and in administering estates, with the principal overseeing every matter.
- Probate is the Supreme Court of Victoria's confirmation that a will is valid and the executor may act. Where there is no will, or no executor able to act, the grant is letters of administration.
- Land in the deceased's sole name vests in the executor or administrator on the grant, and a sale of it generally cannot be completed without one.
- An executor is not bound to distribute before a year from the death, and debts and the costs of administration come ahead of the beneficiaries.
Who we act for
For executors and families dealing with an estate.
Most people who call us have just been named as executor, or are the closest family of someone who died without a will, and want to know whether the estate needs a grant and what to do first. We also act where executors disagree or cannot act, and for people interstate or overseas when the person who died left property in Victoria.
How we help
What we do for executors and administrators.
Whether a grant is needed
We look at what the person owned and how it was held, and tell you whether a grant is needed and who should apply. The law lets a bank or other holder release money or other personal property up to a set threshold without one, if it chooses to.
Probate applications
We post the notice of intention, prepare the executor's affidavit and inventory, file the application, answer the Probate Office's routine questions and send you the grant. If the original will is missing, damaged or not properly signed, we first tell you what the court will need.
Letters of administration
Without a will, the applicant must set out their right to administer, the surviving relatives and their search for a will. We work out who can apply and who inherits, and obtain any consents. Where a will has no executor able to act, we apply for letters of administration with the will annexed.
Administering the estate
After the grant we guide you or take on the whole administration: collecting assets, paying debts, publishing the statutory notice inviting claims, keeping accounts and distributing when it is safe. An estate that cannot pay its debts in full follows the bankruptcy rules, and we tell you early if yours might.
Time limits
The dates an executor works to.
There is usually no pressing deadline to apply. Once six weeks have passed since the death, though, anyone interested in the estate, or a creditor, can ask the court to call on an executor who has neither applied nor renounced to do one or the other, or to explain why not. An application first made more than three years after the death must explain the delay by affidavit.
The six months after the grant matter most. A family provision claim must generally be made within them. The court can extend that time, but only on an application made before final distribution, and an extension cannot disturb anything distributed before it was sought. An executor who distributes properly after the six months, with no notice of a claim, is generally protected. Our guide to contesting a will in Victoria explains who can claim.
Your first call
What to bring to the first call.
Whatever you have to hand: the will or a copy, the death certificate if it has arrived, any letters from banks or super funds, and your questions. Keep the original will safe, exactly as you found it. If you have little on paper, that is fine too. The first conversation is about understanding the estate, not testing your paperwork.
Our office is at Suite 10, 1 Main Street, Box Hill, a short walk from Box Hill station, with parking at Box Hill Central.
What to expect
How a grant is made.
Fixed fees for a straightforward grant.
A probate application is a fixed fee of $1,650 and letters of administration $1,980, each including GST, for a straightforward estate as our fees page defines it. For probate that means a properly signed original will, executors able to apply, assets in Victoria and no caveat or challenge, and for administration an estate with no will, an applicant with the first right to apply and no dispute about who inherits. Each covers the application, the notice of intention and its fee, answering the Probate Office's routine questions and the grant. The court's filing fee is separate. Estate administration after the grant, disputes, litigation and anything else not on the fees page are estimated in writing before substantive work begins.
Good to know
Common questions about probate.
Do I need probate if everything was jointly owned?
Often not. Property owned as joint tenants passes to the surviving owner, generally without a grant. A share owned as tenants in common is different: it forms part of the estate, and the executor generally needs a grant to deal with it.
What if there is no will?
The grant is letters of administration, usually to the closest next of kin, and the estate passes under the intestacy rules. Our guide to dying without a will in Victoria explains who inherits.
How much does probate cost?
Our fixed fee for a probate application in a straightforward estate is $1,650, and for letters of administration where there is no will $1,980, each including GST. The court's filing fee is separate, scaled to the estate's gross value and nil where that value is less than $250,000. Before any work begins, we confirm in writing how these costs will be paid.
Do I have to act as executor?
No. An executor can renounce, and their rights as executor then end as if they had never been appointed. Renouncing is generally straightforward only until you start dealing with the estate, so take advice first.
Can I apply for probate myself?
Yes, the court's rules allow an executor to apply without a lawyer. Help is most worthwhile when the will is missing, damaged or not properly signed, when executors disagree or a claim is in view, and in the decisions after the grant about debts, tax and when to distribute.
Sources: Administration and Probate Act 1958 (Vic), sections 6, 12, 13, 15, 16, 25, 31A, 37, 39, 39A, 49, 99 and 99A, and Parts IA and IV; Supreme Court (Administration and Probate) Rules 2023 (Vic), rules 1.11, 2.02.1, 2.03, 2.04, 3.02.1, 3.03, 4.03, 4.04 and 6.02; Supreme Court (Fees) Regulations 2018 (Vic), Schedule 1, item 4.2; Trustee Act 1958 (Vic), sections 33 and 36.
This page reflects the law applying in Victoria as at September 2026. It is general information only, not legal advice, and does not take your circumstances into account.
Speak with a probate lawyer.
Tell us about the estate, and we will tell you whether it needs a grant, who should apply and what it will cost.