Who organises the funeral when there is no Will and the family can’t agree?
Let’s not dice words, it’s messy.
The executor of the Will is formally appointed to take care of all estate matters as soon as the Will maker has passed away. They are authorised to make funeral arrangements and upon provision of a funeral invoice should be able to have a bank cheque released to settle the account.
But in reality if there is no Will, the family can find themselves in no mans land without a compass.
One of the easiest ways to create conflict amongst your loved ones is to turn your back on your back on your estate plan and throw the flowers over your shoulder.
Passing away without a Will leaves your estate in a state called ‘intestacy’, and whilst the law in Queensland does specify how the estate should be distributed in the long run, it does not help with the immediate issues of whom should be appointed to manage the estate.
In one case I was contacted by one of five adult children wanting advice. The family was unfortunately very divided and two other siblings had already instructed another firm. The funeral director did not know with whom they should be dealing and was getting conflicting instructions. The legal rules state that where there is no spouse, the children are next in line to apply to manage or administer the estate. This is called Letters of Administration. This requires the court to consider the estate and appoint the most suitable person for the role. There is no specification as to which child takes priority, it really is a case of the first person to the door of the Court if they are a fit and proper person. You can read more about Letters of Administration here.
There are a number of steps an applicant needs to take before they can file their application so we simply begun the process straight away and in this case we were able to apply first before the other siblings because their solicitor had not completed the preliminary stages. The Probate Portal specialises in securing grants of Probate or Letters of Administration in half the usual time taken by most firms.
My client’s were able to secure the administration of the estate, finalise the burial arrangements and get on with administering the estate.
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Take home points
Settle a Will for your family. If that is still pending for you we can help. Visit our Wills page and in ten minutes you will be on your way to securing your estate. The hardest part is getting started but we have taken the friction out and given you a smooth runway with our client journey.
Secondly if your loved one passes away without a Will and you would like help with applying for Letters of Administration then please book a discovery call here or start your new client intake questionnaire here so we can get in touch and see how best to help you.
Download a complimentary copy of Executor Checklist .
Stay in touch through our standard email drop / monthly updates. We try to make our content as helpful as possible for our clients both current and prospective.
If you find yourself in need of a grant of Probate or administration, please get in touch. We have a few key points of difference including our time for service delivery that might be of value to you.
Thankyou for reading and we hope to be able to serve you at some stage.
