The new online Probate system is extensive, asks a lot of questions that the lawyer has to answer on behalf of the clients, but then it doesn’t give you any sort of summary or downloadable document with all of those questions. Perhaps the thing that makes it most difficult though is we don’t have access to a dummy file, that we can simply progress through and read. At each page there are required answers, on some pages there are required documents, and in order to progress to the next page (and the next requirement) we have to first answer this page. Plugging in false answers or false documents is risky, what if you forget one? Getting the correct document one at a time is janky, and likely more frustrating for the client than it is for you. At the moment the delay from filing Probate to getting to the top of the pile is four months, having a wrong document stuck in there could cause a lengthy delay.
As part of the preparation for the upcoming CPD I have prepared a Word document that consists of all of the questions, answers and documents prompts that you can possibly get when you are submitting an online Probate application. This document is 147 pages long and it took my 33 hours to copy and paste everything out of the Probate portal into the document. When I began preparing it I apparently had no concept of how long it would take me, or how long the document would be. In my mind it would be something that you could print off, and then highlight or write on with a red pen as you went through it to clearly indicate which parts apply to this file. I suppose you could print it two pages to a page, and double sided, but that is still 37 double sided pages.
I had to change my approach to the use of this document as it dawned on me how large it was. It was however a relief to see all of that text on a page. I am not imagining it when the online Probate application feels a bit overwhelming. That is a lot of text, a lot of text that I am answering on behalf of the client but cannot get out of the system to put in front of the client. No solicitor can be expected to have memorised all of these options, and the system of entering false answers, to give myself a checklist, to then go back through and correct all the false answers once I have further instructions from the client is stressful. I am just waiting for there to be some error caused by me forgetting to update something.
I don’t have to worry about that anymore as I have this checklist. I have done a few things to try and make the document more useful for you. There is a three page contents at the very end of the document where I have tried to use clear headings, and the headings are also navigation points so you should definitely open your navigation pane when viewing the document in Word. You can do that by clicking Ctrl+F.
If you look at the example of part of a page above, the headings which you can navigate to are in that aqua green colour. I have tried to use shading (in blue, green, purple or grey) to make it easier to follow the questions and answers as they flow down the table. You can see that more clearly in the example below. I have used these yellow points as navigation instructions, telling the reader which page to go to next.
I feel that the most useful way to approach this paper would be to have one printed and spiral bound copy that you can read through. This would allow you to most easily follow along, and you could also make handwritten notes for yourself. For experience solicitors we can often guess which part of a matter will be the most complicated, and flick to the relevant part of the checklist to find the requirements for that most complex part. As the document is given to you in word format it is alo easy to search the document for particular phrases.
I will then be providing everyone with a copy of this word document with none of this coloured shading, which will be harder to navigate but what it will allow you to do is save a copy of the document to each client matter, and then use the shading tool in Word to highlight the parts of the document that relate to your particular matter. This will mean that once you have highlighted all of the relevant questions, answers and document prompts, it will be easier for you to scroll back through that document as you only need to view the highlighted parts.
If you look at the above example you can see that I have also used red shading to indicate that you have reached a stopping point. The application cannot proceed this way. There are roughly 30 of these application refused stopping points. I am working on an index for the document so that you can more easily find them.
How do I get the document?
Everyone who signs up for the July CPD, whether before or after the event, will get a copy of this precedent as a word document. You will also get a copy of the other precedents, on the other topics, and a copy of the recording of the webinar. The webinar costs $145.
The topics that we are covering at the Webinar on Tuesday 8 July 2025 are -
Non-standard Probate applications
Tricky or unusual assets
POAs and elder abuse
If you want to find out more about it you can read the blog post on the topic.
NSW Estate Lawyers Facebook Group
Did you know about the free Facebook Group? This is a group for NSW Estate Lawyers to discuss things that are particular to practising Estate law in this State. Here are some examples of things we might discuss -
(1) Does anyone have a list of local lawyers for XYZ suburb so I can send out a letter enquiring if they hold a Will?
(2) Does anybody have better contact details for ABC bank?
(3) The online Probate system has asked me for further evidence about the relationship of the grandparents to the deceased, but they come from a country that doesn’t issue formal birth certificates or marriage certificates. What documents can I provide, what are others doing?
Of course more recently there is a lot of discussion about pragmatic issues with the new online system. We might also share the occasional post that only other lawyers who practice in this area will appreciate. The idea is to help and support each other, and share information that is helpful.
If you would like to join you can just search for “NSW Estate Lawyers” in groups on Facebook, please make sure that you answer the questions.