The problem
The new online Probate system is extensive, it is pages and pages of questions and pre-determined answers. It 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 to put in front of the client. However the thing that makes it most difficult is that we cannot simply progress through and read all of the questions without completing all of the required parts. Plugging in false answers or false documents is risky, what if you forget one? The alternative is asking clients questions one at a time, which looks sloppy, and will do your head in.
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 as of July 2025. This document is 160 pages long and it took my 37 hours to copy and paste everything out of the Probate portal into the document.
THE WEBINAR
We held a Webinar on Wednesday 8 April 2026 on this topic, but you can still sign up to get the documents and the video recording of the Webinar.
I am aware that having to answer compulsory questions and upload blank documents to advance to the next screen is time consuming and bound to cause errors. My recent survey of practitioners showed that 80% of you felt that you would get part way through the online system and then discover that you needed something else from the client. I created this CPD to help. We covered a number of topics including -
What if the name is spelt wrong?
Serving Notice when there is no form for service of Notice
When should an Executor renounce, and when should you advise them about that?
I only have a copy of the Will, what do I do?
What information do you need to include in an Affidavit of Non De Facto?
The documents
Most importantly, when you register for this CPD you will receive the 160 page document with all of the questions and answers that are currently in the online Probate system as at July 2025. You will receive this as a word document, meaning that you can search through it using all of the normal functions, highlight parts that are relevant to you, or copy and paste any information that you need for an individual matter. You will also receive a copy of the video from our last CPD, and the slides, so that you can watch those in your own time.
Want to attend a live webinar?
You may be thinking, but I won’t watch the recording. I get it, I often have the best of intentions but time gets away from me. I will be running this webinar again, on the same topic, the same papers, and when I run that anyone who has purchased the documents since 8 April 2026 will automatically receive an invite, and the link to attend the repeat of the Webinar live. At the moment I am focused on some other new topics, but we will loop back around to this.
The discount
In keeping with previous CPDs, you will get a $50 discount code if you email a requisition from the Supreme Court in relation to an Estate matter and provide enough information for the requisition to make sense. I will bundle them together and they will form part of the subject matter material available to participants. Email it to janis@janisconsults.com and then I will send you the discount code and a survey for you to complete with further questions.
The document
If you would like more information about the document that you will get with the papers for this CPD, there is a whole blog post just about that. Click on the button below.
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.