Probate Notices

The requirements for giving notice of intention to apply for probate or letters of administration are found in rr 597-599 of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999 (Qld) (‘UCPR’).

Further guidance can be found in the published texts in this field and in the fact sheet provided by the Supreme Court on its website.

The basic layout of the notice derives from Form 103, which seeks to accommodate application for the three main grant types:

grant of probate of a will;
grant of letters of administration with a particular will; and
grant of letters of administration on intestacy (where there is no will).

First Step

Prepare and draft Form 103, which sets out the required layout of the notice.

Form 103 takes the following recommended form:

NOTICE OF INTENTION TO APPLY FOR GRANT

After 14 days from today an application for a grant of (insert as appropriate): Probate of the Will dated (date of will) OR Letters of Administration with the Will dated (date of will) OR Letters of Administration on Intestacy (where there is no Will):

of	(Deceased’s name, including known aliases)
late of	(insert last address of the Deceased)

deceased will be made by (name of Applicant) to the Supreme Court at (Brisbane OR Townsville OR Cairns OR Rockhampton).

You may object to the grant by lodging a caveat in that registry.

Lodged by: (name & address of Applicant OR name & address of solicitor)

** IF APPLYING FOR PROBATE, insert the following paragraph if required:
Any person having any claim against the estate (whether as creditor, beneficiary, or otherwise) is hereby required to send particulars of that claim to the undersigned within six (6) weeks after the date of publication of this Notice, after which date, pursuant to section 67 of the Trusts Act 1973, the Applicant will distribute the assets of the estate of the deceased among the persons entitled thereto, having regard only to the claims of which the Applicant has notice.

SAMPLE DRAFT NOTICE:

After 14 days from today an application for a grant of Probate of the will dated 1 January 2012 of DAVID JOHN DOE late of 95A North Quay, Brisbane, in the State of Queensland deceased will be made by JOHN JAMES ROE to the Supreme Court at Brisbane.

You may object to the grant by lodging a caveat in that registry.

Any person having any claim whether as creditor or beneficiary or otherwise must send particulars of the person’s claim to the Applicant’s Solicitors (identified below) not later than the date which is 6 weeks after the date of publication of this Notice, after which date, pursuant to s.67 of the Trusts Act 1973, the Applicant will distribute the Estate of the Deceased having regard only to the claims of which the Applicant has notice.

Lodged by: ABC SOLICITORS, 95B North Quay, Brisbane, Qld 4000 (Solicitors for the Applicant).

NOTE: Form 103 does not seek to deal with every complication which may arise in every individual case (for example, where there are codicils to the will or where there is more than one executor or applicant). Accordingly, the appropriate form of notice to be used in each individual case is a matter for legal advice. The ICLRQ regrets that it cannot provide advice with regards to the content or the drafting of Probate notices. Please contact either the Public Trustee of Queensland or the Brisbane Supreme Court Registry at 1800 497 117 for further information or guidance on lodging an application for grant of probate or letters of administration.

Second Step

Arrange for the Notice to be submitted for publication – in SUFFICIENT time to meet the relevant publication deadline:

It is important to note that as of 24 November 2017, notices of intention to apply for a grant of probate need only be advertised in the Queensland Law Reporter (and not in a newspaper).
- This change in advertising requirements for the application of grants came into effect by virtue of section 252 of the Court and Civil Legislation Amendment Act 2017 amended section 67 of the Trusts Act 1973(Qld).
- The QLR is an approved publication under r 599(4) of the Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 1999(Qld) and Supreme Court Practice Direction 14 of 2017 for giving public notice of intent to apply for grant of probate or letters of administration.

The notice must appear in an edition of the QLR published at least 14 days before the date of filing an application for probate or letters of administration at the Supreme Court.
The QLR is published every Friday with the deadline for payment and submission of the advertisement being the Monday prior at 3:30pm

Third Step

Submit your Notice for advertising in the QLR before the deadline:

Send a soft copy of Form 103 (Word Document format preferable) to [email protected];
- Alternatively, you can send a hard copy of Form 103 to our postal address at P.O. Box 13307, George Street, Brisbane QLD 4003 (if delivering in person, to our office located on Level 1 of the Supreme Court Building at the QEII Courts of Law).

Pay the advertising fee ($161.70) either by:
- filling out and attaching the Credit Card Authorisation Form to your email; or
- calling our office at (07) 3236 1855 to provide your credit card details over the phone after emailing us your advertising request; or
- enclosing a cheque or money order made payable to “The Incorporated Council of Law Reporting” along with the hard copy of your Notice to our postal address.

Click here for more information on How to Advertise in the QLR.