Who Decides If An Estate Needs to Go Through Probate?

[Tinker26]

My father recently pased away leaving Mum as sole beneficary. The estate is very small with minimal money in the joint account, they live in rented property and the only thing in dad's name is the car which would only sell for $1500 at the most. They have no shares or investments. Under QLD law who decides if this would need to go through probate?

 

[Worldly1]

Hi Tinker26,
Have a look at the Queensland Courts “Common questions” page:
Why would I need a grant of probate?
You may need a grant of probate because some people or organisations holding assets of the estate will not release them without sighting a grant of probate.

Do I have to apply for a grant of probate?
You don’t need a grant of probate if the asset (e.g. the family home) is in joint names, because it already belongs to the surviving joint owner.

In some situations, it is worth checking with the organisation (e.g. bank) involved to be sure that a grant of probate is necessary. You may not need one if:

• the assets are relatively small (e.g. a small bank account)
• the real estate is to be transferred to a beneficiary named in the will (the Land Titles registry has a special procedure for this and you usually don’t need a grant of probate)
• you have to sell real estate (the Land Titles registry has a special procedure for this and you usually don’t need a grant of probate).

You might also find the "Wills and estates (probate)" page informative.