The spouse/domestic partner/registered caring partner (collectively ‘partner’), the surviving children of the deceased (if any) and the child/children of the deceased's child/children who died before the deceased are entitled to share in the estate. Click on the relationship of the person applying below to see an example of what to enter in the text box on RedCrest-Probate (on the ‘Relationship Details’ screen) in answer to the question ‘Why is the plaintiff entitled to administer the estate?’ (this will populate in paragraph 8 of the affidavit of the plaintiff):
I was the [spouse/domestic partner/registered caring partner] of the deceased at the date of their death, the residuary estate is more than the amount of the statutory legacy, and the deceased during their lifetime had [a child who is not a child/children who are not children] of myself. The deceased had [a child/children] who died before or within 30 days of the deceased leaving their own [child/children] that survived the deceased by 30 days or more. Therefore, I along with the surviving [child/children] of the deceased and the [child/children] of the deceased’s [child/children] who died before or within 30 days of the deceased are all entitled to share in the deceased’s estate.
An application could also be made by one or more of the surviving children of the deceased with the consent of the partner. The following is an example for if a child of the deceased is making the application:
If the deceased had more than one surviving child:
I am a child of the deceased. The deceased left a [spouse/domestic partner/registered caring partner], the residuary estate is more than the amount of the statutory legacy, and the deceased during their lifetime had [a child who is not a child/children who are not children] of the [spouse/domestic partner/registered caring partner]. The deceased also had [a child/children] who died before or within 30 days of the deceased leaving their own [child/children] that survived the deceased by 30 days or more. Therefore, the [spouse/domestic partner/registered caring partner], the surviving children of the deceased and the [child/children] of the deceased’s [child/children] who died before or within 30 days of the deceased are all entitled to share in the deceased’s estate.
If the deceased had only one surviving child:
I am the only surviving child of the deceased. The deceased left a [spouse/domestic partner/registered caring partner], the residuary estate is more than the amount of the statutory legacy, and the deceased during their lifetime had [a child who is not a child/children who are not children] of the [spouse/domestic partner/registered caring partner]. The deceased had [a child/children] who died before or within 30 days of the deceased leaving their own [child/children] that survived the deceased by 30 days or more. Therefore, I along with the [spouse/domestic partner/registered caring partner] and the [child/children] of the deceased’s [child/children] who died before or within 30 days of the deceased are all entitled to share in the deceased’s estate.
An application could also be made by one or more of the grandchildren of the deceased entitled to share in the estate with the consent of the partner and any surviving children of the deceased (if they have a greater share in the estate). The following is an example for if a grandchild is making the application:
If there are multiple grandchildren entitled to share in the estate the following should be entered:
I am a grandchild of the deceased and my parent who was a child of the deceased died before or within 30 days of the deceased. The deceased left a [spouse/domestic partner/registered caring partner], the residuary estate is more than the amount of the statutory legacy, and the deceased during their lifetime had [a child who is not a child/children who are not children] of the [spouse/domestic partner/registered caring partner]. The deceased had [a child/children] who died before or within 30 days of the deceased leaving their own [child/children] that survived the deceased by 30 days or more. Therefore, the [spouse/domestic partner/registered caring partner], the surviving [child/children] of the deceased and the [child/children] of the deceased’s [child/children] who died before or within 30 days of the deceased are all entitled to share in the deceased’s estate.
If a grandchild is making the application and they are the only grandchild entitled to share in the estate the following should be entered:
I am a grandchild of the deceased and the only child of my parent who was a child of the deceased died before or within 30 days of the deceased. The deceased left a [spouse/domestic partner/registered caring partner], the residuary estate is more than the amount of the statutory legacy, and the deceased had during their lifetime [a child who is not a child/children who are not children] of the [spouse/domestic partner/registered caring partner]. The deceased had [a child/children] who survived the deceased by 30 days or more and also had a child who died before or within 30 days of the deceased leaving a child that survived the deceased by 30 days or more. Other than my parent, the deceased had no other child that died before or within 30 days of the deceased leaving their own children. Therefore, I along with the [spouse/domestic partner/registered caring partner] and the surviving [child/children] of the deceased are all entitled to share in the deceased’s estate.
Important Instructions
- When copying the example paragraph, you should select the accurate option from within the square brackets based on the deceased’s relationships at the date of their death.
- If the deceased had no surviving children and only surviving grandchildren the relevant example should be amended accordingly.
- The above examples assume that the deceased only had one partner at the date of their death. If the deceased had more than one partner (i.e. a spouse and domestic partner) then the above examples will not be appropriate. See ss 70Z – 70ZE of the Administration and Probate Act 1958 (Vic). You are encouraged to obtain legal advice.
- If the person applying claims to be the unregistered domestic partner of the deceased, you will need to file further affidavit evidence that details the facts, matters and circumstances relied on to establish the domestic partnership. Find out about what additional evidence will be required by clicking on 'An unregistered domestic partner is applying' in our guidance for complex information.
- If the deceased was never married and was born a male, proof of paternity for all children must be filed in support of the application. The most common way to prove paternity is to file a certified copy of the birth certificate of the children showing that the deceased is named as the father.