SEARCHING ADVERTISEMENTS
Advertisements of an intention to apply for a grant of representation which have been published within the last three years can be searched via RedCrest-Probate.
There is no need to create a RedCrest-Probate account or login to search for an advertisement.
SEARCHING THE APPLICATIONS, CAVEATS AND WILLS INDICES
The Supreme Court of Victoria maintains an online database of all applications for a grant of probate or administration filed with the Court since 1970. You can search the application index online.
You can also search the index of caveats that have been filed with the court since 2009 and the index of wills that have been deposited with the Court for safekeeping.
SEARCHING RECORDS HELD AT THE PROBATE OFFICE
Applications for grants of probate or administration filed with the Court on, or after 1 July 2020 are stored at the Supreme Court of Victoria Probate Office. Fees apply to search a file.
How to search probate records held at the Probate Office:
- Check for the existence of a probate record on the application index. If the status of an application shows 'Application granted' then the file may be searched.
- Complete a request to search form.
- File the completed request to search form and pay the required fee on RedCrest-Probate.
You can find out more about filing the form on RedCrest-Probate by watching the instructional videos below.
CREATING A REDCREST-PROBATE ACCOUNT
This video explains how to create a RedCrest-Probate account.
The following is a transcript of the 'RedCrest-Probate - Creating an account' video.
TRANSCRIPT
In this video, you'll be guided through the steps to follow when creating a new RedCrest-Probate account.
On the login screen, start off by clicking the register option. You can then enter all the required information to register as a new user, create a password, and click the register button.
You will now receive an email asking you to confirm the email address you just registered with. You can do this by clicking the confirm email address hyperlink.
This will take you to the RedCrest-Probate website, informing you of a successful validation. Click continue button to login with the email address and password of your newly created account.
Thanks for watching!
FILING A REQUEST TO SEARCH
This video explains how to file a request to search on RedCrest-Probate.
The following is a transcript of the 'RedCrest-Probate – Filing a request to search' video.
TRANSCRIPT
In this video I will be guiding you through the steps when processing a request for search, through RedCrest-Probate.
Start off by logging into your RedCrest-Probate account, or register a new account if required.
Once you have logged in, select 'File a document for an existing application'.
Enter in the application number within the available field, and select 'Next' for the case data to load.
You can now select ‘Search requestor’ as the party you are filing on behalf of, select 'Request to search' as the document type from the list, and attach the relevant document, before selecting 'Pre approve payment and submit for review'.
As your application is submitted, you will be redirected to PayPal. Here you can either log into your own PayPal account or select 'Pay with a card' to manually enter your debit or credit card details.
If selecting the 'Pay with a card' option, complete the payment form with your preferred payment details and billing address before selecting 'Pay now as guest'.
A page will display your successfully approved payment, before redirecting you to the 'My Drafts and Filings' list within your RedCrest-Probate account.
You will now see this filing with a status of 'Filed' and you will receive an automated email indicating your filing has been submitted for review with additional information regarding your request to search.
Once the Probate Office team have reviewed, accepted and processed your filing and payment, you will receive another automated email indicating your filing has been accepted and the timeframe for when you will receive the requested documents.
SEARCHING RECORDS HELD AT THE PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE VICTORIA
Applications for grants of probate and administration filed with the Court prior to 1 July 2020 are held at the Public Record Office Victoria. To search those records, please contact the Public Record Office.