Distribute assets to beneficiaries
After a grant of probate or letters or administration is made and the Notice of Intended Distribution has been published, the executor or administrator can distribute the identified assets to the beneficiaries once all the debts have been paid. If a grant is not required, the estate can be distributed under the rules of intestacy after debts have been paid.
Distributing assets
Distributing the estate involves officially transferring over all assets to beneficiaries as specified in the will or under the rules of intestacy if there is no will. This can only be done once a grant of probate or letters of administration has been made and all assets have been identified, collected and all debts have been paid.
After the estate debts are paid and specific gifts in the will have been distributed, the remaining assets form the residuary estate. Normally the will has a residuary estate clause. If there is no mention in the will about the residuary estate or if there was no will, the remainder of the estate can be distributed under the rules of intestacy.
The process of transferring assets to beneficiaries is different for real estate and personal property.
Transferring personal property and money
Personal property might include:
- clothing and jewellery
- furniture
- animals
- bank accounts
- shares
- cars and other vehicles.
These may be dealt with in the will as:
- part of the whole estate,
- as specific gifts to named beneficiaries
- what is left after all other things in the will are dealt with.
If there is no will, the personal property is dealt with according to the rules of intestacy.
You can find more information about how to transfer personal property to beneficiaries at Law Access NSW.
Transferring real estate
Real property includes land, houses, units, commercial and industrial property.
The process will be different depending on whether the property is owned:
- solely by the person who died
- by multiple people.
Learn more about how to transfer real estate property at LawAccess NSW.