Preparing your Application

Your application will need to consist of the following documents:

1. Motion for a grant of probate/letters of administration
2. Affidavit of executor(s)
3. Statement of assets and liabilities
4. Will (if applicable)
5. Original death certificate.

The information set out below will help you in preparing your affidavit and state of assets of liabilities.

The Probate Wizard can assist you in preparing your application.

When preparing your application, please provide the Court with a suitable email address on which you can be contacted should a requisition be issued.

If a Grant of Probate is made, it will be sent by regular post or you may elect to collect the Probate from the Supreme Court Registry.

The request forms for email correspondence or to collect a grant is available on the Probate Forms and Fees page.

Preparing an Affidavit

The Court may reject an affidavit if it is not in the correct form so please comply with the following:

• An affidavit must be typed (and not hand-written) on white A4 paper using at least 12 point font and black ink.
• Matters set out in an affidavit must appear in numbered paragraphs.
• Each page of an affidavit must be numbered and the pages stapled at the top left corner.

Swearing/affirming your affidavit

Once completed, you must swear or affirm your affidavit in the presence of an authorised witness who must witness your signature in the places provided on the affidavit. Authorised witnesses within Western Australia include:

• a Justice of the Peace
• an experienced lawyer who has held a practice certificate for at least two years and holds a current certificate (unless that lawyer has participated in the proceedings)
• a public notary within the meaning of the Public Notaries Act 1979.

Full details of who are authorised witnesses are contained in sections 6, 9 & 10 of the Oaths, Affidavits and Statutory Declarations Act 2005. You and the authorised witness must sign your usual signatures at the bottom of each page of the affidavit and where indicated on the final page.

How does a person who does not speak English make an affidavit?

The person must swear an affidavit written in his or her own language.

The affidavit must then be translated into written English by a suitably qualified translator.

The translator must then swear an affidavit that sets out his or her qualifications as a translator and that the English translation is accurate. The English translation must be attached to the translator's affidavit.

Both affidavits must then be filed at the Court.

For further information about translating, please see Consolidated Practice Directions (item 9.13 Interpreting and Language Services Guide).

Marking the will

You and the authorised witness must also sign your usual signatures on the cover of the will or, if that is not possible, somewhere on the will that does not interfere with the text of the will. This is called marking the will. An affidavit is not the same as a statutory declaration. A statutory declaration will not be accepted by the Central Office.

Date of Death

When completing your affidavit in support of your application you are required to give the deceased’s date of death. Death certificates usually give a precise date of death. You must include that date in your affidavit (unless you believe it to be incorrect in which case you must state in your affidavit what you believe to be the correct date and say why you believe that to be the correct date).

Sometimes, however, the death certificate will not provide a precise date of death instead providing, for example, that the deceased was “found on 1 July 2015”, that the deceased died “between 29 June 2015 and 1 July 2015” or that the deceased died “on or about 1 July 2015” or on “around 1 July 2015”. In each of these cases, if you know the precise date on which the deceased died you should state that date in your affidavit and say how you know that the deceased died on that date.

If you do not know the deceased’s precise date of death, then:

• If the death certificate gives a “found on” date of death such as 1 July 2015, you should state in your affidavit that the deceased was found dead on 1 July 2015.
• If the death certificate provides that the deceased died between two dates, such as 29 June 2015 and 1 July 2015, you should state in your affidavit that the deceased died between those dates.
• If the death certificate provides that the deceased died “on or about” or “around” a date such as 1 July 2015, then, after making all necessary enquiries, you should set out in your affidavit the date that the deceased was found dead and why you believe that to be the case.

The Court may require further information from you if there is any uncertainty regarding the date of death.

The Statement of Assets and Liabilities

You must include in the statement of assets and liabilities attached to your affidavit details of the deceased's assets and liabilities at the date of death. Below is an example of how standard assets and liabilities should be described in a statement:

Bank of XYZ Savings Account No. 123 678 (see note 3)

Challenge Bank – account no. 890 123

2008 Nissan Pulsar regn no 1ABC 333 (see note 4)

3000 shares in Smith Pty Ltd