Deceased estate transfers

Deceased estate transfers 

If you have received property from a deceased estate “in accordance with the terms of the will”  you will pay transfer duty at a concessional rate of $50. 

Beneficiary of the will 

"In accordance with the terms of the will " means you’re entitled to the property as the beneficiary (inheriting money or other property) either 

1 under the terms of the will or 

2 if the person died without leaving a valid will, under the rules of intestacy. 

If a will is contested, the duty chargeable will be determined based on any court orders made. This is because a court order acts as an addition (codicil) to the will, any transfer made under the orders is considered to be a transfer in accordance with the terms of the will of the person who has died. 

Transfers not in conformity to the will 

The beneficiaries of a will often decide to vary their entitlements. 

For instance, one beneficiary may decide to gift or sell part of a property they inherit to another beneficiary. When this happens, the normal rate of transfer duty applies to any part of the property receives that varies from the terms of the will. 

If you vary the entitlements under a will this way, you must provide a valuation report as evidence of the value of the property, so that we can assess duty. 

Here are some common examples of how transfer duty applies when you vary the terms of the will. 

Surcharge purchaser duty exemptions 

You do not have to pay Surcharge Purchaser Duty when you 

1 are classified as a foreign person and 

2 inherit property in accordance with the terms of the will. 

However you will have to pay Surcharge Purchaser Duty if you receive 

3 property in another way, such as having it transferred from another beneficiary 

4 part of a property via a will and part of it another way, in which case Surcharge Purchaser Duty is payable on any proportion of the property you didn’t receive in accordance with the terms of the will. 

Lodging an application for duty assessment 

Your solicitor or conveyancer can lodge your application for duty assessment when you supply them with the information required including: 

1 the original executed transmission application or transfer 

2 Purchaser/transferee declaration 

3 proof of your identity and 

4 a full copy of Probate and the will together with the schedule of inventory owned by the deceased or 

5 a full copy of the letter of administration confirming the assets owned by the deceased. 

Depending on how you acquire the property, you may also need to include: 

1 a full copy of the deed of family arrangement (if an agreement has been made to vary the terms of the will) 

2 a full copy of any court orders (if a will has been successfully contested) 

3 evidence of value of the dutiable property being transferred if section 63(2) applies (parties are not dealing with each other “at arm’s length”).