Administering estates without probate: catch-22!
Published Date: 29 May 2026
It is common for executors lawfully appointed under wills to administer estates without obtaining probate. Administering estates without probate substantially reduces costs and avoids unnecessary delays. Yet the ATO puts executors without probate in an impossible position. It tells them that they must finalise the deceased’s taxation affairs but denies them the tax information and online access that they and their tax agents need to comply. Catch-22! This article examines whether these practices are justified at law. It concludes that they are not justified and, further, that the provisions for collecting tax and paying refunds on income derived by deceased taxpayers are defective in relation to estates administered by executors without probate. These defects could be easily remedied with simple amendments.
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- Published By: Kate Roff
- Published On:29 May 2026
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