SPECIALISING IN THE
ADMINISTRATION OF
AUSTRALIAN ASSETS
FOR FOREIGN ESTATES
AND TRUSTS

apears

OUR MISSION

To be recognised as the leader in Australian Estate Administration services.

Australian Probate Estate and Asset Related Services (APEARS) specialise in assisting foreign executors, trustees and beneficiaries with the administration of Australian assets and the associated Probate related applications.

We are the Australian experts in:

  • Resealing of Probates and Letters of Administration

  • Obtaining Australian Grants of Probate or Letters of Administration

  • Transfer and Realisation of Assets

  • Unclaimed Money Searching and Collecting

  • Super Fund Claims

  • Location of Missing Beneficiaries

  • Land Title Searching and Dealings

  • Bankruptcy Searches

apears_celebrating-20-years-portrait

Early July 2019 marked 20 years since the inception of APEARS.

Over the last 20 years we have experienced diversity in our client base from what was initially predominantly New Zealand and UK centric now extends to the United States, South Africa, Canada and Ireland, along with several nationally based clients here in Australia.

We’ve also experienced steady growth in our services. In the early stages, work was generally centred on resealing probates and dealing with share transfers and the stamp duty that was then in existence on all shares both on market trading and off. This has now expanded to completing many local Administration Grants, dealing with more and more Superannuation Death Benefit claims, resealing Grants in the UK and Channel Islands along with the many reseals and the associated transfer and realisation of the assets held in Australia.

We would like to take the opportunity to thank all of our loyal clients, many who have been with us from inception, and we look forward to providing our services for many years to come.

With almost 30 years experience in the industry, whatever your probate or asset related requirements are, APEARS is here to help.

Call us today on +61 2 9279 0516 or contact us by email

RESEALING

We present documents to the local Court who seal the document with a court seal which authenticates that document in the new jurisdiction.

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GRANTS

We apply for a full local grant which involves proving the foreign Will or entitlements on Intestacy in the relevant Australian State or Territory.

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ASSETS

Once the Reseal or Local Grant is obtained the legal formalities of the relevant institution can be completed and the assets can be dealt with.

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CLAIMS

Due to Australia’s compulsory superannuation we deal with claims on behalf of relatives by completing various forms and taxation matters for the estate.

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LATEST ARTICLES

Envoy
Probate issues Dealing with Australian Assets

Dealing with assets in Australia is complex. There is no set statutory limit for probate; rather, it is up to the company, bank, titles offices or other institutions as to their individual requirements. This is further complicated by the fact that each institution may have different requirements for different states. The following is a basic [...]

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Envoy
Codicil not such according to the court

Following Registrar Earles’ recent session on will-making at the NZLS CLE Ltd Legal Executives Conference in August, the following case here in New South Wales may be of interest. In The Estate of Drummond; Drummond v Drummond [2017] NSWSC 856, a document purporting to be a codicil or informal testamentary document was ruled not to [...]

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TESTIMONIALS

  • … recommended Andrew Johnstone of APEARS to assist me in getting the UK probate documents re-sealed in Australia… I want to commend Andrew for his absolute professional conduct he is courteous, thorough, and gets to the nub of any problem in relation to his specialised field 're-sealing of overseas probates and related matters' and I am so grateful for your recommendation. His modern approach also meant I could and did relate to him during my one month visit to South Africa, via email. He provides an excellent service. Thank you for introducing and recommending him to me.

    David Robson

  • I just wanted to let you know what fantastic service and support Elaine & I received from Andrew Johnstone at APEARS. Andrew was able to avoid lengthy High Court action and helped Elaine immeasurably. He was kind and helpful throughout the process and I commend him thoroughly to yourselves and your clients. Thanks again for referring us to him.

    Kevin Williams

  • I greatly appreciate your completely accurate attention to my requests to return my original certified Letters of Administration as well as the accounting of credits and expenses that will enable accurate preparation of the estate's income tax return. Providing the draft in US dollars saved me additional currency conversion expenses. I have informed … New York that I received your mailing, and have suggested to him that he refer other clients of his to you if they have problems analogous to mine. It was your gain and (others) loss that their U.S. offices fumbled for months and seemed incapable of working with their Australian offices to enable the securities transactions that you accomplished with alacrity. Thank you again for your highly professional services.Peter Kent - Administrator

    Peter Kent Administrator

  • I just want to thank you for your professionalism and promptness dealing with us with regard to this matter. I will definitely use your services again and will highly recommend you to colleagues that need an Australian agent to assist them on matters such as this. Once again many thanks.

    Erin Gibson Senior Registered Legal Executive, Willis Toomey Robinson - Lawyers

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