St.George: deceased estate process & threshold
Updated 20 August 2026 · 5 minute read
What St.George does when a customer dies, how much it will release without probate, and the paperwork its estates team asks for - as at August 2026.
The threshold
St.George publishes no fixed threshold - releases are case-by-case, and in practice the process mirrors parent Westpac's $100,000 approach.
What happens when you notify
Notify the estates team
One notification covers every account. Solely-held accounts are frozen; joint accounts keep operating for the survivor; direct debits from sole accounts stop.
The bank opens a deceased estate file
You'll be sent the document checklist below and a reference for the file.
Below the threshold: release on documents
Certified paperwork plus the bank's release/indemnity form, and funds are paid out - typically inside 1-3 weeks.
Above the threshold: the bank waits for the grant
Once probate or letters of administration arrive, the bank releases to the executor or the estate account.
Documents St.George asks for
- Deceased Estate Account Instruction form
- Certified death certificate
- Certified will
- Certified ID
Estates email estatesmanagement@stgeorge.com.au; overseas +61 2 9155 7590. Bank of Melbourne and BankSA follow the same Westpac Group process.
Like most institutions, the bank can pay the funeral director's invoice directly from the deceased's account, and can release funds to cover probate filing costs - ask the estates team.
If a grant is needed after all
Not sure whether this estate needs a grant at all? Our do I need probate checker runs through the property, bank and super questions in under a minute. One over-threshold institution is enough to send the whole estate down the probate path. Start with how to apply and your state's page, or compare the other banks in the threshold table.
Over the threshold at St.George?
A fixed-fee probate quote takes two minutes to request, and the whole application runs remotely.
Match me with a probate lawyerDoes the threshold apply per account or in total?
In total per institution - all solely-held accounts at the bank are added together. Accounts at other banks are assessed separately by those banks.
Can I use the money for the funeral first?
Yes - invoice-direct payment to the funeral director is standard at virtually every Australian bank, even from frozen accounts.
How do I get certified copies?
A JP, pharmacist, police officer or solicitor can certify - free at most pharmacies and JP desks in shopping centres and courts.
What is the St.George Deceased Estate Account Instruction form?
It is the form the executor, administrator or next of kin completes to tell the bank what to do with the deceased's accounts: close them and pay the balance to an estate account, pay the funeral director's invoice, or hold the funds until a grant arrives. It goes in with the certified death certificate, certified will and certified ID of the person signing. If the estates team decides the balance is large enough to need a grant, it holds the funds until probate or letters of administration are produced and then acts on the instructions.
Who signs the form if there is no will?
Where there is no will, the person entitled to apply for letters of administration - usually the spouse or closest next of kin - deals with the bank. Small balances may still be released on certified documents and an indemnity, but for larger balances the bank will generally want to see the grant before releasing anything beyond funeral costs.
Sources
- St.George deceased estates page (stgeorge.com.au/help/deceased-estates/faqs), retrieved August 2026