Transferring property after death
Updated 20 August 2026 · 8 minute read
Property is where probate stops being optional. How a home passes after death depends entirely on how it was owned — and the title, not the will, answers the first question.
First: how was it owned?
- Joint tenants (most couples) — the survivor takes the whole property automatically, outside the will. No probate needed: a survivorship application plus the death certificate updates the title.
- Tenants in common — the deceased's share passes under the will (or intestacy). The share is an estate asset, and a grant is almost always required to deal with it.
- Sole owner — the whole property is an estate asset. Every Australian land registry requires a grant before it will register a transfer or sale.
Order a title search (about $20, instant, from your state's land registry or a broker). The title says 'joint tenants' or 'tenants in common' — and settles the question in minutes.
The transmission application
Once probate or administration is granted, the executor lodges a transmission application with the land registry, moving the title into the executor's name 'as legal personal representative'. From there the executor either transfers to the beneficiary or sells. Each state's registry (NSW LRS, Land Use Victoria, Titles Queensland, Landgate WA, Land Services SA, and so on) has its own form and fee, but the sequence is the same everywhere.
Get the grant
Probate or administration — the registry will not budge without it.
Lodge the transmission application
With the grant, death certificate and title fee. Most conveyancers charge a modest fixed fee to handle it.
Transfer or sell
Transfer duty is usually exempt or nominal for transfers to beneficiaries under a will; a sale proceeds as normal with the executor signing.
Common complications
- A mortgage on the title — the lender's consent is needed; the debt is paid from the estate or refinanced by the beneficiary
- Selling before the grant — you can market and even exchange with a 'subject to grant' condition, but you cannot settle without one
- The family home and a surviving partner — intestacy rules in most states give the partner rights to elect to take the home; get advice before listing it
- CGT — death itself doesn't trigger capital gains tax, but later sales can. The main-residence exemption commonly covers a sale settled within two years — talk to an accountant early
Property in the estate?
That usually settles the probate question. Fixed-fee firms quote grant + transmission together — two minutes, no obligation.
Get fixed-fee probate quotesCan the family keep living in the house during probate?
Usually yes — the executor controls the property and can allow it, keeping insurance current. Problems arise only when occupants and beneficiaries disagree.
Does the 'reading of the title' override the will?
For joint tenancies, effectively yes — survivorship beats the will. A will can't gift away a joint tenant's interest.
What about retirement village units and strata?
Village contracts have their own exit rules and fees on top of estate law — read the contract early; exit fees surprise many families.
Sources
- State land registries — transmission applications (NSW LRS, Land Use VIC, Titles QLD, Landgate, Land Services SA)
- ATO — deceased estates and CGT main residence exemption