Waiting for Probate: How to Check Its Progress
The executor posted the probate application on a Monday morning. The tracking record showed that the package had been delivered. The filing fee had left…
Free Wills NZ guides
Wills and estate planning explained clearly
Practical New Zealand information to help you make informed decisions, understand the process and know when professional advice matters.
- 100% free will creation
- New Zealand focused
- General information, not legal advice
Explore the library
Browse by topic
Find focused guidance for the people, property and decisions that can shape a will and estate.
Fresh guidance
Latest articles
Clear, practical reading for planning ahead and looking after the people who matter.
-
Read guide: Waiting for Probate: How to Check Its Progress -
Probate Granted: The Real Work Begins
Read guide: Probate Granted: The Real Work BeginsThe executor opened the envelope and read the first line twice. Probate had been granted. After weeks of locating documents, checking names, swearing an affidavit…
-
Where Your NZ Probate Application Really Goes
Read guide: Where Your NZ Probate Application Really GoesThe executor lived in Dunedin. The deceased had lived in Christchurch. Most of the estate’s property was in Auckland, and the executor’s co-applicant had recently…
-
Affidavit Mistakes That Can Stall Probate
Read guide: Affidavit Mistakes That Can Stall ProbateThe executor believed the probate application was finished. The deceased’s original will had been located, the death certificate was available, and the affidavit had been…
-
Probate Without a Lawyer: A Careful DIY Guide
Read guide: Probate Without a Lawyer: A Careful DIY GuideThe executor had read the will three times. The appointment was clear. There was one original will, one executor, no handwritten changes and no obvious…
-
The Executor’s Communication Playbook
Read guide: The Executor’s Communication PlaybookThree days after the funeral, the executor’s phone began filling with messages. One beneficiary wanted to know how much the house was worth. Another asked…
-
Lock, List and Protect: Securing an Estate’s Property
Read guide: Lock, List and Protect: Securing an Estate’s PropertyThe front door was unlocked when the executor arrived. Inside, several relatives were sorting through drawers. One had placed a box of photographs in the…
-
The Search for a Missing Will
Read guide: The Search for a Missing WillThe family had searched every drawer in the house. They found insurance papers, old bank statements, passports that had expired years earlier and a folder…
-
The Executor’s First Seven Days
Read guide: The Executor’s First Seven DaysThe first call may come before sunrise. A parent, sibling or close friend has died, and somewhere in the first few stunned conversations, someone says,…
Ready to put it in writing
Create your will for $0
Free means free, with no platform fee, subscription or payment required.