When someone dies in Australia
There are around forty things to do after a death. This is the order they happen in.
Answer six questions and get a step-by-step plan for your state and situation, covering the will, superannuation, property and any self-managed super fund. Every step links to its official source.
Free. No account. Your answers stay in your browser.
How the plan is sequenced
- 1
Now
Register the death, find the will, get certified copies
- 2
First two weeks
Notify Centrelink, banks, super and the ATO
- 3
First month
Work out whether you need probate in your state
- 4
If there is an SMSF
ATO within 28 days, trustee structure within six months
- 5
Months two to six
Find every asset, settle debts, hold before distributing
Guides
What to do, in the order you'll need it
Read the guides in order, or go straight to the part you're dealing with.
Build your plan
Answer six questions and get a step-by-step plan for your state and situation. Tick things off as you go, then print or download it.
Build your plan
The first days
Who certifies the death, what the funeral director handles, where to look for the will, and what can wait.
Read the guide
Certified copies
Who can certify documents in your state, how many copies to get, and how to avoid doing it twice.
Read the guide
Who to notify
Government, banks, super funds, insurers, utilities and subscriptions, and the free service that notifies several at once.
Read the guide
Finding the money
Lost super, share registries, unclaimed money and managed funds, including when the records are out of date.
Read the guide
When there is an SMSF
The 28-day and six-month deadlines, what the surviving trustee must do, and how the fund is wound up.
Read the guide
Probate, state by state
When you need probate, how long it takes, and what the court in your state asks for.
Read the guide
Super nomination check
A 30-second check of whether a superannuation death benefit nomination is still valid.
Check a nomination
Why this exists
A will says who inherits. It doesn't say where anything is, or who has to be told.
Around 187,000 people die in Australia each year, and roughly two thirds of them are over 75. Many leave superannuation, property and sometimes a self-managed super fund. The Australian Taxation Office expects most estates to take six to twelve months to finalise, and many take longer.
Most of that time goes on administration. Every bank, fund and agency asks for its own forms and certified copies. Superannuation follows different rules from the will. Some deadlines are strict and nobody announces them. And the executor is usually doing all of it for the first time, while grieving.
Alan Estate was started by people who have administered an estate themselves. We wrote down the order of things, what each step needs, who to contact and where the expensive mistakes happen, and made it free to use.
Sourced, and clear about limits
Every step links to the official source: the court, the ATO, Services Australia or your state registry. Where the rules differ by state, we say so. Where a matter needs a professional, we say that too.
At your pace
Most of this can wait until after the funeral. The plan shows the few things that can't, and holds the rest until you're ready.
Private by default
The plan runs in your browser. There's no account, and we don't see your answers.
What we're building
One place for the whole estate, shared by the family and their advisers.
We're building the Alan Estate platform: a single, current record of what a person owns and who to call, kept up to date while they're alive, and turned into a step-by-step plan for their executor when they die. Their accountant, lawyer or funeral director can see what they need, when the family allows it.
Keep me updated
We'll email you when the platform opens to families. Occasional updates only, and you can unsubscribe at any time.