Inheriting an Estate in the UK From Australia

Inheriting in the UK from Australia starts with one question: does the UK asset need a UK grant of probate? Banks decide for accounts; property needs a UK or resealed grant. If the deceased lived in Australia and has an Australian grant, it may be resealed in England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own rules.

Key takeaways

• GOV.UK says probate is the legal right to deal with someone's estate, and that each bank or financial organisation decides whether it needs to see it.
• To update HM Land Registry with a grant issued outside the UK, you either apply for a UK grant or have the foreign grant resealed.
• Applications where the deceased was domiciled outside England and Wales, by an attorney, or for resealing under the Colonial Probates Acts must be made on paper, not online.
• If full estate details must go to HMRC, form IHT400 is due within 12 months of the death and before applying for probate.
• These rules are for England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland have different probate rules.

Is UK probate needed at all?

GOV.UK's guide to applying for probate explains that probate is the legal right to deal with someone's property, money and possessions when they die, and that you should not make financial plans or put property on the market until you have it. It also says you may not need probate in some cases, for example where the person only had savings, or owned money or property jointly with others as joint tenants, which pass automatically to the surviving owners.

For an Australian family, the first step is therefore to contact each UK bank, pension provider or investment platform. GOV.UK notes that every organisation has its own rules. Small balances are sometimes released on a death certificate and an indemnity; larger ones, and any sole-owned property, need a grant. Ask each one in writing what it needs from an executor overseas, and keep the replies, since they decide which route you take.

Should you get a UK grant or reseal the Australian one?

Where the deceased lived in Australia and the Australian estate has already been granted probate or letters of administration by an Australian Supreme Court, there may be no need to start again. GOV.UK's property guidance says that if you have a grant of probate or its equivalent issued outside the UK, you need either to apply for a grant of probate in the UK or to have the foreign grant resealed. Resealing means the Probate Registry in England and Wales places its seal on the foreign grant, so it can be used there.

Resealing is available under the Colonial Probates Acts 1892 and 1927 for grants from the jurisdictions those Acts cover, which include Australian states. Confirm with the Probate Registry that your grant's jurisdiction is covered before you apply. Where resealing is not available, or the deceased lived in the UK, a UK grant is the route.

Situation	Usual route	Application
Deceased lived in Australia, Australian grant issued	Reseal the Australian grant	Paper
Deceased lived in Australia, no Australian grant	UK grant, deceased domiciled outside England and Wales	Paper
Deceased lived in England or Wales, executor in Australia	UK grant, applied for by the executor or an attorney	Online in some cases; paper if through an attorney

Why are these applications on paper?

GOV.UK's guidance for probate practitioners, updated in July 2026, lists the applications that cannot be made through the online service and must use a paper form. Among them are applications where the deceased died domiciled outside England and Wales, with a limited exception, applications by attorneys, and applications for resealing under the Colonial Probates Acts 1892 and 1927. For Australian families, that covers most of the likely cases, so expect paper forms, originals by post, and a longer timetable than for a simple domestic estate.

When is Inheritance Tax dealt with?

GOV.UK is clear on the order. Before applying for probate, you must work out whether Inheritance Tax is due, by valuing the estate. If you need to report the full details of the estate to HMRC, you fill in form IHT400, and you must do this within 12 months of the death and before applying for probate. You will normally have to start paying any tax before probate is granted, and even where no tax is due, the estimated value is part of the application.

The UK rules on how Inheritance Tax applies to someone who lived abroad, and to assets outside the UK, are specific; GOV.UK's valuation guidance notes that assets owned abroad are treated separately when working out the value for probate. Get UK tax advice early if the estate is substantial, and ask about Australian tax on the inheritance too.

Can an attorney in England act for you?

An executor in Australia can apply personally, but many prefer to appoint a solicitor or relative in England to act. GOV.UK's practitioner guidance lists applications by attorneys among those that must be made on paper. The power of attorney for that purpose is usually signed in Australia:

1. Get the wording from the English solicitor, in the form the Probate Registry will accept.
2. Sign before an Australian notary public, who identifies you and certifies your signature.
3. Ask whether an apostille is wanted. The UK is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention; if the receiving authority requires an apostille, DFAT issues it on the notary's certificate. Check the HCCH status table on the day.
4. Send the original to the solicitor by tracked courier, and keep a copy.

Our guide to notarising UK documents covers the notary's role for English documents, and our power of attorney service explains the signing.

What does HM Land Registry need?

GOV.UK's guide to updating property records when someone dies sets out what HM Land Registry needs:

• When a joint owner dies, form DJP with an official copy of the death certificate removes their name.
• When a sole owner dies and the property passes to a beneficiary, forms AP1 and AS1, the original or an official copy of the UK grant, any tax certificate, the fee, and form ID1 verifying identity, which the beneficiary also completes.
• If the property is sold, the buyer needs an official copy of the UK grant.
• Additional evidence is needed if the personal representative has appointed an attorney to administer the estate.

A foreign grant must first be resealed or replaced by a UK grant before the Land Registry will act on it. The ID1 identity form has its own rules on who may verify your identity; ask the conveyancer how to complete it from Australia.

Which Australian documents will the UK need?

The Probate Registry and HM Land Registry usually work from death certificates, the will, and, for resealing, a sealed or certified copy of the Australian grant from the Supreme Court that issued it. Australian documents are in English, so no translation is needed. Whether the UK office wants an apostille on an Australian certificate varies; ask before paying for one. GOV.UK also notes that copies of a UK grant ordered for use outside the UK take longer to arrive, which matters if you will need to show the UK grant in Australia later.

Before you post anything

Because most of these applications are on paper and cross two postal systems, a checklist saves weeks:

Who can apply

GOV.UK says only certain people can apply for probate, and who depends on whether there is a will. If there is a will, the executors named in it can apply. If there is no will, the closest living relative can apply, and the grant is called letters of administration. For an executor living in Australia, that means either applying personally on the paper forms, or appointing an attorney in England to apply for them. GOV.UK also lets anyone search the probate records to see whether a grant has already been issued, which is worth doing first if another family member may have started.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Applying online when an overseas domicile, attorney or resealing application must be on paper.
• Applying for probate before the IHT400 is sent, where one is needed.
• Assuming Scottish or Northern Irish assets follow the England and Wales rules.
• Putting UK property on the market before the grant or reseal is in hand.
• Sending an Australian grant straight to the Land Registry without resealing it.
• Posting the only original of a will or grant without a tracked service and copies.

In short

Inheriting in the UK from Australia starts with checking whether each UK asset needs a grant. Property does, and a grant issued in Australia must be resealed in England and Wales, or replaced by a UK grant, before HM Land Registry will act. Overseas-domicile, attorney and resealing applications are on paper, and any IHT400 is due within 12 months, before probate. An executor in Australia can appoint an English attorney by a power of attorney signed before an Australian notary. See our guide to overseas inheritance documents for the wider picture.

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If an English solicitor has sent you a power of attorney or statement to sign, send us the document, and we will explain each step before you book.