Rights of Beneficiaries of a Will in NSW

You were named in the will. That was months ago. Since then the executor has gone quiet, the money has not landed, and you are starting to wonder whether you are even allowed to see the document with your own name in it.

Let me settle that first. Yes. As a named beneficiary in NSW you have real, enforceable rights, and they do not depend on the executor’s goodwill.

Here is what you are entitled to, in plain terms:

• To be told a valid will exists and that you are named in it
• To inspect the will and get a copy
• To be kept informed about the estate and any delays
• To be paid within a reasonable time, usually within 12 months of death
• To a statement of distribution and a proper accounting of the estate
• To challenge an executor who is not doing their job, and in some cases to claim a larger share

Below is each right and, more to the point, the practical lever you pull when an executor stalls or stonewalls. You do not have to start a family war to use any of them.

Your right to information

Start with the document itself. In NSW, whoever holds the will must let eligible people inspect it or get a copy, at their own expense. That includes anyone named in it, so it includes you.

So if the executor or the person holding the will is dodging your requests, they are not doing you a favour by staying silent. They have an obligation.

This right sits in Succession Act 2006 (NSW), s 54, which lists the people entitled to inspect or copy a will. If the holder refuses, the right is enforced by applying to the Supreme Court.

Beyond the document, you are entitled to be kept reasonably informed: whether probate has been applied for, what the estate holds, whether there are debts or tax to settle, and whether anyone is contesting the will in a way that affects your share. An executor who leaves you in the dark for months is not meeting the standard the law expects of them.

When you should be paid: the executor’s year

This is the part that causes the most anxiety, so let me be blunt about it.

An executor is generally allowed up to 12 months from the date of death to get the estate in order and pay out what is owed. Lawyers call this the executor’s year. It exists for a reason. The executor has to locate assets, obtain a grant of probate, pay debts and tax, and only then distribute what is left. That takes time.

So what does that mean for you? You can reasonably expect your share within about a year. It is not an ironclad deadline, and a genuinely complex estate can take longer. But the executor’s year sets the benchmark.

Here is the catch a lot of people miss. If a legacy is left unpaid past that year, it can carry interest. And an executor who needs more time should tell you so and give you a revised timeframe, not go silent. Silence past the twelve-month mark is your signal to push.

Your right to see accounting

You are not just entitled to your share. You are entitled to see the workings behind it.

A beneficiary can ask the executor for a statement of distribution, which sets out how your share was calculated. You can go further and request an accounting: what the estate held, what it owed, what was spent, and where the money went. The executor holds the estate on a fiduciary basis, which is a legal way of saying they are handling money that is not theirs and must keep proper records of every dollar.

If the executor will not account voluntarily, you have a lever. A beneficiary can apply to the Supreme Court to have the estate accounts examined. Executors can be ordered to pass their accounts before the court, which means having them checked line by line.

What if the executor is not doing their job?

Sometimes the delay is legitimate. A messy estate, a property that will not sell, a dispute between other beneficiaries. Sometimes it is not, and the executor is slow, evasive, or acting in their own interest. Here is how to tell the difference: a good executor communicates. If yours has stopped, treat it as a warning sign.

You do not go straight to court. Think of it as a ladder:

1. Put your request in writing. A clear, dated letter asking for the will, a status update, or an accounting, with a reasonable deadline to respond.
2. If that is ignored, have a lawyer send a formal demand. This alone often unblocks things.
3. If it still goes nowhere, apply to the Supreme Court. The court can compel the executor to act, order them to account, or in serious cases remove and replace them.

Removal is the last rung, not the first. But it is there, and executors know it is there.

Claiming a larger share: family provision

Being named in a will does not always mean you were left enough. If you were left out, or left far less than you reasonably needed, you may be able to make a family provision claim, asking the court to adjust the estate in your favour.

This is where a lot of people assume the size of the estate settles it. It does not. What the court weighs is needs and the deceased’s responsibility to provide for you.

One case shows how this plays out:

When her father died, he left nothing for her, as he’d left his wife (Jacqueline’s mother) a very large sum in their divorce settlement. Jacqueline sued his estate for $3.3 million. The judge ruled that the father still had a moral duty to make provision for his daughter because Jacqueline didn’t have direct access to that $43 million at that time. Those assets weren’t guaranteed to address her immediate needs. So the court awarded her $1.15 million.

Two things to take from that. A large estate does not shut the door, and neither does the deceased’s intention on its own. The court looks at what you actually need. It is also why the financial position between siblings matters so much. In estate disputes, a sibling in a weaker financial position can sometimes establish a greater need for provision than a better-off sibling, even one who did most of the caring.

There is a hard deadline here, so do not sit on it. A family provision application in NSW must generally be made within 12 months of the date of death. Miss it and you need the court’s permission to proceed out of time, which you cannot count on.

Family provision sits in Succession Act 2006 (NSW), Chapter 3: who counts as an eligible person (s 57), the orders a court can make (s 59), and the 12-month time limit (s 58(2)).

Disputes between beneficiaries

Where money and grief meet, disputes follow, and they most often flare between siblings. They can turn on undue influence, on whether the will-maker had testamentary capacity, or on whether one beneficiary has quietly taken assets that belong to the estate.

The well-known public example is the Reg Grundy estate, where an estranged daughter challenged a large estate on grounds concerning the will-maker’s testamentary capacity, and the matter eventually settled confidentially. It is a useful illustration of how these fights play out, though as a high-profile public case it is not typical of the estates most families are dealing with.

Most disputes never need a courtroom. Early legal advice and, where it fits, mediation resolve the bulk of them before costs and relationships blow up.

Where this leaves you

If you have been named in a will and the estate has gone quiet, you are not powerless and you are not being difficult by asking questions. You have a right to see the will, to be kept informed, to be paid within a reasonable time, and to see the accounts. When those are ignored, you have a clear, escalating set of steps to enforce them.

If any of this is weighing on you, book in a chat with me and my team. No pressure, no judgment, just honest advice on where you stand and what to do next. Call 1300 614 732 or send us a message, and if you want the fuller picture on estates, our wills and estates lawyers page walks through how we help.