I live England - my brother died in Australia intestate.

SilasMarner

I wonder if some knowledgeble folk might help shed a little light on this please. I live in England. My brother died in New South Wales Australia in July. He was almost "self rusticated" and we Emailed and spoke every few months. I realised something was wrong and (very recently) eventually found that he had suddenly died in July. He was buried on a preplanned funeral and a solicitor has been appointed.(By someone?). I have yet to have my (very recent) messages returned from the solicitor. I believe myself and our other brother (England) are the only relatives he has.( Wife predeceased him and no children). So what should happen next? I believe he died intestate, but I'm not in a position to jump on a flight to New South Wales. If myself or my brother (even older than I am!) were appointed executors it would be a nightmare - also bringing with it responsibilities and liabilities we could not fulfill. There is a house involved (falling apart) and I suspect a tremendous amount of "stuff" which probably still needs sorting. I would like to know what the realistic options are - without walking into something akin to a nightmare. Thanks for reading this monologue.

Keep_pedalling

I think in the circumstances you should leave the winding up to the local solicitor, assuming there are sufficient assets to pay for one.

JGB1955

His estate will be dealt with according to NSW rules/laws.  If he died intestate I would guess (not knowing Australian law) that nobody would be appointed as an executor and that someone will have to apply for letters of administration. 

see Dying without a Will | NSW Trustee and Guardian

I think you can just walk away....

SilasMarner

Thank you for your replies - especially the link JGB. I don't think there's a chance of my requesting the executorship . We shall see what "voluntary" information and help the parties, over there, offer before taking it further. The communication has been fairly nondescript so far - although early days.