With one in three estate clients unable to pay probate fees upfront, JustFund launches funding solution helping law firms reduce millions in debt burden

Estate lawyers say a growing structural pressure is emerging across Australia’s estates sector, with some stating around one in three clients unable to pay legal fees upfront and firms routinely carrying hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid work as probate becomes more complex and time consuming. This has prompted JustFund - a mission driven social lender - to launch an Australian first estate funding service in response.

As estates increase in size and complexity, probate is taking longer and requiring more legal involvement. Deloitte research shows the average executor now spends nine to twelve months administering an estate and must deal with 37 different institutions, including banks, super funds and share registries, highlighting how administratively demanding probate and estate administration has become.

At the same time, upfront costs continue to rise. In Victoria, probate filing fees for larger estates can exceed $17,000, while in New South Wales estates above $5 million can face around $18,500 in combined court and legal costs just to reach probate.

Because estate funds are typically locked during this process, many estates are asset rich but cash poor, meaning executors cannot readily access funds to meet these obligations. In practice, this leaves both families and law firms absorbing the financial burden during a time when they are already feeling emotionally drained.

Zinta Harris, Partner at Resolve Estate Law, says carrying fees has become a consistent feature of estate practice.

“Our firm handles hundreds of estate administration files and roughly half of those involve families whose estates hold valuable property or assets but have little immediate cash to fund the estate process,” Harris said. “Because probate can take months, and the subsequent sale of assets can take longer, we regularly carry our legal fees for estate administration work for up to a year or longer before being paid, simply so the estate can progress. At any given time, this can leave up to a hundred thousand dollars in unpaid fees tied up across our estate matters, with around a third of our estate clients unable to pay upfront. Many of these families are also struggling to cover basic costs such as funeral expenses, probate filing fees, or repairs needed to prepare a property for sale, which highlights a growing structural issue across the estates sector.”

With Australia entering one of the largest intergenerational wealth transfers in its history, estimated at $3.5 trillion over the next two decades, practitioners say these pressures will only increase as estates become more complex and probate processes take longer and become more expensive.

Amidst the current cost-of-living crisis, executors and beneficiaries are increasingly finding themselves in a financial deadlock, struggling to cover the essential legal fees and estate expenses required to initiate the probate and estate administration process. This "probate gap" often leaves families in a difficult dilemma, forced to rely on law firms to defer fees or carry the financial burden themselves just to move forward.  

In response, JustFund has launched an estate funding service designed to provide early access to funds secured against estate assets, allowing executors to cover legal fees, funeral expenses, insurance, rates, court filing fees, taxes and related expenses while the estate is being administered. As a result, lawyers no longer have to wait for months to receive payment for their services, freeing them up to take on more clients and manage their cash flow, whilst removing some of the financial pressure from their clients.

Similarly, beneficiaries no longer have to wait for probate to access their inheritance. JustFund can provide early access to a portion of their inheritance, enabling beneficiaries to pay down a mortgage, cover credit card debts, afford health insurance or other essentials.

Jack O’Donnell, Co-founder of JustFund, said the service reflects how estate administration is evolving in Australia.

“What we are seeing is not unusual behaviour, it is the reality of how estates are administered today,” O’Donnell said. “As estates become more complex, the gap between when costs arise and when funds become available is widening. This service is about addressing that gap in a practical way, giving families access to funds when they need them, and allowing law firms to operate without carrying that financial burden for extended periods.”

JustFund is already a proven provider of legal funding in Australia, having supported thousands of clients through divorce and separation matters and partnering with more than 1,300 law firms nationally. 

The estate funding service has been developed in consultation with estate lawyers, professional executors and financial advisors, and is being adopted as a practical solution to a structural challenge within the estates sector.

About JustFund

JustFund is a mission driven legal finance provider that offers flexible funding solutions for people navigating separation, divorce and now estate administration. The funding is assessed against a person’s expected family law or estate settlement, not their income, credit score, or employment status, enabling access to legal representation and the payment of critical related expenses when it is needed most. 

Since launching in 2022, JustFund has supported thousands of Australians and facilitated its clients to receive more than $2.5 billion in legal settlements. The company has approved over $275 million in funding and partners with more than 1,100 law firms and 4,000 individual lawyers nationwide. 

JustFund recently introduced estate funding to support executors and beneficiaries with flexible funding options to cover legal and administration costs during the estate administration process. This supports law firms and other professionals building client-focused practices and clients to get the financial support they need during one of life’s more challenging moments.