Do You Need Probate in NZ? The $40,000 Threshold Explained

Probate is a High Court order confirming that a will is valid and that the executor named in it has authority to deal with the estate. Whether you need it comes down to what the person owned, and how they owned it.

The short answer

The $40,000 threshold

Since 24 September 2025, banks, KiwiSaver providers and other institutions can release up to $40,000 held in the deceased's sole name without a grant of probate. Before that date the limit was $15,000, so older articles you find may quote the wrong figure.

Three things about the threshold trip people up:

• It applies per institution, not to the whole estate. If Dad had $30,000 at ANZ and $25,000 at Kiwibank, each bank can release its funds without probate — even though the total is over $40,000. But $42,000 at one bank will need a grant.
• Shares and bonds were not increased. The release limit for shareholdings remains $15,000.
• Each institution sets its own paperwork and policies. Most will ask for a death certificate, the will, identification, and a statutory declaration before releasing funds.

When probate is always required

• Real estate in the deceased's sole name. A house or land cannot be sold or transferred without probate (or letters of administration if there is no will), whatever it is worth.
• Any single sole-name holding over $40,000 — bank accounts, KiwiSaver, life insurance paid to the estate.
• Some institutions choose to require a grant even below the threshold — it is their discretion, not yours.

What doesn't count

Assets that pass outside the will usually don't push you over the threshold:

• Jointly owned property and joint bank accounts pass automatically to the surviving owner — see what happens to bank accounts when someone dies.
• Assets owned by a family trust are not part of the estate.
• Life insurance with a named beneficiary is paid directly to that person.

If there's no will

The same thresholds apply, but instead of probate you would apply for letters of administration — a similar court order naming an administrator. We cover this in letters of administration: what to do when there's no will.

What to do next

Make a simple list of everything the person owned in their sole name, and where. If everything sits under $40,000 per institution and there's no solely owned property, contact each institution and ask for their deceased estate process. If anything exceeds the line, an application to the High Court will be needed — most families use a lawyer for this. The cost is more modest than people expect: see how much probate costs in NZ.