Alternatives to Fixed-Fee Probate Services in South Australia (Bare, Gathered Here)

Fixed-fee probate services like Bare and Gathered Here fill a genuine gap in the South Australian market — they offer a more affordable, more transparent alternative to traditional solicitors. But they are not the cheapest option, and for many executors they are not the right option. The best alternative to a fixed-fee service, for a significant number of South Australian estates, is a jurisdiction-specific probate guide and a CourtSA account.

This page explains exactly what fixed-fee services include, what they cost, and when a structured DIY approach is more appropriate — using real fees, real limitations, and honest comparisons.

What Fixed-Fee Probate Services Actually Offer

Fixed-fee LawTech providers in Australia market themselves on two claims: predictable pricing and digital convenience. They handle the CourtSA application on your behalf, prepare the Statement of Assets and Liabilities, manage any requisitions from the Probate Registry, and deliver a digital grant. The solicitor or legal professional on the other side of the portal does the filing; you provide the documents and pay the fee.

What these services charge:

• Bare: approximately $1,999 for an uncontested grant of probate (fees verified as of 2025/2026).
• Gathered Here: approximately $1,999 to $2,500 depending on estate complexity.
• These figures are for the professional fee only. The Supreme Court filing fee is additional and unavoidable.

What you still pay on top of the service fee:

For a typical Adelaide estate with a family home — which commonly pushes the estate value above $500,000 — the minimum combined cost through a fixed-fee service is roughly $4,600.

Why Executors Consider These Services

The appeal of fixed-fee services is real. They exist because traditional probate solicitors in South Australia charge $300 to $500 per hour and often do not disclose the final bill until the estate is wound up. Fixed-fee providers solve the transparency problem.

They also solve a confidence problem. A first-time executor who has never seen the CourtSA portal, does not know what "Rule 351.8" requires for identity verification, and is afraid of triggering a formal requisition from the Probate Registry may find it easier to hand the application to a professional and pay a flat fee.

That is a legitimate choice. It is not the only choice.

The Real Alternatives

Alternative 1: File Through CourtSA Yourself With a Jurisdiction-Specific Guide

The CourtSA portal is publicly accessible to any executor in South Australia. A self-represented applicant can create an account, navigate the questionnaire, pay the filing fee, and submit the application — provided they understand what the system requires.

The system requires things that are not obvious:

• Under Rule 351.8, you must present 100 points of original identity documents to an authorized witness (Justice of the Peace, non-probationary police officer, or notary public) who completes a Certificate of Identity. The specific Category A and Category B combinations matter.
• Under Rule 356.5, you must physically sign the reverse side of the last page of the original will — along with your authorized witness. Any staple removal for scanning purposes triggers an automatic requisition.
• After submitting the digital application and paying the court fee, the online submission does not start the clock. You must physically deliver (or mail via registered post) the original will, unfolded, in an A4 envelope with the CourtSA-generated coversheet affixed to the outside, to the Probate Registry at 241–259 Victoria Square, Adelaide.

None of these requirements are hidden — they are in the Uniform Civil Rules 2020. But they are not explained in plain English anywhere on the CourtSA platform, and the Probate Registry cannot provide legal advice when you do not understand them.

The South Australia Probate Process Guide translates these requirements into step-by-step instructions. It covers the CourtSA portal procedures, bank release thresholds by institution (CBA, ANZ, Westpac, BankSA), Land Services SA property transmission forms, and the Succession Act 2023 provisions that replaced the old Administration and Probate Act 1919 from 1 January 2025. The court fee is still yours to pay. The professional fee disappears.

Alternative 2: Use the Public Trustee (for Small Estates)

If the estate's gross value is $100,000 or less and it contains no real property, the Public Trustee of South Australia can administer it without a Supreme Court application under Section 73 of the Succession Act 2023. The Public Trustee publishes a notice in the Government Gazette and on its website, which creates a deemed grant without court involvement.

The Public Trustee is not free. Its commission on estates up to $200,000 is 4.4% of gross asset value — which on a $100,000 estate is $4,400, plus an annual audit fee of $204. For comparison, the CourtSA filing fee on a $100,000 estate is $987.

The Public Trustee route makes sense when the executor is unwilling or unable to engage with the CourtSA process and the estate is below the $100,000 threshold with no real property. It does not make sense as a general cost-saving measure — the commission exceeds the court fee at almost every estate size.

Alternative 3: Free Government Resources (With Significant Caveats)

The Courts Administration Authority publishes CourtSA filing guides. The Legal Services Commission Law Handbook covers South Australian probate comprehensively. The Public Trustee publishes small estate guidance. All of these are free.

The problem with free government resources is sequencing. They answer "what" but not "when" or "how." The LSC Law Handbook is accurate — it references the Succession Act 2023 correctly — but it functions as a legal encyclopedia, not a workflow. The CAA filing guide tells you what to lodge; it references rule numbers rather than explaining what those rules require. No single free resource connects the bank release threshold decision, the CourtSA application, and the Land Services SA property transmission into a coherent sequence that an executor can follow from beginning to end.

Critically, most online content about South Australian probate still references the Administration and Probate Act 1919, which was repealed on 1 January 2025. The intestacy thresholds, small estate provisions, and executor duty rules under the Succession Act 2023 are different. Following pre-2025 guidance creates real risk.

Side-by-Side Comparison

Who Should Use a Fixed-Fee Service

A fixed-fee service like Bare or Gathered Here is the right choice when:

• You have confirmed the estate requires probate (real property in sole name, or bank accounts above institutional thresholds) but you are not confident navigating the CourtSA portal yourself.
• The estate value is modest enough that the $1,999 service fee represents an acceptable percentage of the total inheritance.
• You want someone to handle requisitions and back-and-forth with the Probate Registry without your involvement.
• Time is extremely limited and you cannot devote a weekend to the application.

Who Should Use a Probate Guide Instead

A structured probate guide is the better alternative when:

• The estate is straightforward — clear will, named executor willing to act, no contested beneficiaries.
• You want to understand what you are doing and why, not just receive a digital grant.
• The $1,999 service fee would consume a material percentage of a modest estate.
• You are an organized person comfortable with an administrative process that takes several hours over a few weeks.
• You need a permanent reference for every subsequent step (bank release negotiations, Land Services SA property transfer, distribution to beneficiaries, closing the estate) — not just the grant application itself.

Who This Is NOT For

Neither a fixed-fee service nor a DIY guide is appropriate when:

• A probate caveat has been lodged by a family member or other interested party.
• The will is being contested on grounds of testamentary incapacity or undue influence.
• The estate is insolvent — debts exceed assets.
• The estate involves complex business assets, foreign real property, or significant superannuation disputes.

These situations require a litigation solicitor, not an administrative filing service.

FAQ

Is Bare or Gathered Here available for South Australian estates?

Both services operate across Australian jurisdictions. However, South Australia's post-January 2025 framework — the Succession Act 2023 and the CourtSA electronic filing system — has specific procedural requirements that differ from other states. When evaluating any online service, confirm it has been updated for the current South Australian rules and does not rely on generic Australian probate guidance that predates the 2025 legislative overhaul.

Do fixed-fee services include the Land Services SA property transfer?

This varies by provider and is typically an additional service or not included at all. The property transfer — lodging a Transmission Application (Form TA) with Land Services SA after the grant is issued — requires separate Verification of Identity and Verification of Authority documentation and a $198 lodgement fee. It is a distinct step from the CourtSA grant application.

Can I switch from a fixed-fee service to DIY midway through?

Technically yes, but it is not straightforward. If a service has already filed a CourtSA application under their professional account, you would need to either continue with them or instruct them to withdraw the application. It is cleaner to choose your approach before the application is submitted.

What is the cheapest way to get probate in South Australia?

The cheapest way to obtain a grant of probate in South Australia is to file the CourtSA application yourself, paying only the mandatory Supreme Court filing fee. For a $200,000 estate that requires probate, the minimum cost is $987 in court fees. This approach requires correct preparation — particularly for the identity verification and will marking requirements — but it is legally available to any executor and is the approach the CourtSA portal was designed to support.

How do I know if I qualify for a small estate exemption?

Under Section 73 of the Succession Act 2023, the Public Trustee can administer an estate without a Supreme Court application if the total gross value is $100,000 or less and the estate includes no real property. Under Section 100, any institution holding $15,000 or less of the deceased's personal property can release it directly to a surviving spouse, domestic partner, or child without any grant. Whether your estate qualifies for either exemption depends on a specific asset-by-asset assessment — the South Australia Probate Process Guide includes the decision tree for working through this before filing anything.

Fixed-fee services are a legitimate improvement on traditional solicitors for uncomplicated South Australian estates. But for executors who are organized, willing to spend a few hours, and want to protect more of the estate for its beneficiaries, a current, SA-specific probate guide and a CourtSA account is the better alternative.

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