Surviving Spouse Estate Rights in the ACT: Joint Tenancy and Bank Accounts

When your spouse dies, the last thing you want is to discover that assets you assumed were automatically yours are actually frozen, disputed, or tied up in a court process you did not anticipate. The good news for most surviving spouses in the Australian Capital Territory is that the majority of jointly-held assets — the family home, everyday bank accounts — pass to you outside the probate process entirely. But the path is not automatic. Specific forms must be filed, agencies must be notified, and a few common misunderstandings can cause weeks of unnecessary delay.

Here is exactly what applies in the ACT.

Joint tenancy: the property does not form part of the estate

If you and your spouse owned your home as joint tenants — not as tenants in common — then when one owner dies, the surviving owner automatically becomes the sole owner by operation of law. The property does not pass through the Will and does not require probate to transfer.

To formally update the title in the ACT, you need to file a Notice of Death by Surviving Proprietor (Form 015-ND) with Access Canberra's Land Titles Office. The filing fee is $178 for the 2025/2026 financial year. You will need:

• The original death certificate (or a certified copy)
• The completed Form 015-ND
• Evidence of the joint tenancy (your existing certificate of title)

This can be lodged in person at an Access Canberra service centre or by post. Once processed, the title is reissued in your name alone. This is the correct pathway for the overwhelming majority of surviving spouses who owned a Canberra home together.

The critical distinction: If the property was held as tenants in common — where each person owned a defined share, such as 50/50 — then the deceased's share does form part of the estate and requires either probate or letters of administration before it can transfer. Many couples do not know which tenancy type applies to them. Check your certificate of title or contact Access Canberra to confirm before assuming you can file Form 015-ND.

Joint bank accounts: access is usually available immediately

For joint bank accounts, the surviving account holder typically retains access immediately following notification of the death to the bank. The account does not freeze in the same way as a sole account — it simply converts to a sole account in your name.

In practice, you should notify the bank as soon as possible after receiving the death certificate, bringing a certified copy of the death certificate and government-issued photo ID. The bank will remove the deceased's name from the account and continue operating it in your name.

However, be aware that banks may place a temporary hold on the account between notification of death and receipt of the death certificate. The ACT has a 15 business day processing time for death certificates issued by Access Canberra's Births, Deaths and Marriages division. During this period, funds in joint accounts may be temporarily inaccessible. If you need immediate access to cash for urgent expenses including the funeral, ask the bank specifically about early release provisions for hardship situations — many will release funds for a documented funeral invoice even before the certificate is issued.

Centrelink pensions: notify immediately

If your spouse received a Centrelink payment — Age Pension, Disability Support Pension, Carer Payment — you must notify Centrelink as soon as possible after the death. Pension payments do not automatically cease. Centrelink will issue a bereavement payment (typically 14 weeks of the deceased's entitlement) as part of the transition, but overpayments beyond that period become a debt you will be asked to repay. This causes significant financial stress for surviving spouses who delay notification.

Call Centrelink on 132 300 and advise them of the death. You will need the deceased's Centrelink Customer Reference Number (CRN), the death certificate once available, and your own identification. Centrelink will also assess whether your own payment rate changes as a result of the death — transitioning from a couples rate to a singles rate often has significant financial implications.

The same prompt notification applies to any Department of Veterans' Affairs (DVA) entitlements the deceased received. DVA's phone line is 1800 555 254.

What happens to the deceased's sole accounts

Bank accounts held solely in the deceased's name are frozen immediately upon notification of death. You cannot access these funds without formal legal authority. Whether you need full probate depends on the account balance and the specific bank's internal threshold. In the ACT, the Public Trustee and Guardian can administer estates under $150,000 without a full court grant, and banks maintain their own internal thresholds above which they require a Grant of Probate before releasing funds to the executor.

If the estate is otherwise simple — no real property held in the deceased's name alone, modest bank balances — the practical answer may be that you do not need probate at all. The complete picture depends on which assets existed solely in the deceased's name.

Intestacy if there is no Will

If your spouse died without a Will, the ACT's intestacy formula under the Administration and Probate Act 1929 applies. As the surviving spouse, you are entitled to the first $200,000 of the estate plus 8% per annum interest calculated from the date of death, plus a share of the remainder alongside any children. If you have children together and the estate is modest, the statutory formula often delivers the entire estate to you — but it is not automatic. You must apply to the Supreme Court for Letters of Administration to obtain legal authority to deal with the estate.

For blended families — where the deceased had children from a prior relationship — the intestacy formula can produce outcomes that require the family home to be sold to pay out the children's share. This is one of the most acute financial risks facing surviving spouses without a valid Will in place.

The ACT Estate Settlement Guide covers both testate (with a Will) and intestate (without a Will) paths for surviving spouses, including the exact forms and notification sequences. You can get it at /au/australian-capital-territory/estate-settlement/.

The quick checklist for surviving spouses

Within the first two weeks:

• Notify Centrelink and DVA (do not delay — overpayments become debts)
• Notify the primary bank to begin the account transition process
• Apply for the death certificate from Access Canberra (15 business day processing time)

Once the death certificate arrives:

• File Form 015-ND with Access Canberra Land Titles if the home was jointly owned as joint tenants
• Present the death certificate to all financial institutions to close or transfer accounts
• Confirm whether any assets were held in the deceased's name alone and, if so, what the combined value is

The first few weeks are the most time-sensitive. Centrelink notification especially cannot wait.

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