# Death on the title: Form 4, transmission and the estate conveyance
When a Queensland owner dies, the register has to catch up before a sale or a gift can be registered. Survivorship, transmission, grants and what a buyer's lawyer checks.
---
When a registered owner dies, the land does not stop. A home may be sold, handed to a beneficiary, refinanced or simply held while the estate is sorted out. But the Queensland register still shows the name of someone who can no longer sign, and nothing can move forward on the title until that is dealt with in the right way.
For the lawyer running the file, the question is never just "who inherits". It is a narrower and more technical one: what interest did the deceased hold, how was it held, what document puts the right person on the title, and what evidence does the Registrar of Titles need to accept it. Get that wrong and the dealing comes back with a requisition, a settlement slips, or a buyer finds the seller cannot give clean title.
This guide follows the title side of a deceased estate conveyance, using the Land Title Practice Manual published by Titles Queensland and its guides to common registry transactions. It covers survivorship between joint tenants, transmission to a personal representative, the role of probate and letters of administration, the transfer that follows, the lodgement channels, the unusual cases, and what a buyer's lawyer looks for. The broader questions of an executor's duties as a seller, and of a death that happens between contract and settlement, belong to other guides.
$46.56registry fee to record a joint tenant's death, one lot
$300,000intestate estate ceiling for transmission without letters
30 dayssurvival period for a beneficiary, unless the will differs
Titles Registry fee schedule for 2026-27 and the Land Title Practice Manual, Parts 5, 5A and 6, updated 28 April 2026.
## The first document is a title search
Everything starts with what the register says. Titles Queensland's guide to recording a death asks two questions before any form is chosen: what interest the deceased held (owner, lessee or mortgagee) and how they held it (as sole owner, as a tenant in common or as a joint tenant). A current title search answers both, along with the lot and plan description, the title reference and any mortgage, lease or other registered interest that will shape the paperwork.
Under the 2026-27 Titles Registry fee schedule, an ordinary title search costs $25.71. It should be current: an old search may not show a mortgage, a caveat or a transmission lodged since.
The answer to the second question sends the file down one of two very different roads. Titles Queensland's manual puts it plainly: the death of a joint tenant is recorded with a Form 4, while a transmission applies after the death of a sole registered owner, a sole holder of an interest, or a tenant in common.
## Joint tenants: survivorship and the Form 4
Under a joint tenancy, the deceased's interest does not form part of the estate at all. Titles Queensland's guide on recording the death of a joint tenant says the interest "immediately passes to the surviving joint tenant/s on the basis of survivorship", and that it does not pass under the deceased's will. A will that leaves "my half of the house" to a child has nothing to act on if the house was held as joint tenants.
The register still has to be brought up to date, and that is the job of the Form 4, the Request to Record Death. Part 4 of the manual, updated on 28 April 2026, sets out the main points:
- the application is made by the surviving joint tenant or tenants, not by the deceased's personal representative;
- if the last surviving joint tenant has since died, that person's personal representative may apply;
- the usual evidence is a copy of the death certificate, and a grant of probate or letters of administration is also accepted;
- a foreign-language certificate needs a full translation;
- if the evidence is already on the register under an earlier dealing, the form cites that dealing number instead of depositing it again.
Titles Queensland's step-by-step guide, updated on 10 July 2026, adds the practical detail. A photocopy of the certificate is acceptable if a justice of the peace, a commissioner for declarations or an Australian lawyer certifies it as a true copy and shows their name and qualification or registration number. The form is signed in front of a qualified witness who is not a party to it. The guide says most correctly prepared dealings are registered within three to five working days.
The 2026-27 fee schedule has a line of its own for this: recording the death of an individual who is a joint tenant costs $46.56 for one lot, with no charge for each additional lot. By comparison, the schedule's general fee for an instrument that changes the ownership of one lot is $248.04.
Once the Form 4 is registered, the survivor is the sole owner on the title and can sell, mortgage or transfer like any other owner. No grant of probate is needed for this step.
## Sole owners and tenants in common: transmission
Where the deceased owned the land alone, or held a share as a tenant in common, there is no survivorship. Part 4 of the manual notes that tenants in common hold undivided shares and that only joint tenancy carries a right of survivorship. The deceased's interest belongs to the estate, and it reaches the title by a transmission application.
The manual describes the general law first. Under section 45 of the Succession Act 1981, title to a deceased person's assets passes on death to the executor, or to the Public Trustee where there is no executor, and on a grant of probate or administration it vests in the person who receives the grant. Where title is registered, the personal representative then applies to have the title transmitted. The Land Title Act 1994 deals with transmission to a personal representative in section 111 and to a devisee in section 112.
There are three forms, and choosing between them is one of the first decisions on the file.
Which transmission form fits the estateLand Title Practice Manual, Parts 5, 5A and 6
Form
Who applies
What it rests on
Who goes on title
Form 5
Personal representative
A Queensland grant, a resealed grant or a recognised grant
The applicant, as personal representative
Form 5A
Executor or administrator without a Queensland grant
The original will, or the small intestate estate rules
The applicant, as personal representative
Form 6
Devisee or legatee
Written consent of the personal representative
The beneficiary, as owner
Summary of the manual's descriptions of each form; the manual sets out further conditions for each.
A tenant in common's share follows the same path, but only for that share. The surviving co-owner's own share is untouched, so a sale of the whole lot after a transmission has two sellers: the survivor in their own right and the personal representative for the deceased's share.
## Probate, letters of administration and the grant question
A grant of probate (where there is a will) or letters of administration (usually where there is no will) is made by the Supreme Court. For the register, the important point is that a grant is useful but not always required.
The manual says a grant of probate is not essential for a transmission. Its value is that it confirms the will is valid and protects the executor if a later will turns up, unless that later will was known and not disclosed. Where probate has been granted, the original will stays with the Supreme Court. Where it has not, the original will is lodged with the transmission application and, the manual notes, becomes a permanent public record held by the registry.
Without a Queensland grant, the executor uses the Form 5A. The manual describes the Registrar as acting in a role similar to a court of probate here: the applicant must be, or be entitled to be, the personal representative, or the Registrar must consider that they would succeed in an application for a grant.
For intestacy, the room to act without a grant is narrower. A Form 5A may be used without letters of administration only where the gross value of the Queensland estate, leaving out property held as joint tenants, is no more than $300,000, and no Queensland grant has been made within six months of the death. The applicant's declaration sets out their entitlement, the names and relationships of everyone entitled, and whether there is a de facto spouse. Above that ceiling, letters are needed.
Two other paths appear in the manual:
- **The Public Trustee** may obtain an order to administer from the Supreme Court, which has the same effect as a grant, and is evidenced by a certificate of authority under section 138 of the Public Trustee Act 1978. For estates under $150,000, the Public Trustee may file an election to administer instead.
- **Grants made elsewhere.** A grant from another Australian state or territory, New Zealand or the United Kingdom is a "Queensland recognised grant" under the British Probates Act 1898 (Qld). If resealed in Queensland, it is lodged with a Form 5 like a local grant. If not resealed, a Form 5 may still be lodged with the original grant or an exemplification, provided the grantee is the applicant and a search of Queensland court files is made. A grant from outside that group needs a Queensland grant first.
Whether a particular estate should wait for a grant before signing a contract is a decision for the executor and their lawyer, and it turns on the facts of the estate. What the register shows is that the absence of a grant does not, on its own, close the door to a transmission, while a grant removes several of the Registrar's questions.
## What the Registrar checks in a will
When the will itself goes to the registry, as it does on a Form 5A, the manual lists a series of checks that can hold a dealing up.
- **The state of the original.** An original will must not be marked, pinned, stapled or annotated. Any sign of an earlier attachment may suggest another testamentary document. If there are marks, a statutory declaration of plight and condition is needed, made by whoever made the marks or, if they were already there, by the person who found the will.
- **Validity.** The Registrar may ask for a supplementary declaration where, for example, the will has no attestation clause or is undated.
- **Capacity.** The Registrar may look at the death certificate. If the cause of death suggests the deceased may have lacked testamentary capacity, a medical letter or a solicitor's declaration about capacity when the will was made is required.
- **Executors named by position.** Where a will identifies an executor by the position they hold rather than by name, a deed of nomination and acceptance must be prepared and deposited with the Form 5A.
- **Names.** Minor spelling differences need no explanation. A significant difference, such as a change of surname, needs a supplementary declaration with evidence such as a marriage certificate.
- **Advertising.** The Registrar may require public notice before registering, at the Registrar's discretion.
Wills made under the 2020 COVID-19 emergency regulation for documents and oaths are a special case: the manual says obtaining a grant first is "strongly recommended" to avoid registration delays.
## From the estate to a buyer or a beneficiary
Transmission puts the personal representative on the title. It does not finish the job. The land then leaves the estate in one of two ways: a sale to an outside buyer, or a transfer to the person entitled under the will or the intestacy rules.
For a sale, the personal representative signs an ordinary Form 1 transfer. Part 1 of the manual, updated on 28 April 2026, shows the transferor named in the capacity in which they act, in the style "William Alexander Doe as personal representative". The manual refers to a representative acting once recorded on the title by a transmission by death, which is why, on an estate sale, the transmission is part of the seller's side of the file. Every transfer of fee simple also carries a Form 24 property information form and a duty notation, even when no duty is payable.
For a beneficiary, there are two routes. The personal representative can sign a Form 1 transfer to the beneficiary, which the manual says should state the basis of the transfer, such as the terms of the will deposited under a given instrument number, and must be accompanied by a Form 20 declaration from the beneficiary. Or the beneficiary can apply directly with a Form 6, with the written consent of the personal representative, who signs it in front of a qualified witness. The manual adds that the representative must make sure the distribution is in order before consenting.
Timing matters here. Under section 33B of the Succession Act 1981, a beneficiary must survive the testator by 30 days unless the will says otherwise. The manual states that a Form 6 cannot be signed within that period, and that a transfer under a will should not be signed within it either.
Where the will leaves the property to two or more people, the manual explains how they will hold it: for wills made or republished on or after 1 December 1975, section 28 of the Property Law Act 2023 provides for a tenancy in common unless the will says joint tenancy. Where the personal representative is also the only beneficiary, the legal and beneficial estates merge, and the manual sets out its own procedure for that case.
Not on the register
A right to reside in a will does not appear on the title
The manual says a right to reside for life is a personal licence, not an estate, and that a right to reside, a charge or a condition in a will is not recorded on the title. A life estate created by a will is held by the personal representative, so only a Form 5 or 5A fits it.
That point has real weight for anyone dealing with the land later. A title search will not show that a parent was given the right to live in the house for life. The file has to read the will.
## Screen or paper: how the dealings are lodged
Part 4 of the manual describes electronic conveyancing as the primary method in Queensland, and Titles Queensland lists the instruments that must be lodged that way. Its page on available instruments, exclusions and exemptions, last updated on 15 September 2026, includes both the Form 4 and the Form 5 among the mandated instruments, alongside the transfer, the mortgage, the release, the caveat and the priority notice.
Both mandates come with exclusions, and an estate file often meets one of them.
- **Form 4** can go through the electronic network only for a fee simple lot, for the whole of the land, covering all lots on all titles, held as joint tenants, as a standalone document in the lodgement. It is excluded where there are several applicants, where a part share is involved, where the owner held in a capacity such as trustee, where other dealings sit in the same lodgement, or where registered interests such as a mortgage or a lease are involved.
- **Form 5** requires a grant of representation and is excluded for part-title dealings, for deaths before 1 January 1982, and where a personal representative has the same name as the deceased.
The same page does not deal with the Form 5A or the Form 6, which rest on deposited originals such as the will. The manual explains why an electronic Form 5 works differently from a paper one: it has no attachments. The subscriber enters the grant details, certifies under the participation rules and keeps a copy of the grant as evidence. For a recognised grant that has not been resealed, the subscriber must also search the Queensland court records and keep evidence of that search.
When a dealing falls outside the electronic channel, the paper route applies. Titles Queensland's guide says counter service is no longer offered, and that forms, evidence and payment go by post or into the drop box at the Brisbane office. If a lodged dealing is deficient, a requisition notice is issued, and the guide says the rejection date is usually two months from issue, with extensions available on written request to the Registrar of Titles.
## When deaths, partners or trusts complicate things
A minority of files bring facts the ordinary forms were not built for. The manual addresses several of them.
**Several deaths.** Where co-owners die one after the other, each death is recorded or transmitted in the order shown on the certificates. If the dates are the same, evidence is needed of who survived longest, and section 65 of the Succession Act 1981 may apply.
**A death caused by the survivor.** Part 4 of the manual says a surviving joint tenant who caused or was implicated in the death does not sever the joint tenancy, but holds the enlarged interest on a constructive trust, citing a 1989 Queensland decision. A Form 4 is still lodged, and resolving the trust interest takes a further instrument, usually supported by a court order.
**Partnership land.** Partnership property is not shown as such on the register. Under the Partnership Act 1891, a partnership dissolves on a partner's death unless the partners agreed otherwise in writing. The manual works through three cases: a sole registered owner (a transmission, then a transfer to the partners entitled), joint tenants (a Form 4, followed by a transfer only if the partnership is dissolved), and tenants in common (a transmission of the deceased's share, then a transfer). A certified partnership agreement is the usual evidence.
**Trustees.** Where a sole trustee has died and the trust property vests under section 41 of the Trusts Act 2025, Part 1 of the manual has the personal representative sign for the transferor, with the grant deposited.
## The buyer's lawyer and the estate seller
From the buyer's side, a deceased estate sale raises one practical question: will the seller be able to put a registrable transfer in the buyer's hands at settlement, with everything the Registrar needs to register it?
The title search is again the starting point, and it should be read against the contract. The checks that follow from the manual are concrete:
- **Who is on the title, and how.** If the deceased is still the registered owner, the seller's side has a transmission or a Form 4 to complete. If the deceased held as a joint tenant, the survivor is the right seller once the death is recorded.
- **Who signs.** The seller named in the contract should match the person who will sign the transfer, in the capacity shown on the title or the transmission.
- **What the transmission rests on.** A Form 5 rests on a grant; a Form 5A rests on the will or the small intestate estate rules, with the declarations, the will checks and the possible advertising the Registrar may require.
- **Shares.** For a tenancy in common, both the survivor and the personal representative need to sign for the whole lot to pass.
- **Registered interests.** A mortgage over the property, or any other registered interest, also shapes the lodgement route for a Form 4.
Each of these steps carries its own evidence and its own chance of a requisition, which an ordinary sale does not have.
> The register does not care who inherits. It cares which form, which evidence and which signature, in which order.
## Putting the estate file in order
Read together, the manual's parts give a sequence that most estate sales follow on the title side. The details change with the facts, but the order rarely does.
The title path on a deceased estate sale
Search the titleConfirm the deceased's interest and whether it was held alone, as a tenant in common or as a joint tenant.
Choose the routeA Form 4 for a joint tenant; a Form 5, 5A or 6 for a sole owner or a tenant in common.
Gather the evidenceThe death certificate, and the grant or the original will with any declarations the Registrar needs.
Record the changeLodge electronically where the mandate applies, or by post or drop box where the dealing is excluded.
Transfer the landThe survivor or the personal representative signs the Form 1 to the buyer or the beneficiary.
The manual itself warns that its guides do not cover every situation, and Titles Queensland's own guide to recording a death asks people to confirm their requirements with a solicitor before lodging. What does not change is that the register follows the paperwork: the land moves only when the right form, with the right evidence, is accepted.