Deceased estate sale: estate versus beneficiaries
On a deceased estate sale, the estate side and the beneficiaries are not the same customer. A beneficiary who only receives proceeds is not automatically verified, and a beneficiary who is buying is a buyer.
Quick answer
Start with the legal personal representative and the capacity in which the property is sold, because the program defines the customer. Do not order a personal check for every name in the will. If a beneficiary is also the purchaser, open that buyer's file separately and email the link the program names. The client pays, and the will is not KYB.
People search “deceased estate AML CDD” when a conveyancer is selling a house for a deceased estate and has been handed a will with four beneficiaries. Checked against AUSTRAC's initial customer due diligence overview on 4 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. This page does not reproduce that guidance. Where a trust is the customer, start with beneficial owner of a trust. The sector map is /tranche-2.
The will is not the customer list
Deceased estate AML CDD goes wrong when every name in the will is treated as a buyer. The sale is by the estate, through the legal personal representative. That person, or the estate in the capacity your program describes, is the place to start. Beneficiaries who will only receive money after settlement are not, by that fact alone, customers of the sale.
A beneficiary who wants to buy the property from the estate is a purchaser, on a separate file. Do not staple that file to the estate file and call both done. This page does not define the customer for you. The program does, read against the initial due diligence overview.
- Start with the representative. The executor or administrator is often who instructs you. Record the capacity, not only the family name.
- Do not KYC the will. Four beneficiaries are not four automatic personal checks. Add a person only if the program says they are in the customer question.
- Split a beneficiary-buyer. Someone who takes the property as purchaser is a buyer. The estate file does not double as their CDD.
- Do not force a company shape. An estate is not a company because the software has a company button. Use the customer type the program names.
Who is on the estate file
A sorting aid for a sale by a deceased estate. This table does not reproduce AUSTRAC's customer due diligence overview.
| Person | Usual place in the question | The mistake |
|---|---|---|
| Legal personal representative | Often the instructing customer, in the capacity the program describes | Skipping them as just the executor |
| The estate | The capacity in which the property is sold | Forcing a company KYB with no thought |
| Beneficiary who only receives proceeds | Not automatically the customer of the sale | A personal check for every name in the will |
| Beneficiary who is buying | A purchaser, on a separate file | The estate result reused as the buyer's CDD |
Where the estate page stops
This page is the estate-versus-beneficiary split. It is not the rule for customers you already had before the reform. That sits on pre-commencement customers. This page does not apply the trust test to every estate.
What the client pays
On FreeAML the firm suite is A$0. The firm emails the client a link. Verification is client-pays. On the public list a personal KYC check is A$20 and a company or trust KYB check is A$40. Use KYB when the customer is a company or a trust. A will is not included in the firm suite as a substitute for the customer the program names. Confirm the live amounts on FreeAML pricing. FreeAML does not decide who the customer is on a deceased estate sale.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Check the customer the program names.
The firm suite is A$0. The client pays. KYC is for a person. KYB is for a company or trust. A beneficiary list is not a bundle price.
Start an AML checkQuestions: team@freeaml.com.au