Wills & Estates — All States & Territories
Wills & Estates Lawyers — Plan Ahead. Protect What Matters.
Whether you need a will drafted, an estate administered, a family provision claim considered, or a power of attorney put in place, a wills and estates lawyer ensures your wishes are properly documented and your family is protected. Estate disputes are among the most damaging family conflicts — and the right legal structure prevents most of them. Get connected with a wills and estates lawyer for a free consultation today.
⚠ Family provision claims (contesting a will) must be lodged within 12 months of the date of death in most states — and significantly shorter in some. Without a valid will, the intestacy rules determine who inherits — which may not reflect your wishes. Get advice today.
Wills & Estates Practice Areas
Every wills and estates matter — from planning to dispute resolution.
Select the wills and estates issue that matches your situation. Each page explains the legal requirements, the process, and the time limits that apply in your state.
Wills & Will Drafting
A properly drafted will ensures your assets go to the people you choose, appoints an executor you trust, and sets out your wishes for dependants. DIY wills are frequently invalid or challenged — a lawyer-drafted will is the only reliable protection.
Get will drafting help →Probate & Letters of Administration
Probate is the court process that validates a will and authorises the executor to administer the estate. Where there is no will, letters of administration are required. A lawyer manages the Supreme Court application and the estate administration process.
Get probate help →Contesting a Will — Family Provision
Eligible family members and dependants who believe they have been inadequately provided for in a will (or from an intestate estate) can make a family provision claim. Strict time limits apply — typically 12 months from the date of death, shorter in some states.
Get family provision help →Powers of Attorney & Advance Care Directives
A power of attorney authorises another person to make financial and legal decisions if you lose capacity. An advance care directive records your healthcare wishes. These are as important as a will — and often more immediately relevant.
Get POA help →Estate Administration & Executor Duties
Executors are personally liable for errors in estate administration. A lawyer guides executors through their legal obligations — from obtaining probate and calling in assets through to distributing the estate and managing disputes.
Get executor help →Challenging Will Validity
A will can be challenged on grounds including lack of testamentary capacity, undue influence, fraud, or improper execution. Where a will is found to be invalid, the estate passes under a prior valid will or under the intestacy rules. A lawyer assesses the prospects of a validity challenge.
Get will challenge help →Superannuation Death Benefits
Superannuation does not automatically form part of a deceased estate — it is distributed by the trustee of the fund according to binding death benefit nominations or fund rules. Disputes about who should receive a death benefit are common and require specialist legal advice.
Get super death benefit help →Testamentary Trusts
A testamentary trust is established by a will and comes into effect on death — providing asset protection, tax effectiveness, and flexibility for beneficiaries (particularly children). Testamentary trusts are an essential planning tool for estates with significant assets or complex family circumstances.
Get testamentary trust help →Why Estate Planning Matters
The most important legal documents you will ever sign — and the consequences of not having them.
More than half of Australians do not have a valid will. The consequences — family disputes, intestacy, delays in estate administration, and assets going to unintended recipients — are almost entirely avoidable with proper legal planning.
Dying without a will — the intestacy rules may not match your wishes
Where a person dies without a valid will (intestate), their estate is distributed according to the intestacy legislation of the relevant state or territory. The rules follow a defined order — generally spouse, then children, then parents, then siblings. Defacto partners may or may not be treated as spouses depending on the state. Stepchildren, charities, friends, and other people the deceased may have wished to benefit receive nothing under the intestacy rules. A will is the only way to ensure your assets go where you intend.
DIY wills — the risks of getting it wrong
Newsagency will kits and online will generators are frequently inadequate — and invalid wills are far more common than most people realise. Common problems include: failure to sign in the presence of two witnesses; witnesses who are also beneficiaries (which can invalidate gifts to those witnesses); unclear or ambiguous gift descriptions; failure to appoint an executor; and failure to deal with all assets. A lawyer-drafted will avoids these pitfalls and is significantly more likely to be admitted to probate without dispute.
Superannuation — the asset your will may not cover
Superannuation is not automatically part of a deceased estate — it is held in trust by the superannuation fund trustee and distributed to dependants or the estate according to the binding death benefit nomination (BDBN) or the trustee's discretion where no valid BDBN exists. A binding death benefit nomination directs the trustee to pay to specific dependants or the estate — but it must be correctly executed and (in most funds) renewed every 3 years. A lawyer ensures the BDBN works with the will to achieve the intended overall outcome.
Powers of attorney — the documents you need before you need them
A power of attorney (financial) and an enduring guardianship or advance care directive (medical) allow a trusted person to make decisions if you lose capacity — through accident, illness, or age. Without these documents in place, family members must apply to the state civil and administrative tribunal (NCAT, VCAT, QCAT, etc.) to be appointed as a guardian or financial manager — an expensive and emotionally distressing process. A lawyer prepares powers of attorney and advance care documents as part of a complete estate planning package.
Family provision claims — who can contest your will
Even a properly drafted will can be contested by eligible persons — typically spouses, children, and former spouses — who claim they have been inadequately provided for from the estate. Family provision legislation in each state gives courts a broad discretion to make orders out of the estate regardless of the terms of the will. The best protection against family provision claims is a well-structured estate plan that documents the reasons for the distribution and minimises the amounts available to successful claimants — for example, through testamentary trusts and superannuation structures.
Executor liability — the risk of getting administration wrong
An executor is personally liable for losses to the estate arising from their failure to comply with their legal obligations — including paying estate debts in the correct order, distributing assets prematurely, failing to call in estate assets, and breaching trustee duties where the estate includes a testamentary trust. Executors who are not experienced in estate administration should engage a solicitor to guide the process — the cost is an estate expense and significantly reduces the risk of personal liability.
How It Works
One request. A free wills & estates consultation.
Tell us what you need — a new will, estate administration assistance, a family provision claim, or powers of attorney. A wills and estates lawyer will contact you for a free consultation.
Submit Your RequestDescribe your estate planning or dispute matter
Tell us whether you need a will drafted, are administering an estate, are considering contesting a will, or need powers of attorney. Include your state and any relevant deadlines.
Matched to a wills & estates lawyer
Your request is matched to a lawyer experienced in your specific matter — will drafting, probate, family provision claims, or estate dispute resolution.
Free consultation arranged
A wills and estates lawyer contacts you for a free, confidential consultation — advising on your options, the process, and any time limits that apply.
About Wills & Estates Law in Australia
State-based legislation — why the rules differ.
Wills and estates law in Australia is state and territory-based — each jurisdiction has its own Succession Act (or equivalent), Probate Rules, and family provision legislation. While the principles are broadly similar across jurisdictions, the specific rules — including who can make a will, the formalities for execution, who is eligible to make a family provision claim, and the time limits for doing so — vary between states.
A will is generally governed by the law of the state where the testator was domiciled at the time of death. Real property (land) is governed by the law of the state where the property is located. For estates with assets in multiple states — particularly real property in different states — specialist legal advice is important to ensure all assets are properly dealt with by the estate planning documents.
Family provision legislation — the Succession Act in NSW, the Administration and Probate Act in Victoria, the Succession Act in Queensland — allows eligible persons to make a claim on a deceased estate regardless of the terms of the will. Courts have a broad discretion to make provision out of the estate. The existence of this legislation means no will is completely "contest-proof" — but proper estate planning can minimise the risk and the amount of any successful claim.
Probate — the Supreme Court process by which a will is formally proved and the executor's authority confirmed — is required before most third parties (including banks, share registries, and land titles offices) will deal with an executor in relation to the deceased's assets. Each state's Supreme Court has its own probate registry and procedural requirements. A lawyer prepares the probate application, files it with the court, and obtains the grant of probate on behalf of the executor.
Powers of attorney in Australia are also state and territory-specific — each state has its own legislation and forms. A power of attorney prepared in NSW (under the Powers of Attorney Act 2003) may need to be recognised in another state where the attorney-in-fact needs to act in relation to property in that state. A lawyer who understands the requirements across jurisdictions ensures powers of attorney operate effectively wherever they are needed.
Superannuation death benefits, while held outside the estate, interact closely with the overall estate plan — particularly where the deceased's estate is insufficient to meet specific bequests or debts, or where a family provision claimant seeks to have superannuation notionally added to the estate for the purpose of the claim (which courts can do in some circumstances). A comprehensive estate plan addresses both the will and the superannuation death benefit nomination as a coordinated whole.