How to make a will in Australia, step by step

Can you make your own will in Australia?

Yes. No state requires a lawyer to write a will. What makes a will valid is how it's made: it must be in writing, signed by you, and signed in front of two witnesses who are present at the same time and then sign it themselves (Succession Act 2006 (NSW) s 6, and the same rule in every other state).

You also need to be 18 or over (most states make limited exceptions, such as for someone who is married or a will authorised by a court), and you need to understand what you're signing: what you own, who might expect to inherit, and what the will does. If you've been told you might be losing capacity, see a lawyer soon.

The steps below are the same whichever way you make your will. Working through them first also makes a lawyer's appointment quicker and cheaper.

Step 1: List what you own and what you owe

Start with a rough list. You don't need exact values, just enough to see what your will has to deal with.

• Your home and any other property, and how you own it (alone, as joint tenants or as tenants in common)
• Bank accounts, shares, managed funds and crypto
• Vehicles, jewellery, collections and other valuable or sentimental items
• Superannuation and life insurance, and whether you've nominated anyone
• A business, company shares or a family trust you control
• Assets overseas
• Debts: mortgage, car loan, credit cards, personal loans

What doesn't go through your will?

This is where many people get caught out. Some assets pass outside your will, so leaving them in your will does nothing.

If you want your super to go to particular people, look at a binding death benefit nomination. If you own your home as joint tenants with someone other than your partner, check that's still what you want.

Step 2: Choose your beneficiaries and their backups

Your beneficiaries are the people and charities who inherit. Most people leave everything to a partner, and to their children if the partner dies first, but you can choose anyone.

• Use shares, not amounts, for the bulk of your estate. "50% each to my two children" still works if your estate grows or shrinks. "A$200,000 each" may not.
• Name a backup for every gift. If a beneficiary dies before you and you haven't said who takes their place, their gift usually fails and falls into the rest of your estate. A common choice is "to their children".
• Decide when young people inherit. Children under 18 can't manage an inheritance themselves, so your will should say who holds it for them and until what age: 18, or an older age such as 21 or 25.
• Think about anyone you're leaving out. Certain family members and dependants can ask a court for more if they weren't adequately provided for. See contesting a will.

Step 3: Choose your executor

Your executor collects your assets, pays your debts and tax, and distributes what's left. Most people choose a partner, adult child, relative or close friend, and a backup in case the first choice can't act. An executor can also be a beneficiary.

Choose someone organised and trustworthy who's likely to outlive you, and ask them first. You can also appoint a professional, such as a lawyer, a trustee company or your state's Public Trustee, which will charge fees. See choosing an executor.

Step 4: Choose guardians for your children

If you have children under 18, your will can name a guardian to care for them if neither parent is alive. A surviving parent with parental responsibility usually continues to care for the children, so the appointment mainly matters if you both die or you're raising them alone.

Name a backup guardian too, and talk to both before you sign. See choosing guardians for your children.

Step 5: Decide on any specific gifts

Specific gifts are particular items or sums of money that go to a particular person before the rest of your estate is divided: your car to your nephew, A$5,000 to a charity, your watch to your best friend.

• Describe each item so there's no doubt which one you mean.
• If you no longer own the item when you die, the gift usually fails, and nothing replaces it.
• A gift of a property or car normally goes with any loan secured on it unless your will says otherwise.
• Keep the list short. Minor items and guidance can go in a letter of wishes instead.

Step 6: Leave the rest of your estate

The rest of your estate (the residue) is everything left after debts, expenses and specific gifts. For most people it's nearly everything, so this is the most important clause in the will.

Make sure the shares add up to 100% and that every share has a backup. Any part of your estate the will doesn't give away passes under the intestacy rules instead, which is called a partial intestacy. See what happens without a will.

What to include in a will

A complete will usually covers the items below. For what each part does, see what a last will and testament is.

• Your full name and address
• A clause revoking your earlier wills
• Your executor, and a backup
• Guardians for children under 18, and a backup
• Any specific gifts, each with a backup
• Who gets the rest of your estate, in what shares, and who takes each share if someone dies first
• The age young beneficiaries inherit at
• Any trusts, such as a testamentary trust or special disability trust
• How your crypto and digital assets should be handled
• Funeral wishes, if you want them recorded (they guide your executor but don't bind them)
• A signing page for you and two witnesses

Do you need a lawyer to make a will?

No, but there are four main ways to make one, and a lawyer is the right choice for some people. Here's how they compare.

For the fees in each state, see how much a will costs.

A lawyer is worth it if your situation is complex: a business, a family trust or SMSF, assets overseas, a blended family where a claim is likely, or a beneficiary with a disability. You get advice, not just a document.

The Public Trustee in each state (NSW Trustee & Guardian in NSW, State Trustees in Victoria) prepares wills. Queensland's does it free, and NSW's is free for people eligible for the full Age Pension. In some states the free or cheap will depends on appointing the trustee as your executor, and it charges your estate for that role later, so check the terms.

An online service asks you questions and builds the will from your answers. With Willies it takes about 10 minutes, a real person checks every will within 2 business days, and it arrives as a PDF with signing instructions for your state. We don't give legal advice, so if your situation calls for it, see a lawyer.

A will kit is a fill-in-the-blanks form. It can work for a simple estate if you're careful, but nobody checks it. See will kits and where they go wrong.

Is an online will legal in Australia?

Yes. The law cares about how a will is signed and witnessed, not who typed it. An online will is printed and signed on paper in front of two witnesses, exactly like a will from a law firm, and it's just as valid.

What you can't do in most states is sign a will electronically or have it witnessed over video. New South Wales allows witnessing over a live video link with extra steps, and Victoria allows remote signing only with a lawyer or justice of the peace as a special witness. Everywhere else, sign on paper, in person.

How to sign and witness your will

1. Read the whole will once more before anyone signs.
2. Choose two witnesses aged 18 or over who can see you sign. Don't choose anyone who inherits under the will, or their partner.
3. With both witnesses watching at the same time, sign the will in pen where it says to, and date it.
4. Each witness then signs while you watch, adding their name and address. In the ACT, the witnesses must also sign in front of each other.
5. Many people also sign or initial the foot of each page. It isn't required, but it shows pages haven't been swapped.
6. Don't write on, unstaple or change the will after it's signed. A change made later generally has no effect unless it's signed and witnessed too (for example, Succession Act 2006 (NSW) s 14).

You don't need a JP or a lawyer as a witness. Any adult who can see you sign will do. See who can witness a will for the details.

Will rules in your state

The basic rule is the same everywhere, but what happens if a beneficiary witnesses your will is not.

Where should you keep your will?

Keep the signed original somewhere safe and dry where your executor can get to it, such as a fireproof box at home or with your other important papers, and tell your executor where it is. Many lawyers and Public Trustees will store your original, sometimes for a fee. No state requires you to register a will for it to be valid.

Your executor generally needs the signed original to apply for probate, and in NSW it's filed with the Supreme Court and not returned. A copy can make probate much harder. With Willies you can upload a photo or scan of every signed page to your vault, so there's a record of it and your executor knows the will exists.

When should you update your will?

Review your will every few years and whenever something big changes:

• You marry. Marriage generally revokes an existing will unless it was made in contemplation of that marriage (for example, Succession Act 2006 (NSW) s 12).
• You divorce or separate. Divorce revokes gifts to your former spouse and their appointment as executor (for example, Succession Act 2006 (NSW) s 13), and in Western Australia it revokes the whole will unless the will shows otherwise (Wills Act 1970 (WA) s 14A). If you're married, separating doesn't change your will, so update it when you separate rather than waiting for the divorce.
• You have a child, or a beneficiary, executor or guardian dies.
• You buy or sell property, start a business or come into money.
• You move overseas or buy assets there.

For a small change you can add a codicil, which is signed and witnessed like a will. Usually a new will is clearer. With the Willies Plan, updates are unlimited: your first year is included with every will, then it's A$49 a year, renewing automatically unless you turn it off.