Making a will in Queensland

Wills in Queensland are governed by the Succession Act 1981 (Qld). The same Act sets out who inherits when there's no will (Part 3 and Schedule 2) and who can apply for a bigger share of an estate (Part 4).

How do you make a valid will in Queensland?

Under section 10 of the Succession Act, a will must be:

• in writing, typed or handwritten
• signed by you, or by someone else in your presence and at your direction, with the intention of making the will (s 10(2), (7))
• signed, or your signature acknowledged, in front of two or more witnesses who are present at the same time (s 10(3))
• signed by at least two of those witnesses in your presence, although not necessarily in front of each other (s 10(4))

The signatures don't have to be at the foot of the will (s 10(6)), the witnesses don't need to know the document is a will (s 10(5)), and no attestation clause is required (s 10(9)). Nothing has to be lodged or registered.

Who can witness a will in Queensland?

The Act doesn't set a minimum age, but a person who can't see you sign can't act as a witness (s 10(10)). The Public Trustee's guidance is to use two witnesses over 18 who don't benefit from the will, and that's the safe choice.

What if a beneficiary witnesses the will?

In Queensland a gift to someone who witnessed the will is void, although the rest of the will still works (s 11). The gift is saved only if:

• at least two of the people who witnessed the will aren't beneficiaries (s 11(3)(a))
• everyone who would benefit from the gift failing agrees in writing (s 11(3)(b))
• the Supreme Court is satisfied you knew and approved of the gift and made it freely and voluntarily (s 11(3)(c))

The same rule applies to a gift to an interpreter who helped you make the will (s 12). Section 11 catches the witness rather than their spouse, but a beneficiary's partner witnessing still invites questions. Use two witnesses who get nothing under your will. Our guide to who can witness a will compares every state.

Queensland's Act has no procedure for witnessing a will over a video call, so your witnesses need to be in the room with you.

Who can make a will in Queensland?

A will made by a minor isn't valid (s 9(1)). The exceptions are:

• a minor can make a will in contemplation of marriage, but it has no effect if that marriage doesn't take place (s 9(2)(a))
• a minor who is married can make, change or revoke a will (s 9(2)(b))
• a minor whose marriage has ended can revoke a will made during or in contemplation of that marriage (s 9(2)(c))
• the Supreme Court can authorise a minor to make or change a will in terms it states (s 19)

You also need testamentary capacity: you understand that you're making a will, roughly what you own, and who might reasonably expect to benefit. If someone lacks capacity, the Supreme Court can authorise a will for them (s 21).

Does marriage, divorce or separation cancel a will in Queensland?

Getting married revokes your will, and so does entering a civil partnership (ss 14, 14A). Gifts to the person you're married to or partnered with when you die, and their appointment as executor, trustee or guardian, survive. A will made in contemplation of a particular marriage isn't revoked by that marriage, whether or not the will says so (s 14(3)).

Divorce or annulment cancels gifts to your former spouse, their appointment as executor, trustee or guardian, and any power of appointment given to them (s 15). Queensland goes further than NSW and Victoria: the end of a civil partnership (s 15A) or a de facto relationship (s 15B) has the same effect.

In each case your former partner can still be trustee of property left on trust for beneficiaries who include their children, the rule doesn't apply if your will shows a contrary intention, and otherwise the will works as if your former partner died before you. Separating from a husband or wife isn't enough on its own: s 15 applies once a divorce order takes effect.

What if a will wasn't signed properly in Queensland?

The Supreme Court can treat a document that wasn't signed or witnessed correctly as a will, a change to a will or a revocation, if it's satisfied the person intended it to work that way (s 18). It can look at how the document was made and at other evidence of the person's intentions, including things they said.

This dispensing power is a last resort, not a substitute for signing properly. It needs a court application and evidence, which costs your family time and money, and the result isn't guaranteed.

What happens if you die without a will in Queensland?

Schedule 2 of the Succession Act sets the order. Your spouse includes a husband or wife, a civil partner, and a de facto partner you'd lived with continuously for at least two years when you died (s 5AA).

• Spouse, no children: your spouse takes the whole estate.
• Spouse and children: your spouse takes A$150,000 and the household chattels, then half of the rest if you had one child, or a third if you had more. Your children share the balance.
• Children, no spouse: your children share equally, with grandchildren taking the share of a child who died before you (s 36A).
• No spouse or children: your parents, then your next of kin: brothers and sisters, then grandparents, then aunts and uncles, with nieces, nephews and first cousins taking a deceased parent's share (ss 35(1A), 37).
• None of those relatives: the estate goes to the State.

Two things differ from NSW and Victoria. Your spouse gets the A$150,000 and a share, not everything, even when all your children are also theirs. And the A$150,000 is a fixed amount written into Schedule 2 rather than an indexed one (current as at October 2026). Household chattels don't include cars, boats, jewellery, original artworks or other personal items (s 34A).

A beneficiary must survive you by 30 days (s 35(2)). The Public Trustee's page about deceased estates explains the order, and our guide to dying without a will compares the states.

Where should you keep your will in Queensland?

Registration isn't one of the requirements in s 10, so where you keep the original is up to you:

• the Public Trustee, which can hold the original of a will it prepares in its storage facility
• your lawyer, if a law firm prepared the will
• at home, somewhere fireproof, with your executor told exactly where

After a death, families usually check the person's papers and ask their lawyer and bank, and the Public Trustee if it may have made the will. Once someone applies for probate, the will is filed with the court, becomes a public document and shows up in the Queensland Courts' wills and estates search.

How much does a will cost in Queensland?

The Public Trustee's free service is a good option if you can get to an appointment. An online will suits people who'd rather do it from home tonight, want a Complete Will with trusts or business interests, or want their will stored with a digital legacy plan and updated whenever life changes. See how much a will costs for more.

How does probate work in Queensland?

Probate is the court's confirmation that a will is valid and that the executor can deal with the estate. In Queensland the executor applies to the Supreme Court of Queensland for a grant. If you've been named as an executor, our executor guide explains the job.

Making your will online in Queensland with Willies

Willies prepares your will for the state you live in, with a signing page and instructions that follow Queensland law. You answer about 10 minutes of plain-English questions and pay nothing until the end: A$149 for an Essential Will, or A$399 for a Complete Will if you need testamentary trusts, a family trust or SMSF, business interests, overseas assets or blended-family provisions.

A real person checks every will within 2 business days, and yours arrives as a PDF with step-by-step signing instructions. The first year of the Willies Plan is included (storage for your signed copy, unlimited updates and an encrypted digital legacy plan), then it's A$49 a year if you keep it. Read more about how our online wills work.

How to sign your will in Queensland

1. Read your will from start to finish. If anything is wrong or missing, tell us before you sign.
2. Choose two witnesses aged 18 or over who can see you sign. Don't choose anyone who receives something under your will, or the husband, wife or partner of anyone who does. In Queensland, a gift to a witness can be lost.
3. With both witnesses watching at the same time, sign the signing page at the end of your will in pen, and write the date.
4. Each witness then signs while you watch, and writes their full name, address and the date. It's best if all three of you stay together until everyone has signed.
5. Sign the foot of every other page. This stops pages being swapped; it isn't a legal requirement.
6. Don't unstaple, write on or change the will once it's signed. If something needs changing, ask us for an updated will.
7. Keep the signed original somewhere safe, tell your executor where it is, and upload a photo or scan of every page to your vault.

Your witnesses must be with you in person. If you can't get two suitable witnesses together, reply to our email and we'll help you work out who could do it.