Making a will in Western Australia

Wills in Western Australia are governed by the Wills Act 1970 (WA). Who inherits when there's no will is set by section 14 of the Administration Act 1903 (WA).

How do you make a valid will in WA?

Section 8 of the Wills Act says a will isn't valid unless:

• it's in writing
• it's signed by you, or in your name by someone else in your presence and at your direction, placed so it's clear you meant the signature to give effect to the will
• you sign, or acknowledge your signature, in front of at least two witnesses who are present at the same time
• the witnesses sign the will in your presence

No particular form of attestation clause is needed (s 8(d)). Registration isn't one of the requirements either, so a properly signed paper will is complete on its own.

Who can witness a will in WA?

The Act doesn't set a minimum age for witnesses, but a person who can't see you sign can't be one (s 11). Choose two adults who can see clearly and would be easy to contact later.

Can a beneficiary witness a will in WA?

The rule that made a gift to a witness void was repealed in 2003 (the former s 13), so in WA a beneficiary who witnesses doesn't automatically lose their gift. That's more forgiving than NSW or Queensland.

It's still a bad idea. A beneficiary who watched you sign makes it easier for someone to argue later that you were pressured or didn't understand the will. Use two witnesses who get nothing under it and aren't partnered with anyone who does. Our guide to who can witness a will compares the states.

The Wills 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 WA?

You must be 18 or over. A will made by someone under 18 isn't valid (s 7), and WA has none of the exceptions found in NSW, Victoria and Queensland: there's no exception for married minors, and the Supreme Court's power to authorise a will for someone applies only to adults who lack capacity (s 40(2)(b)).

You also need capacity. Legal Aid WA describes it as being able to make reasoned decisions for yourself about personal, financial and legal matters. In practice that means understanding that you're making a will, roughly what you own, and who might reasonably expect to benefit.

Does marriage or divorce cancel a will in WA?

Getting married revokes your will unless it was made in contemplation of that marriage (s 14(1)). That can be shown by wording in the will or by other evidence (s 14(3)). Watch the flip side: a will made in contemplation of a marriage is void if the marriage doesn't happen, unless the will says otherwise (s 14(2)).

Divorce works differently in WA than in NSW, Victoria or Queensland. When a marriage ends by divorce or annulment, the whole will is revoked, not just the gifts to your former spouse, unless your will or other evidence shows you intended it to survive (s 14A). Until you make a new one, your estate could pass under the intestacy rules below.

Separating doesn't revoke anything until the divorce takes effect, and the Wills Act has no rule for the end of a de facto relationship, so a will that leaves everything to a former de facto partner stays in force until you change it. The Public Trustee recommends updating your will when you marry, divorce, or start or end a long-term relationship.

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

The Supreme Court can treat a document as a will, even though it wasn't signed or witnessed correctly, if it's satisfied the person intended it to be their will (Part X, s 32). This is called the dispensing power.

It's a safety net, not a plan. Your family would need a court application and evidence of what you intended, which costs time and money, and the result isn't guaranteed.

What happens if you die without a will in WA?

Section 14 of the Administration Act sets out a table of who inherits. A de facto partner counts as a spouse if you lived together for at least two years immediately before your death (s 15(1)). Your spouse always takes the household chattels. After that:

• Spouse and children: if the rest of the estate is worth no more than A$546,000, your spouse takes it all. Otherwise your spouse takes A$546,000 plus interest and a third of the remainder (half if you had one child), and your children share the rest.
• Spouse, no children, but a parent, brother, sister, niece or nephew: your spouse takes everything up to A$815,500, then half of anything above that. The other half goes to your parents and siblings under further rules.
• Spouse and none of those relatives: your spouse takes the whole estate.
• Children, no spouse: your children share equally, with grandchildren taking the share of a child who died before you.
• No spouse or children: your parents and siblings, then grandparents, then aunts and uncles (with cousins taking a deceased aunt's or uncle's share).
• None of those relatives: the estate passes to the State.

Unlike NSW and Victoria, a WA spouse doesn't automatically take everything when all the children are theirs too. The A$546,000 and A$815,500 amounts were set by the Administration (Intestacy Legacy Amounts) Order 2025 for deaths from 5 July 2025 and are current as at October 2026. The Minister reviews them every two years (s 14B).

Legal Aid WA's page on dying without a will explains how an estate is administered, and our guide to dying without a will compares the states.

Where should you keep your will in WA?

WA doesn't require you to register or lodge a will. What matters is that the original is safe and your executor can find it:

• your lawyer, if a law firm prepared the will
• at home, somewhere fireproof, in a labelled envelope
• a note to your executor saying exactly where it is, and a scan of every page somewhere secure

If a will can't be found after a death, families usually check the person's papers and ask their lawyer, accountant and bank, and the Public Trustee if it may have prepared the will.

How much does a will cost in WA?

The Public Trustee's concession price applies to holders of a Pensioner Concession Card, Health Care Card, Commonwealth Seniors Health Card or DVA Health Card (Gold, White or Orange), but not the WA Seniors Card, and to one will per 12 months. If the Public Trustee acts as your executor, it also charges fees to administer your estate. See how much a will costs for a wider comparison.

How does probate work in WA?

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

Making your will online in WA with Willies

Willies prepares your will for the state you live in, with a signing page and instructions that follow WA 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, with unlimited updates, which matters in WA, where a divorce leaves you with no will at all. After that it's A$49 a year if you keep it. Read more about how our online wills work.

How to sign your will in WA

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 Western Australia the gift isn't lost, but it can lead to the will being challenged.
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.