While you can write a will without a solicitor, it must meet strict legal requirements to be valid. Even minor errors in wording or signing can cause your will to be challenged or declared invalid. Having a solicitor prepare your will is the safest way to ensure it accurately reflects your wishes and holds up legally.

An Enduring Power of Attorney (EPOA) allows you to appoint someone you trust to make financial and personal health care decisions on your behalf if you lose capacity. Without it, your family may need to apply to QCAT for guardianship orders, which is a costly and stressful process.

Superannuation is not automatically part of your estate and is not distributed under your will. Instead, your super fund’s trustee decides who receives the benefit, guided by any nomination you have in place. We can prepare a Binding Nomination and send it to your fund to ensure your wishes are followed.

Whether you need probate depends on the assets involved. Banks typically require it for accounts over $75,000, though each bank sets its own threshold. Probate is also needed to sell or transfer shares listed on the stock exchange, and the Aged Care Act requires it to obtain a refund of a nursing home bond.

Yes. You should review your will whenever your circumstances change, such as marriage, divorce, the birth of children or grandchildren, acquiring significant assets, or a change in your relationship with a beneficiary. You can make changes through a formal amendment (called a codicil) or by making a new will entirely. Never mark up or alter the original document yourself.

Dying without a valid will (called dying intestate) means Queensland’s Succession Act 1981 determines who inherits your estate, not your wishes. Your assets are distributed according to a fixed legal formula based on surviving relatives, which may not reflect your intentions at all. This can cause significant hardship and delay for your family. Making a will is one of the most important things you can do for the people you love.

This can be especially problematic for surviving spouses. Under the Succession Act, a spouse receives $150,000 plus half the remaining estate if there is one child, or one-third if there are two or more children. This formula applies regardless of the family’s financial circumstances.

There are solutions to manage and provide for your spouse, your children, and your spouse’s children. The two most common options are a mutual will and a prescriptive will. A mutual will requires both spouses’ agreement before it can be changed. A prescriptive will specifies exactly which assets go to which beneficiary.