DIY will kit vs a solicitor-drafted will in Queensland

Are will kits legal in Queensland?

Yes. Queensland law does not require a will to be prepared by a lawyer. Under the Succession Act 1981 (Qld) a valid will must be in writing, signed by the will-maker, and that signature must be made or acknowledged in the presence of two witnesses who are present at the same time and who then sign in the will-maker's presence. A properly completed kit that meets those requirements is a valid will.

So the question is not legality. It is whether the document says what you meant, covers what you own, and survives the people who are unhappy with it.

Where homemade wills actually fail

In our experience the problems are rarely exotic. They are the same handful of mistakes, and each one can cost the estate many times what a professionally drafted will would have cost:

• Witnessing errors — a beneficiary or their spouse witnesses the will, which can void that person's gift, or the two witnesses were not in the room at the same time.
• Assets that do not pass under the will at all — superannuation, life insurance, and property held as joint tenants. A kit will not tell you this, and it is the single most common surprise.
• Vague gifts — "my savings to be shared among the children" without saying which account, whether it means at the date of the will or death, or what happens if a child dies first.
• No residuary clause, so anything not specifically listed falls into intestacy and passes under a statutory formula that may bear no resemblance to your wishes.
• Blended families and second marriages, where a simple "everything to my wife" leaves the children of the first marriage with a family provision claim.
• Executor problems — no substitute executor named, or an executor appointed who lives overseas or predeceases you.
• Alterations after signing, handwritten notes in the margin, or pages stapled and unstapled, all of which raise questions about whether the document is the final will.

Marriage, divorce and the will you forgot about

In Queensland, marriage generally revokes an earlier will unless it was made in contemplation of that marriage. Divorce generally revokes gifts to and the appointment of the former spouse, but not the whole will. People with a kit will made a decade ago frequently do not know either rule applies to them.

If your relationships have changed since the will was signed, the document you have may not do what you think — regardless of who drafted it.

What it costs when a homemade will goes wrong

If a will is unclear or its formal validity is in doubt, the executor may need to apply to the Supreme Court for directions or for the informal document to be admitted to probate under section 18 of the Succession Act. That is a court application with affidavit evidence, and the costs generally come out of the estate.

A contested construction point or an informal-will application routinely costs the estate several thousand dollars and delays distribution by months. Set against the cost of having the will drafted properly in the first place, the arithmetic is not close.

When a will kit is genuinely enough

We would rather you had a valid kit will than no will at all. Intestacy is worse than an imperfect will in almost every case. A kit may be reasonable if your affairs are simple: one relationship, no previous marriages, no children from other relationships, no business or trust, no self-managed super fund, modest assets, and everything going to one person or split equally among children who all get on.

Even then, have someone check the witnessing. That is the failure mode that no amount of good drafting elsewhere can rescue.

When you should not use a kit

Get a solicitor-drafted will if any of the following apply to you:

• A blended family, stepchildren, or a former spouse or de facto partner in the picture
• A business, company shares, a family trust, or a self-managed super fund
• A beneficiary with a disability, an addiction, a bankruptcy risk, or a difficult marriage — these are the cases for a protective or testamentary trust
• You want to leave someone out, which needs to be done deliberately and documented
• Property in more than one state or overseas
• Any doubt about your own capacity, or pressure from a family member about what the will should say

What we do differently

A will appointment is mostly questions. We ask how each asset is held, who is on the super fund's binding nomination, who might be unhappy, and what happens if a beneficiary dies before you. Then we draft to fit the answers, take you through the signing so the witnessing is right, and hold the original in safe custody at no charge so the executor can find it.

We also prepare the enduring power of attorney at the same time, which matters more than most people realise — a will only operates after death, while an EPOA is what protects you while you are alive and unable to make decisions.

Will kits in Queensland — common questions