Reviewing and Updating Your Estate Plan in Queensland

General Information Only: This article provides general information about reviewing and updating your estate plan in Queensland. It is not legal advice. Laws change and every situation differs, so you should obtain advice tailored to your circumstances before acting.

Quick Answer

In Queensland, review your estate plan every three to five years — and immediately after any major life event such as marriage, separation, divorce, the end of a de facto relationship, a birth, a death, a significant asset change, or a move interstate or overseas.

A review checks that your will, enduring power of attorney, superannuation death benefit nominations, life insurance and beneficiary arrangements still reflect your wishes and current Queensland law. Some relationship changes affect wills and enduring documents automatically, but the rules are technical and incomplete — update the documents rather than rely on automatic legal consequences.

Why Reviewing Your Estate Plan Matters

An estate plan is not a “set and forget” document. Over time, your family, your finances, and the law all change. A plan drafted a decade ago may name the wrong executor, leave gifts to people who have since died, or fail to deal with assets you did not previously own. An out-of-date plan can create unnecessary tax, delay administration, and even trigger disputes among the people you care about.

Regular reviews keep your intentions current and reduce the risk that a court, rather than your chosen representatives, ends up deciding how your affairs are handled. They also let you take advantage of newer planning tools and correct small errors before they become expensive problems.

How Often Should You Review Your Estate Plan?

As a general guide, a full review every three to five years is sensible for most people. However, the calendar is only part of the picture — certain life events should prompt an immediate review regardless of when you last looked at your documents. A change in the law itself — for example to superannuation, tax or family provision rules — can also justify a professional review even without a personal life event.

For will-specific triggers, our companion guide on updating your will after major life events sets out the events that most commonly require changes to a will.

Life Events That Should Trigger a Review

The following table summarises common triggers and the parts of your estate plan they typically affect.

The Core Components to Check

A complete review looks beyond the will. The main components of a Queensland estate plan include:

• Your will — executors, beneficiaries, gifts, and any testamentary trust arrangements
• Your enduring power of attorney (EPOA) — see our guides on powers of attorney in estate planning and updating or revoking an EPOA
• Your superannuation death benefit nominations — these usually pass outside your will; see our page on superannuation death benefit nominations
• Life insurance ownership and beneficiaries — our guide explains when life insurance forms part of your estate
• Business interests — review any business succession planning arrangements and buy/sell agreements
• Jointly held assets and how they are owned (joint tenants vs tenants in common)
• Your advance health directive (AHD) and stated wishes for care
• Digital assets — passwords and password-manager access, cryptocurrency, online banking, cloud storage, domain names, email and social accounts, loyalty points, and any digital business assets

Map Who Owns What

Before changing anything, a review should identify what you own personally, what is jointly owned, what sits in a company or trust, what is in superannuation, and what passes by beneficiary nomination. Your will only controls assets that form part of your estate — so understanding how each asset is held tells you which document actually governs it.

Why Relationship Changes Can Rewrite Your EPOA

Relationship changes can quietly rewrite your enduring power of attorney. Under the Powers of Attorney Act 1998 (Qld), marriage revokes the appointment of anyone other than your new spouse — without appointing your spouse in their place — so a newly married person may have no attorney at all (s 52). Divorce removes a former spouse (s 53), and civil partnership formation and termination have equivalent effects (ss 52A and 53A).

But separation alone changes nothing: if you lose capacity before the divorce is final, your estranged partner may still control your finances and health decisions. Review your enduring documents at every relationship change.

Superannuation Nominations Need Their Own Check

Superannuation death benefits usually pass outside your will, governed by your nomination with the fund, so they must be checked separately. Divorce can invalidate a nomination outright rather than merely date it: an ex-spouse typically ceases to be a dependant under superannuation law (unless still financially dependent or interdependent), so a binding nomination in their favour may be invalid or ineffective — leaving the payout to the trustee’s discretion.

Lapsing binding nominations generally expire after three years unless renewed, while non-lapsing nominations continue until changed, and not all funds offer all types. It is worth diarising a renewal date so a nomination does not quietly lapse.

Advance Health Directives Need More Frequent Review

An advance health directive should be reviewed more often than a will — Queensland Government guidance suggests at least every two years, and whenever your health changes significantly. Relationship changes should also prompt a fresh look at who you have appointed to make health decisions.

When Relationships Change

In Queensland, divorce, the termination of a civil partnership and the ending of a de facto relationship can each automatically affect gifts and appointments in an existing will — but the rules are technical and subject to exceptions, so it is far safer to make a fresh will than to rely on them.

If you have recently separated or divorced, review both your will and your nominations without delay; see our guide on estate planning after separation or divorce. Couples who have made mutual wills should also understand how those arrangements limit later changes.

Reviewing While You Still Have Capacity

Any changes to your will or EPOA require legal capacity. If capacity may be in question — for example, in the early stages of cognitive decline — it is important to act promptly and to document capacity carefully. Our guide on dementia and estate planning explains the safeguards involved.

Reviewing Business and Investment Structures

Family Provision and a Statement of Reasons

A review should also ask whether any spouse, child or dependant has been left without adequate provision, because Queensland courts can order provision from an estate — see our guide on family provision claims in Queensland. Where distributions are uneven, a letter of wishes or written statement of reasons, reviewed alongside the plan, can strengthen its defensibility.

Storage and Communication

A valid plan can still fail if no one can find it. Keep original documents safe, tell your executors where they are, and give certified copies of enduring documents to attorneys, doctors or advisers where appropriate.

DIY Review vs Professional Review

Estate Plan Review Checklist

Use this 16-point checklist as a first pass to identify what has changed since your plan was last reviewed:

Practical Example

Consider a couple who made wills in their forties leaving everything to each other, then to their two children. Fifteen years later, one child has become estranged, they have acquired a rural property, and one spouse has started a small business. Their original wills no longer reflect their wishes, take no account of possible farm-related duty concessions, and contain no business succession provisions. A structured review lets them update beneficiaries, add appropriate structures, and coordinate their superannuation nominations — avoiding a likely dispute and unnecessary tax.

Where a rural property is involved, our guide on farm succession and estate planning covers the additional issues, and families with dependants living with them should consider granny flat arrangements.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often should I review my estate plan in Queensland?

Most people benefit from a full review every three to five years, and an immediate review after any major life event such as marriage, separation, divorce, the end of a de facto relationship, a birth, a death, or a significant change in assets.

Does getting married cancel my existing will?

In Queensland, marriage generally revokes an earlier will unless an exception applies — for example, a will made in contemplation of that marriage. Entering a civil partnership has a similar effect. Starting a de facto relationship, by contrast, does not revoke a will, which can leave a new partner unprotected until the plan is updated.

Does divorce automatically update my will?

Divorce does not rewrite your whole will. It usually revokes gifts to, and appointments of, a former spouse, subject to statutory exceptions and any contrary intention in the will. Separation alone generally does not have this effect — so it is safer to update your will than to rely on the automatic rules.

Does marriage revoke my power of attorney in Queensland?

Marriage revokes an enduring power of attorney to the extent it appoints anyone other than your new spouse, and it does not appoint your spouse in their place — so a newly married person can be left with no valid attorney. Review your enduring documents whenever your relationship status changes.

Do I need to update my superannuation nomination separately?

Yes. Superannuation death benefits usually pass outside your will and are governed by your nomination with the fund. Lapsing binding nominations generally expire after three years unless renewed, and divorce can make a nomination in favour of an ex-spouse invalid, so nominations should be checked at every review.

Can I update my estate plan if I am losing capacity?

Changes to a will or EPOA require legal capacity at the time they are made. If capacity may be in doubt, it is important to act quickly and to have capacity assessed and documented appropriately.

What makes a will invalid in Queensland?

Common problems include a will that has been revoked by marriage, one that was not signed or witnessed correctly, gifts that fail because a beneficiary has died, or doubts about the will-maker’s capacity. A regular review helps catch these issues before they cause disputes.

Conclusion

Reviewing and updating your estate plan is one of the simplest ways to protect your family and your intentions. By checking your plan every few years and immediately after major life events — and by looking beyond the will to superannuation, insurance, powers of attorney, digital assets and business interests — you keep everything working together as your circumstances evolve.

Key Takeaways

• Review your estate plan every three to five years and after every major life event.
• Marriage and civil partnership usually revoke a will; a new de facto relationship does not — leaving a new partner unprotected.
• Divorce and the ending of a de facto relationship can automatically affect gifts and appointments, but the rules are technical — update rather than rely on them.
• Relationship changes can also rewrite your EPOA; a newly married person may be left with no valid attorney.
• Look beyond the will: check your EPOA, super nominations, life insurance, digital assets and business structures.
• Use the 16-point checklist for a first pass, but see a solicitor to implement changes, especially for complex assets.