Making a Will Lawyers

Must I have a will?

The short answer is no, having a will is not mandatory. However, having a will provides numerous benefits:

• the estate distribution process faster (meaning your beneficiaries get access to your funds more quickly).
• the written record of your wishes is assuring for your family.
• you specify precisely how your assets should be distributed.
• you provide for your family as you see best.

If you die without a will, your estate will incur additional expense and your assets will be distributed according to the “rules of intestacy” rather than how you might prefer.

How do I know my will is valid?

 The minimum requirements for a valid will are that it be:

1. in writing; and
2. be signed by you in front of 2 witnesses. These witnesses should not be beneficiaries of your will, and they must also be over 18 nor visually impaired.

The effectiveness of the will depends on the quality of its preparation. It must be clear and concise and conform to numerous legal drafting rules.

Only persons 18 years and over - who are of sound mind - can make a legal will.

Those with mixed family arrangements and differing categories of assets should consider a testamentary trust among their estate planning options.

QEL will ensure an effective plan is put into place for you and your family and whether it be a simple will or a complex trust arrangement, it will be done with minimum fuss and expense.

Urgent Wills

 QEL can prepare wills quickly in circumstances of urgency. Please contact us by phone. After taking detailed instructions, we can provide you with an early draft by email and then discuss issues that arise in a further phone call. After everything is agreed, we will make arrangements to have the will validly signed. Our service extends, by arrangement, to hospital visits.

 We can also attend to special applications to the court for a court-made will on behalf of someone with a mental incapacity – for example an Alzheimer’s impediment – that prevents them from making their own will or changing arrangements in their existing will e.g. because of changed family arrangements among potential beneficiaries.

 A judge will make a will or make a variation to an existing will if all interests have been properly considered and the arrangements proposed are appropriate in the circumstances.

 Such applications require detailed preparation in extra fast time by skilled lawyers expert in the estate field.

Other estate planning services

We don’t make just wills – we can also help you with other services like Testamentary Trusts, Memoranda of Wishes, Enduring Powers of Attorney, Health Directives, Grants of Probate, and Letters of Administration.

For more information on making a will in Queensland, or for advice on estate administration, our friendly team is ready to help. Contact us online or by calling 1300 580 413.