About Wills with Queensland Public Trustee

Hello, I'm Shelene Lee, the assistant Wills manager for the Queensland Public Trustee Brisbane Metro Region. Today we'll talk about what a will is, why you need one, what you can put in it, what happens if you don't have one, and how much it costs.

So what is a Will and who can make one? A Will is a legal document that outlines your wishes after you've passed away. Anyone over 18 years old can make one, but you must have testamentary capacity. We've explained this for you here on the slide.

You might be thinking that making Wills is only for older people, but we don't know what's going to happen every day. And it's reassuring to know that if something does happen to you, the things you care about will go to the people you want them to.

These people can be anyone. They don't have to be relatives or your partner, and that's a really important point.

It's your Will - you make your own choices about what goes where and to who. So some of the things a will should include are shown here on the slide. Remember, you need to review your Will regularly too in case things change. So when should you review your Will?

Here we've noted some key changes which might occur in your life and may mean your Will needs reviewing and perhaps updating.

But what happens if you don't have a Will? Dying without a Will means you have died intestate.

I know it sounds very uncomfortable if you don't have a current valid Will. Things may turn out very differently to how you planned when a person passes away intestate. The Queensland Succession Act determines where their assets go. Looking at the slide, it may look very simple.

In reality, it's far from it, not to mention there will be additional and unnecessary delays and costs. It's easy to avoid these issues by making sure that you have an up-to-date Will. The next question, quite naturally is often, where can I make one and how much does it cost?

You can use your own solicitor to prepare a Will for you, or if you don't have a solicitor yet, you can find one through the Queensland Law Society's website, there will typically be a charge for this service with a solicitor, so I strongly recommend that you contact them to find out what their fees are. Alternatively, there is no charge to make a Will with the Queensland public trustee and that includes any reviews you make going forward. We are booked well ahead in some places, so I suggest making the appointment as soon as you can. If you'd like to do it that way, you can book an appointment online or by calling our office on 1300 360 044 as a last resort.

You can also consider using A DIY Will kit, but we don't recommend these as the Will may not be valid if the Will kit is completed incorrectly If you decide to make a will through the Queensland Public Trustee, this slide outlines all our office locations throughout Queensland. Please contact us to discuss how we may assist if none of these locations are suitable to you. I hope this short video has explained the basics about Wills for you.

If you're not sure of anything presented or you have other questions, please send them in to the email address you see there on the screen:  [email protected]

Our statewide phone number and website address are also included there for you.