Yet another person trying to use a will kit to create a will and getting it wrong. There tends to be at least several of these each year in Queensland alone, although that doesn’t seem to cool the passion that some people have for their beloved will kits.
This one however was a little different. It seems that the will maker had signed the document, but had not completed important parts of the will before signing it. In particular the parts of the will saying what was to be done with the estate were completed after it had been signed.
So ultimately the will had no effect and orders were made to administer the estate as though the will maker had died without a will.
The decision can be found here https://www.sclqld.org.au/caselaw/QSC/2022/303
Problems with will kits are frequent. Gifts can fail for various reasons, there can be partial intestacies (where part of the estate isnt dealt with properly, there can be issues with signing, sometimes the will fails entirely. When these problems arise, often court intervention is required costing thousands of dollars in legal fees, with delays associated with the administration. For example, in the matter referred to in the decision, the will maker died in mid 2020, the application was brought in May 2022 and even though uncontested, the orders were not made until January 2023. As a result an estate which most likely could have been administered within 6 months is incomplete after 2 1/2 years.
It is prudent to use a lawyer who understands the fundamentals of preparing wills, and who takes the time to understand the will maker’s assets and family relationships – after all personal dealings are complex and there is a lot to consider – see https://www.qbmlawyers.com.au/estate-lawyers-gold-coast/writing-a-will/
