Will Lawyers In Perth

WA intestacy law changed on 5 July 2025, and most wills written before that date don’t account for the new statutory legacy figures. If your will predates that change, or if you’ve married, divorced, had a child, or bought property since you last signed it, your current will may not do what you think it does.

What Makes a Will Valid in Western Australia

A will in WA is only valid if it satisfies section 8 of the Wills Act 1970. Four rules matter, and a fifth one catches people out more than the other four combined.

It has to be in writing. You have to sign it (or direct someone to sign while you watch). You have to sign or acknowledge your signature in front of two witnesses who are both physically present at the same time. Both witnesses then sign while you’re still there.

That “same time” requirement is strict. Witnesses who sign separately, or a will signed on a video call with the witnesses in a different room, can fail. WA courts have invalidated wills over exactly this.

The fifth rule is the trap. A witness can’t be someone who inherits under the will, or the spouse or de facto partner of someone who inherits. Under WA law, a beneficiary who witnesses the will doesn’t invalidate the document, but they lose their gift. The will stands; their inheritance doesn’t.

This happens more than you’d expect. People sign at the kitchen table and ask whoever is nearby to witness. If those witnesses are the adult children who inherit the house, the children’s gift can be voided, even though the will is technically valid.

You also need to be 18 or older and have testamentary capacity: you understand you’re making a will, you have a general sense of what you own, and you know who has a reasonable claim on your estate.

The WA Will Validity Check

Run any will through these six points, including one you wrote yourself:

In writing. Typed or handwritten, on paper.
Signed by you. At the foot of the will, by your own hand where possible.
Two witnesses, together. Both physically present at the same time when you sign or acknowledge your signature.
Witnesses sign back. Both sign while you watch. They should add their name, occupation, and address.
No beneficiary witnesses. Neither witness, nor their spouse or partner, should inherit under the will.
Capacity and age. You’re 18 or over and you understand what you’re signing.

Miss point 3 or point 5 and the problem only surfaces after you’ve died, when nobody can fix it.

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What Happens If You Die Without a Will in WA

If you die without a valid will in Western Australia, section 14 of the Administration Act 1903 applies a fixed formula. The formula changed recently, and the numbers are bigger than most people expect.

Since 5 July 2025, the intestacy distribution works like this:

Spouse or de facto partner + children: Your partner gets the household contents, a statutory legacy of $546,000, and one-third of whatever is left. Your children split the remaining two-thirds.
Spouse or de facto partner, no children: Your partner’s statutory legacy rises to $815,500, with the balance going to your parents or siblings under the formula.
Children only, no spouse: The estate is divided equally among your children.
No spouse, no children: The estate passes to parents, then siblings, then more distant relatives in a set order. If nobody qualifies, it goes to the State.

Those dollar figures are reviewed by the WA Government every two years, so they’ll move again. Before 2022, the statutory legacy for a spouse with children was $50,000. The jump to $472,000 in 2022, then to $501,000, and now $546,000, reflects 40 years of overdue correction.

A few things catch people off guard. A de facto partner has the same rights as a married spouse under these rules. Stepchildren you haven’t legally adopted are not automatically included. And none of this follows what most people actually want their family to receive, which is the entire point of writing a will.

Your Super Doesn’t Pass Through Your Will (and Most People Don’t Know It)

Your superannuation is not automatically part of your estate. A will doesn’t control where your super goes when you die, because your super fund holds the money in trust, and the fund’s trustee decides who receives it.

That means you could write a will leaving everything to your spouse, and your super fund could pay your death benefit to someone else. It’s legal, it’s common, and it catches families in the worst possible moment.

There are three ways to direct your super death benefit:

Binding death benefit nomination (BDBN): A written direction that legally requires the trustee to follow your instructions. Most BDBNs expire every three years (“lapsing” nominations). Some funds offer a non-lapsing option that doesn’t expire. If your BDBN lapses and you don’t renew it, it’s treated as if you never made one.
Non-binding nomination: Tells the trustee what you’d prefer, but the trustee can override it. The trustee weighs your wishes against the circumstances at the time of your death. ASIC research found that funds process non-binding nominations slower than cases where no nomination exists at all.
No nomination: The trustee uses their discretion. They’ll consider your dependants and their circumstances, but you have no say in the outcome.

For most people, a BDBN coordinated with their will is the right answer. The critical detail: you can only nominate eligible beneficiaries under superannuation law, which means your spouse, children, financial dependants, someone in an interdependency relationship with you, or your legal personal representative (your estate). If you want someone outside those categories to receive your super, you nominate your estate as the beneficiary and then direct the funds through your will.

For WA public sector employees, GESB has its own statutory framework under the State Superannuation Regulations 2001. If you hold a GESB account, check whether your binding nomination is lapsing or non-lapsing, and whether it’s still valid.

We review superannuation nominations as a standard part of our will-drafting process. If your BDBN doesn’t match your will, we flag it before you sign anything.

Who Can Challenge Your Will, and the Six-Month Clock

A valid will can still be challenged in WA, and the window is short.

Under the Family Provision Act 1972, certain people can ask the Supreme Court of Western Australia for a larger share of your estate if they believe the will didn’t provide for them adequately. The people who can bring a claim: a spouse or de facto partner, a former spouse or de facto who was being maintained by you, children (including adult children), and certain dependants.

They have six months from the date probate or letters of administration are granted to file. The Court can extend that deadline, but extensions are granted rarely, and only where the applicant can show a good reason for the delay.

You can’t stop someone from filing a claim. What you can do is make it harder for that claim to succeed:

Include clear reasoning in your will where you leave someone out or provide less than they’d expect.
Have your lawyer record file notes about your instructions and your capacity at the time of signing.
Consider structures that keep certain assets outside your estate (like a properly maintained family trust or a BDBN directing super to a specific beneficiary).

The difference between a will written in ten minutes and a will drafted to withstand a challenge comes down to the documentation around it, not just the words on the page.

Fixed Fee Wills

Our Wills services are simple, affordable, and come with no hidden fees. We offer a range of fixed-fee Wills packages to suit your needs and budget. Our experienced lawyers take the time to understand your wishes, gather the details that matter, and guide you through every step of preparing your Will.

We also help with Enduring Powers of Attorney, Enduring Powers of Guardianship, Advance Health Directives, and Probate and Letters of Administration, so you can plan ahead with confidence.

Personalised Service at Your Convenience

We can be contacted in 3 convenient locations across Perth Metro areas or alternatively, you can arrange to meet our lawyer in the comfort of your home or workplace.

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Wills and Estate Work We Handle

We cover the documents that work together as an estate plan, not just the will.

New wills

We draft a will that sets out who inherits, who acts as your executor, and who would be guardian of your children. We make sure it meets the section 8 signing rules so it is not at risk on a technicality.

Updating an existing will

Marriage, divorce, a new child, buying property or a death in the family can all affect whether your current will still works. In WA, marriage generally revokes an earlier will unless it was made in contemplation of that marriage. If your will predates a major change, it likely needs a review.

Enduring Power of Attorney and Enduring Power of Guardianship

These cover decisions while you are alive but unable to decide for yourself: an Enduring Power of Attorney for financial and property matters, and an Enduring Power of Guardianship for personal, lifestyle and medical decisions. A will does nothing here, which is why both belong in the same plan.

Advance Health Directive

An Advance Health Directive records your medical treatment decisions for situations where you cannot communicate them yourself, and it is legally recognised in WA.

Probate and estate administration

When someone dies, the executor usually needs a grant of probate from the Supreme Court of Western Australia before they can deal with the assets. We act for executors and administrators through that process.

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Overseas assets or an overseas will? What actually changes

If you hold assets in the UK, the US, New Zealand or elsewhere, one Australian will may not be enough, and the country the foreign grant comes from decides how hard the process is. This is the part most Perth wills pages skip, and it matters in a city with as many migrants and expats as Perth.

Western Australia only reseals grants of probate from the UK and other Commonwealth countries. That comes from section 61 of the Administration Act 1903, which covers grants made in “His Majesty’s dominions”. So a grant issued in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland or New Zealand can be resealed here and used to deal with WA assets. A grant issued in the United States, or in most European Union countries, cannot be resealed in WA at all. Your executor instead has to apply for a fresh WA grant, which takes longer and costs more than a reseal would have.

That single fact is why a separate Australian will, with a WA-based executor, is usually the cleaner option once you own property here. It is legal to hold two wills, one for your WA assets and one for your overseas assets, as long as each is drafted so it does not accidentally revoke the other. A single worldwide will can work, but it often forces your family into the slower foreign-grant route for the Perth assets.

There is a recent overseas wrinkle worth knowing if you are American. On the US side, the 2025 federal law known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act made the higher estate and gift tax exemption permanent. The 1953 US-Australia estate and gift tax treaty still applies. None of that is advice we give; US tax needs US counsel, but it changes the planning picture, and the practical Australian step is the same: get a local WA will in place for your local assets.

When you might not need a lawyer for your will

Plenty of will pages will not tell you this, so here it is plainly. If your situation is simple, a will kit can be legally valid in WA.

If you are single or in a stable marriage, you own straightforward assets, you want everything to go to one or two obvious people, and you have no overseas property, a well-completed kit that follows the section 8 signing rules can do the job. The risk in a kit is almost never the wording. It is the signing, the witness who turns out to be a beneficiary, and the situations a template was never built for.

A lawyer earns the fee when any of these are true:

You have a blended family, stepchildren, or someone you want to leave out.
You own assets overseas, or you are a UK, US, NZ or South African expat.
You own a business, a self-managed super fund, or hold assets in a trust or company.
You want to protect a beneficiary who is vulnerable, has a disability, or cannot manage money.
You think someone might challenge the will.

If none of those apply to you, we will tell you so. We are not here to talk you into work you do not need.

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How Making a Will with Soul Legal Works

The process is built to be quick where the matter is simple and careful where it is not.

Before we meet, you receive a secure link to upload anything relevant, so the first appointment is spent on you, not paperwork.
At the first appointment, we go through your assets, your family, who you want to provide for, and who should be executor and guardian. We explain how fees work before any work starts.
We draft your will and send it to you to read.
You sign at a signing appointment, where we witness it correctly under the section 8 rules, so the validity question is closed.
We store the original safely and give you a copy, and we are here when life changes and it needs updating.

You work directly with a qualified WA solicitor the whole way, and if you cannot travel, we can come to your home or hospital.

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FAQ

Most frequent questions and answers

Is a DIY will kit legal in Western Australia?

Yes. A will kit can be legally valid in WA as long as it meets the section 8 signing rules: in writing, signed by you, and witnessed by two people present at the same time who are not beneficiaries. The kit is not the risk. The signing and the witnesses are where most home-made wills fail.

There are some exclusions. A claim may not be accepted if the stress was caused wholly or predominantly by reasonable management actions taken by your employer, such as performance reviews, disciplinary processes, or organisational changes, provided those actions were carried out fairly and not in a harsh or unreasonable way.

Common Causes of Work-Related Stress and Mental Illness

Safe Work Australia recognises several common causes of workplace stress and psychological injury, including:

Work pressure such as excessive workloads, unrealistic deadlines, organisational restructures, workplace conflict, and issues related to performance management or promotion.
Workplace bullying and harassment including repeated verbal abuse, threats, intimidation, or physical assault by one or more colleagues.
Occupational violence such as being physically assaulted or threatened by any person in the workplace, or witnessing violent incidents such as armed robberies or hold-ups.
Traumatic events including witnessing a serious accident, fatality, or other distressing incident at work.
Sexual or racial harassment including being subjected to unwanted sexual or racially motivated behaviour by any person in the workplace.

How to Know If You Can Make a Claim

To make a workers’ compensation claim for a psychological injury, you need to have a recognised psychiatric condition. In simple terms, if you have seen a GP, psychologist, or psychiatrist about work-related stress or mental health issues, and you have been certified as unfit for work, you may be entitled to make a claim.

What makes a will invalid in WA?

The most common causes are a signing that breaks the two-witness rule, a witness who is also a beneficiary or married to one, and a lack of testamentary capacity. A will can also be revoked without you realising, for example marriage generally revokes an earlier will in WA unless it was made in contemplation of that marriage.

What happens if I die without a will in WA?

A fixed formula in the Administration Act 1903 decides who inherits. Since 5 July 2025, a surviving spouse or de facto partner with children takes the household contents, the first $546,000 and one third of the rest, with the children sharing the remainder. With no children, the partner’s share is $815,500 plus a portion of the balance. These figures are reviewed every two years.

Can someone challenge my will?

Yes. Under the Family Provision Act 1972, a spouse, de facto partner, child or certain dependants can ask the Supreme Court for more, within six months of the grant of probate. Careful drafting and good file notes reduce the chance a claim succeeds.

I have overseas assets or I am an expat. Do I need a separate will?

Often, yes. WA can reseal a grant of probate from the UK or another Commonwealth country, but not one from the US or most of the EU, which forces your executor to apply for a fresh WA grant. A separate WA will with a local executor usually makes the Perth side faster and simpler.

Will Lawyers In Perth

What Makes a Will Valid in Western Australia

The WA Will Validity Check

Your Super Doesn’t Pass Through Your Will (and Most People Don’t Know It)

Wills and Estate Work We Handle

The Soul Legal Injury Compensation Lawyers Experience

Overseas assets or an overseas will? What actually changes

When you might not need a lawyer for your will

Testimonials

How Making a Will with Soul Legal Works

FAQ

Most frequent questions and answers

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