Will Template Australia: What a Will Contains

A blank form cannot choose your beneficiaries or executor for you. The structure below describes the subjects covered in official guidance checked on 3 November 2026. It supplies no clauses, blank fields or downloadable will. Signing guidance is kept with its state or territory.

This is general information, not legal advice. Will and power of attorney rules differ by state and territory. For advice on your situation, speak to a lawyer or your state's Public Trustee. AustralianWillKit.com.au is an independent guide operated by Dominet BV. We aren't a law firm, we don't sell wills or kits, and we don't draft wills. No link on this site is an affiliate link right now. We may earn a commission from will providers in future when a reader buys through a link on this site. If that happens we'll label those links and explain it in our affiliate disclosure, and it won't change the facts we publish. Rules, fees and prices were checked on official and provider websites on 30 October 2026 and can change. Read our general information notice.

Why there is no single national template

Each state and territory has its own law for making a valid will, so a template can describe the parts a will tends to have, but it can't set one national section order or one set of signing rules. Legal Aid NSW says a self-made will using a kit may be invalid if the instructions aren't followed exactly, and that a lawyer can help make sure the writing, signing and witnessing are done correctly. Queensland Public Trustee gives a similar warning: a self-written or kit will can be signed or witnessed incorrectly, or use wording that fails to achieve what you intended, so it may be challenged or turn out to be invalid.

Use the structure below to understand what a will covers. For the rules that make a will valid, read the signing section near the end and your own state or territory page.

A sample structure for a will

The order below is an explanatory structure built from Tasmania Legal Aid, Legal Aid NSW and NSW Trustee and Guardian guidance checked on 3 November 2026. It's one way to think about the contents, not a mandatory order and not a will you can sign.

Naming the document and revoking earlier wills

Tasmania Legal Aid says a will should identify itself as your last will and revoke any earlier wills. Queensland Public Trustee also says a new will should include a statement that cancels previous wills. The structure here puts those subjects first as an explanatory choice. It supplies no revocation wording.

The executor and a substitute

Tasmania Legal Aid says a will should appoint at least one executor. Legal Aid NSW describes the executor as the person responsible for distributing the assets and following the will. It says you can name a substitute to step in if the first executor dies, resigns or loses mental capacity. Naming a substitute matters, because the first choice might not be able to act when the time comes.

Beneficiaries and who takes if one dies first

NSW Trustee and Guardian defines a beneficiary as a person or entity that receives a gift, benefit or share of the estate. It says to think about who should receive a beneficiary's share if that beneficiary dies before you do. A template can't guess those choices for you, so this is a subject to work through with the people and amounts in mind.

Gifts, debts and funeral expenses

NSW Trustee and Guardian separates three kinds of giving: money gifts, gifts of particular assets, and the residual estate. Tasmania Legal Aid says a will can also provide for funeral expenses and debts. It says a distribution of property can name particular items and who receives them, or set an amount or a percentage of the total value. The point is that specific gifts and the leftover estate are different things, and a will usually deals with both.

The remainder of the estate

NSW Trustee and Guardian describes the residual estate as what's left after debts, expenses and the specific and money gifts have been dealt with. Tasmania Legal Aid says a will that makes specific gifts should also say what happens to the remainder. NSW Trustee and Guardian says a will needs to dispose of the whole estate, and any part it doesn't cover is handled under intestacy laws instead.

Children, guardians and trusts

Legal Aid NSW says a will can name a testamentary guardian for children, and that you should discuss the role with the proposed guardian and your family first. The nomination doesn't guarantee who will care for a child. If there's a dispute, a court may make orders based on the child's best interests.

NSW Trustee and Guardian says wills generally include the terms of any trust set up for children or other beneficiaries, and that running a trust can involve financial, legal and tax issues. Treat a trust as a subject for professional drafting. This structure supplies no trust clauses.

Funeral requests and other wishes

Tasmania Legal Aid says wills often include funeral requests alongside a guardian nomination. It cautions that the executor doesn't necessarily have to follow those directions, and that a court can take recorded wishes into account in a guardianship matter. So a will can record what you'd like, but don't assume every funeral wish is binding.

What a will may not control

Listing an asset in a will doesn't always mean the will decides what happens to it. NSW Trustee and Guardian draws these distinctions:

• Superannuation and life insurance benefits may not form part of your estate.
• An asset held as joint tenants passes to the surviving joint owner and sits outside the estate, unless you are the last surviving joint tenant.
• Trust assets usually sit outside the estate.
• A company's assets generally don't belong to a shareholder's estate, although the shares the shareholder owns may do so.

Before you write a gift, check whether the asset is actually yours to give through a will.

Keep records and the will separate

NSW Trustee and Guardian says to keep a list of your assets and liabilities separate from the will, so you can update it without changing the will, and that the executor should either hold the list or know where to find it. It gives the same advice for a separate list of accounts and memberships.

Legal Aid NSW says to store the will somewhere safe and tell the executor where it is. In NSW, you don't have to register a will for it to be valid.

A will also does a different job from the documents you use while you're alive. Legal Aid NSW says a will doesn't appoint anyone to manage your assets if you lose capacity during your lifetime, and it separates a power of attorney and an enduring guardian from a will.

Signing and witnessing stays state by state

The contents of a will and the way you sign it are two separate things. Legal Aid WA says a will must meet strict legal requirements and be properly signed and witnessed, and that poor drafting can cause delays and disputes. The table below summarises what each official source said about signing when we checked it on 3 November 2026. It isn't a complete validity checklist, and it isn't a summary of the legislation. Keep each line attached to its own state.

The guidance we read didn't set out detailed ACT signing requirements, so the ACT isn't in the table. The beneficiary witness rules above differ by state, which is one reason a template can't give a single national instruction. For the detail where you live, use the state guide routes /wills-nsw/, /wills-vic/, /wills-qld/, /wills-wa/, /wills-sa/, /wills-tas/, /wills-act/ and /wills-nt/.

Frequently asked questions

Is this a template I can fill in and sign?

No. It's a descriptive structure with no clauses and no blank fields. Legal Aid NSW and Queensland Public Trustee both warn that self-made or kit wills can be invalid if they aren't signed, witnessed or worded correctly.

What should a will say about everything not given as a specific gift?

Tasmania Legal Aid says a will that makes specific gifts should also say what happens to the remainder of the estate. NSW Trustee and Guardian says a will needs to dispose of the whole estate, and any part it doesn't cover is dealt with under intestacy laws.

Does a will cover my superannuation?

Not always. NSW Trustee and Guardian says superannuation and life insurance benefits may not form part of your estate, so don't assume a will controls them.

Does naming a guardian decide who raises my children?

No. Legal Aid NSW says the nomination doesn't guarantee who will care for a child, and a dispute may need court orders based on the child's best interests. It says to discuss the role with the proposed guardian and your family.

Should I list all my assets inside the will?

NSW Trustee and Guardian suggests keeping an asset and liability list separate from the will, so you can update it without changing the will. The executor should hold that list or know where to find it.