Deed of family arrangement — varying a Will by agreement in South Australia

When a Will Doesn’t Meet the Rules: Formal Validity and the Court’s Dispensing Power

Wills and Estate Planning, Wills
Will formal requirements and dispensing power in South Australia

Most people assume that a Will is valid so long as it reflects what the will-maker wanted. In fact, South Australian law imposes strict formal requirements on how a Will must be signed and witnessed before it takes effect as a legally binding document. Get the formalities wrong, and even a document that perfectly captures a person's wishes can be at risk of failing – unless the Supreme Court is persuaded to step in and rescue it under what is known as the dispensing power. This article explains what the formal requirements are, what can go wrong, and how the courts have been given a discretion to overlook defects in appropriate cases.

Small Estates: When You Might Not Need a Full Grant of Probate

Executor, Probate, Wills and Estate Planning
Lawyer reviewing estate documents for probate in South Australia

Many people assume that every deceased estate must go through a formal Grant of Probate before anything can be done. In reality, where an estate is modest in size and straightforward in nature, South Australian law and long-standing institutional practice allow for simpler, cheaper, and faster ways of finalising a person’s affairs. Understanding when a small estate can bypass the full probate process – and when it cannot – can save a grieving family significant time, expense, and paperwork.

Deeds of Family Arrangement: Varying a Will by Agreement

Wills and Estate Planning
Deed of family arrangement — varying a Will by agreement in South Australia

A Will represents the deceased’s wishes at the time it was made, but it is not always the final word on how an estate is actually distributed. Where all the relevant beneficiaries agree, it is often possible to vary the distribution set out in a Will (or under the rules of intestacy) by entering into a deed of family arrangement. This can be a faster, cheaper, and less adversarial alternative to a family provision claim or other estate litigation, but it comes with its own legal, tax, and practical considerations that are worth understanding before beneficiaries shake hands on an informal deal.

Business succession planning for Australian business owners — integrating your Will with your business structure

Choosing the Right Business Structure for a Smooth Succession

Business Succession, Wills, Wills and Estate Planning
Business owner reviewing documents at an office desk

Business owners typically choose their operating structure – sole trader, partnership, company, or family trust – based on tax efficiency, liability protection, or simply what their accountant recommended at the time the business began. Succession is rarely the first consideration, and yet the structure a business operates under has an enormous influence on what happens to it when an owner dies, becomes incapacitated, retires, or wishes to bring in the next generation. Revisiting whether the original structure still serves the business’s succession needs is one of the most valuable, and most neglected, exercises a business owner can undertake.

Special Disability Trusts in Australia — securing long-term financial care for a loved one with a severe disability through estate planning

Special Disability Trusts: Securing the Future for a Loved One with a Disability

Special Disability Trust, Wills and Estate Planning
Special Disability Trusts in Australia — securing long-term financial care for a loved one with a severe disability through estate planning

For parents and carers of a person with a severe disability, the question of “what happens when I am no longer here?” can be one of the most anxious preoccupations of their lives. How will their loved one be cared for? Who will manage their affairs? Will a sudden inheritance disqualify them from means-tested government support? A Special Disability Trust (SDT) is a legal structure specifically designed to address these concerns, offering significant tax and social security advantages while providing a dedicated fund for a beneficiary’s care and accommodation needs.

SMSF Succession Planning: Why Your Self-Managed Super Fund Needs Its Own Strategy

Estate Planning, Superannuation
SMSF succession planning in Australia

Self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) are one of the most powerful wealth-accumulation vehicles available to Australians, and for many families they represent the single largest asset outside the family home. Yet despite their significance, the succession planning dimensions of SMSFs are frequently neglected or poorly understood. A comprehensive estate plan that addresses your Will, enduring power of attorney, and advance care directive, but leaves your SMSF succession arrangements to chance, is incomplete in a way that can have serious and expensive consequences for your family.

Elder financial abuse in South Australia — protecting older Australians from financial exploitation

Elder Financial Abuse: How to Protect Yourself and Those You Love

Asset Protection, Wills and Estate Planning
Elder financial abuse in South Australia — protecting older Australians from financial exploitation

Financial abuse of older Australians is more prevalent than most people realise, and its consequences can be devastating. An elderly person who has spent a lifetime accumulating assets may find those assets stripped away through manipulation, deception, or outright theft — often by someone they trusted completely. Understanding what elder financial abuse looks like, how it happens, and what the law provides by way of protection is a vital first step for every family.

Contesting a Will in South Australia

Contesting a Will in South Australia: What You Need to Know

Wills and Estate Planning
Contesting a Will in South Australia

Few events test the fabric of a family more severely than a dispute over a deceased person’s estate. Whether it arises from surprise, grievance, or a genuine sense of injustice, a challenge to a Will can be emotionally exhausting and financially costly. Yet the law recognises that there are circumstances in which such challenges are well-founded, and South Australia’s succession legislation provides clear pathways for eligible persons who believe they have been inadequately provided for or that a Will does not reflect the testator’s genuine intentions.

Estate Planning for Problem Children in SA

Estate Planning for Problem Children

Estate Planning, Trusts & Guardianship, Young Children
Estate Planning for Problem Children

For most parents, providing for their children is a fundamental motivation for estate planning. Yet for a growing number of families, the question of how to provide for an adult child is far from straightforward. When a child has a gambling problem, a substance dependency, an unsuitable or unstable relationship, or simply a demonstrated inability to manage money, leaving them an unconditional inheritance may do more harm than good.
This article addresses the estate planning options available to South Australian Will-makers who are concerned about leaving assets to vulnerable or financially unreliable adult children, under the Succession Act 2023 (SA) and related legislation.