Will reviews and redrafting
We check an existing will against your current family, assets and executor, and redraft what no longer fits rather than starting over.
Wills & estates · Sunshine Coast
Wills & Estate Lawyer Minyama
A family home paid off decades ago, adult children who have moved interstate, and a will that still names the people from the last century.
Minyama has the highest outright home ownership in this group: 48.8% of dwellings are owned with no mortgage, against 29.4% mortgaged and 20.0% rented at the 2021 Census. Median age is 53, and 51.5% of households are couples without children. An estate built on a paid-off home is simpler to finance but harder to divide fairly once the children are grown and scattered. A wills and estate lawyer Minyama families use looks at who the home should go to, what the adult children need, and whether the executor is still the right person. The first conversation is free.
A paid-off home is usually the largest asset in a Minyama estate, and it is often the one the will handles least carefully. Adult children may live interstate or overseas and want very different things: one wants to keep the house, another wants the cash. Where a will just says "divide equally" the executor is left to sell or buy out siblings without a plan. We set out how the home is handled and how any imbalance is squared up before it becomes a dispute.
First consultationFree and confidential
FeesFull fee quoted before drafting starts
WhereBirtinya office, by appointment
Why Minyama Residents Choose Catton Roderick
Our Birtinya office is a short drive from Minyama, and appointments are booked for a full review of who the estate should benefit. Dr Darren Catton, the firm's principal, handles each wills matter personally. He holds a Doctorate of Juridical Science from QUT, carries the TEP designation for specialist trust and estate practitioners, and sits on the Queensland Law Society's Property Law committee. The firm states he has practised Queensland estate law for more than 30 years.
- A paid-off home planned as a distribution, not a formality. We decide whether it is kept, sold or passed to one child with equalisation.
- Executors reconsidered where needed, if the person named years ago has moved or passed away.
- Free, confidential first consultation, full fee quoted before drafting.
- Written executor guidance for adult children who may be interstate.
- Signed originals stored securely, with a copy for your records.
Our Wills and Estate Services for Minyama
Enduring powers of attorney and probate are covered here as general Queensland law only. Nothing above is personal legal, financial or superannuation advice.
Estate planning for a paid-off family home
Working out whether the home is kept, sold and divided, or passed to one child with the others equalised from cash, super or insurance.
Executor selection, with written guidance
Choosing an executor who is still in reach and able to act, and setting out the role clearly in writing.
Family provision claims (Queensland)
How Queensland law treats claims by a spouse, child or dependant, relevant where one adult child receives the home and others receive less.
Why Minyama Estates Need a Second Look
Minyama has 2,726 residents, a median age of 53, and a median household income of $1,716 a week. Housing is 69.8% separate houses, with 22.9% townhouses and 7.4% units. The workforce leans professional (20.0%), managerial (16.0%) and clerical and administrative (14.6%). Couples without children make up 51.5% of families, and 13.5% are one-parent families. Median rent is $473 a week and median mortgage repayment $2,145 a month.
Most Minyama households have finished paying for the home and have adult children, or no children. The will has been in place for years, so it may name executors who have since moved, guardians for children who are now adults, or a distribution that no longer reflects the family's assets. Those are the points we review first.
Areas We Serve
We act as a wills and estate lawyer for Minyama and the surrounding Sunshine Coast localities, from the Birtinya office:
Our Birtinya office, address and hours · Book a free consultation
FAQs
Our will was written years ago. Is it still valid?
It may still be valid, but it may no longer work. Executors who have moved or died, guardians for children who are now adults, and a distribution that ignores the home's current value are common problems. A review is usually the right step.
Should we sell the house now or leave it to the children?
That depends on the children's circumstances and the estate's other assets. We set out the options, including selling and dividing the proceeds, and let the will record the choice you make.
One child lives nearby and the others are interstate. Does that matter?
It can. The child nearby may want the home, and the others may want cash. The will can record how the imbalance is equalised, which reduces the risk of a dispute later.
Can we change our will ourselves?
Not safely. Changes must follow the signing formalities of section 10 of the Succession Act 1981 (Qld), so handwritten edits can create real doubt about what you intended.
What does a will review cost?
Often less than a new will, since much of the groundwork is already done. The first consultation is free, and the full fee is quoted before work starts.
Minyama, and How to Reach Us
Minyama sits inland from the Sunshine Coast beaches, in the Sunshine Coast Council area, between Wurtulla and Currimundi. It has been a settled residential suburb for decades, with many homes owned outright by long-term residents. Today it is home to 2,726 people with a median age of 53.
Catton Roderick Lawyers
| Business | Catton Roderick Lawyers |
|---|---|
| Phone | 1300 673 792 |
| info@cattonroderick.com.au | |
| Office | Regatta 1 Business Centre, 2 Innovation Parkway, Birtinya QLD 4575 (by appointment) |
| Other offices | Unit 3, 9 East Street, Caboolture QLD 4510 (Mon–Fri 9–5) · Level 1, 133 Redcliffe Parade, Redcliffe QLD 4020 (Tue–Fri 9–5) |
| Serving | Minyama, Wurtulla, Currimundi, Buddina, Mooloolaba and the wider Sunshine Coast |
We do not have a Minyama office. Minyama clients are seen at our Birtinya office by appointment.