Wills & estates · Sunshine Coast
"My partner gets everything anyway" is the assumption worth checking before it is tested for you.
Most estate planning pages start with the paperwork. This one starts with the belief that stops the paperwork ever being done: that a surviving husband, wife or de facto partner automatically receives the whole estate. It is a belief we meet regularly in first appointments, and in Rothwell it lands on the biggest household group in the suburb. At the 2021 Census, couple families without children at home made up 40.7% of Rothwell families, more than couples with children (35.9%) or one-parent families (22.0%). What follows sets out what Queensland law actually does when there is no will, which ordinary life events quietly outdate an existing one, and what we check before anything is drafted.
Dr Darren Catton holds a Doctorate of Juridical Science from QUT and is a STEP member with the TEP designation, an internationally recognised credential for succession-law practitioners. The firm brings more than 30 years of Queensland estate law experience across will drafting, estate claims and inheritance disputes, and Dr Catton sits on the Queensland Law Society Property Law Committee and presents seminars to other solicitors. That combination matters for Rothwell households because the same firm that drafts a will also deals with the claims made against wills, so the drafting is done with an eye on where estates come unstuck. We have no office in Rothwell; the suburb is served from our Redcliffe and Caboolture offices, both of which offer after-hours appointments. Fixed-fee options are available for straightforward wills, and costs are discussed upfront before any work starts. Credentials and current fees should be confirmed with us directly.
Queensland wills drafted around how your household and property actually stand, with fixed-fee options available for straightforward matters.
Couples without children at home were Rothwell's largest family type at 40.7% at the 2021 Census — the group most likely to assume, wrongly, that a will isn't needed.
Book a consultationDocuments appointing the people who can act on your financial, personal and health matters if you lose capacity, prepared alongside your will.
Around one in six Rothwell residents was aged 65 or over at the 2021 Census.
Book a consultationSupport for executors applying for a grant of probate or letters of administration, and administering a Rothwell estate through to distribution.
At the 2021 Census 28.0% of Rothwell dwellings were owned outright and 24.6% owned with a mortgage — real property is usually the biggest job an executor here faces.
Book a consultationAdvice and representation for people making or defending a family provision claim under Part 4 of the Succession Act 1981 (Qld).
Blended families and second relationships are common where couples without children at home and one-parent families together made up most Rothwell families at the 2021 Census.
Book a consultationThe assumption is easy to understand. Two people have lived in the same house for years, the children have moved out or there were never any, and the mortgage is nearly gone. It feels obvious that the survivor keeps everything. At the 2021 Census, couple families without children at home were Rothwell's largest family type at 40.7%, ahead of couples with children at 35.9% and one-parent families at 22.0%. At the same 2021 Census, Rothwell's median age was 43, five years above the Queensland median, so many of those households are already well into the years when a will matters.
What Queensland law does instead is apply a formula. If there is no valid will, the estate is distributed under the intestacy rules in the Succession Act 1981 (Qld), which set out what a surviving spouse receives and what passes to any children, in fixed shares that take no account of what the couple would have chosen. Where a spouse and children both survive, the surviving partner does not simply take the lot. For roughly half of Rothwell households (28.0% owned their home outright at the 2021 Census and a further 24.6% owned with a mortgage), the family home is the estate, so a statutory split is not a technicality.
Someone still has to do the work. A grant of probate or letters of administration may be needed before an estate can be legally administered, and where there is no valid will the family must apply for letters of administration rather than acting on a document the deceased chose. That falls to a partner or an adult child at the worst possible time.
The events that make a will out of date are the ordinary ones. The Queensland Government suggests reviewing a will every three to five years, and treats estate planning as a set: the will, an enduring power of attorney for financial and personal or health decisions, and an advance health directive; where no enduring document exists, a statutory health attorney gets decision-making authority by default. Marrying, separating or re-partnering are exactly the changes a household of long-settled Rothwell couples has usually already been through.
Our answer is unglamorous: confirm the position rather than assume it. We check how the home is actually held, who is named on superannuation and insurance, whether an existing will still matches the family, and whether an enduring power of attorney is in place. Appointments are at Redcliffe or Caboolture, with after-hours times available, and fixed-fee options for straightforward wills with costs set out before we start.
Plenty of Rothwell couples assume the surviving partner simply inherits everything, so the will never gets written. Queensland law does not work that way: without a valid will, the estate is divided under a statutory formula in the Succession Act 1981 (Qld) rather than by your own choice. Couples with no children at home were Rothwell's largest family type at the 2021 Census, at 40.7%, which makes this the assumption most worth testing here. Catton Roderick Lawyers advises Rothwell households on wills, enduring powers of attorney and estate administration, with appointments at our Redcliffe and Caboolture offices. Fixed-fee options are available for straightforward wills and costs are discussed upfront.
Not necessarily. Without a valid will, Queensland's intestacy rules in the Succession Act 1981 (Qld) apply a fixed statutory formula rather than following what you would have chosen — and where a spouse and children both survive, the surviving partner does not simply take the lot. We work through what would actually happen to your specific household under intestacy at the first appointment.
Yes. Couples without children at home were Rothwell's largest family type at 40.7% at the 2021 Census, and it's exactly this group that most often assumes a will isn't necessary. A will is the only way to make sure your estate goes where you actually intend rather than being decided by the statutory intestacy formula.
Yes — separating or starting a new relationship are exactly the kind of changes that make an existing will out of date. The Queensland Government recommends reviewing a will every three to five years, but real events like these are a better prompt than a fixed interval. We treat them as a signal to bring the will in for review.
In Queensland a will must be in writing and signed by the testator, or by someone else in the testator's presence and at their direction, with the signature made or acknowledged before two or more witnesses present at the same time who each sign in the testator's presence. The Supreme Court has a limited discretion to admit an improperly executed document as a will, but it is discretionary, it costs the estate money, and it is not something to rely on. We supervise signing and witnessing so the formalities are met on the day rather than argued about later.
The Queensland Public Trustee does offer will-making at no charge. The case for a solicitor here comes down to complexity — for Rothwell's largest household group, couples without children at home, the value is in properly testing the "my partner automatically inherits" assumption, checking how the home and any mortgage are actually held, and making sure the will, enduring power of attorney and advance health directive work together as a set rather than as a single free-standing document.
Under Part 4 of the Succession Act 1981 (Qld), an eligible person such as a spouse, child or dependant may apply to the court for further provision from an estate, and strict time limits apply, measured from the date of death. No solicitor can promise a will will never be challenged. Where there is a realistic risk, we document reasons, structure the will carefully and explain honestly what can and cannot be reduced.
Fixed-fee options are available for straightforward wills, and the cost is agreed before we start — we don't publish a fixed figure here because it depends on what your matter involves. Rothwell clients are seen at our Redcliffe or Caboolture offices, with after-hours appointments available.
Test the assumption before it is tested for you. If you and your partner have never made wills, or made them before the children moved out, before a separation or before a new relationship, bring what you have and we will tell you where you actually stand. Rothwell clients are seen at our Redcliffe or Caboolture offices, with after-hours appointments available for people who work away from the peninsula during the day. Fixed-fee options apply to straightforward wills and the cost is agreed before we start. Call 1300 673 792 or send an enquiry and we will arrange a time.
Caboolture – Mon to Fri - 9am to 5pm - Closed Sat, Sun,
Redcliffe – Tues to Fri – 9am to 5pm - Closed Sat, Sun, Mon
Sunshine Coast - By Appointment Only
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