A will created online still needs to be executed in accordance with the applicable state's or territory's law. For ordinary paper execution, two suitable independent adult witnesses and a carefully organised signing session are the practical starting point. Beneficiary-witness consequences, remote witnessing and electronic execution differ by jurisdiction. This article explains those distinctions and how to record and preserve the completed will.
For an ordinary Australian will, arrange two suitable independent adult witnesses and follow the execution law applying to the document. Keeping the will-maker and both witnesses together while everyone signs is a sensible paper-signing practice. Beneficiary-witness consequences, remote procedures and electronic execution differ between states and territories, so there is no single national signing checklist that resolves every case.
EvaheldStart with the document and the jurisdiction
Witnessing is part of execution, not a check that the proposed inheritance is sensible. A person may draft a will online, through a solicitor or by another method. The relevant formalities still apply. A completed questionnaire, downloaded file or payment receipt does not establish that those formalities have been satisfied.
Identify where the will-maker lives, where signing will occur and whether another jurisdiction has a relevant connection. A person overseas with Australian property needs advice about recognition as well as the procedure available where they are physically located. Comparing Australian and UK witnessing requirements is helpful when family members suggest a process they used in another country.
Use the final will, with every page present and the correct execution instructions. Read those instructions before inviting witnesses. If the document contains an unusual attestation clause, a signing arrangement involving another person or a proposed remote procedure, resolve the requirements in advance. Witnesses should not be asked to improvise legal wording at the table.
What witnesses do and what they do not establish
The ordinary role is to observe the legally required act and attest execution. A witness may later be asked what they saw, who was present and how the will-maker signed or acknowledged the signature. Their signature should record a real event, not a favour performed after being told that everything happened properly earlier.
Witnessing does not automatically establish capacity, eliminate undue influence or guarantee that every clause is effective. A witness may notice confusion or pressure, but the presence of two signatures is not a substitute for appropriate assessment. The State Library of NSW's execution explanation distinguishes formal requirements from practical precautions and special signing circumstances.
Choose people who can understand what they are doing, see the relevant act and provide reliable contact details. Independent adults are the practical choice. Do not turn that recommendation into an unsupported statement that every wills Act prescribes precisely the same minimum witness age. Ordinary paper-will witnesses generally do not need to be solicitors or justices of the peace merely because the document is a will.
When reviewing will template pitfalls, include the signing process as well as the wording. A beautifully formatted document can still leave the executor needing evidence about missing signatures, an unexplained alteration or witnesses who were never together when required.
The important differences across eight jurisdictions
New South Wales
Sections 6 and 9 of the Succession Act 2006 address execution and the ability to see and attest. The will-maker's signature must be made or acknowledged before two witnesses present together; the witnesses sign in the will-maker's presence. Section 10 can void a gift to an attesting beneficiary, subject to exceptions. The beneficiary's spouse is not automatically disqualified simply by being their spouse. Independent witnesses remain the safer practical selection.
Victoria
The Wills Act 1997 contains ordinary execution requirements and a separate remote procedure. Section 11 does not disqualify a witness, or their spouse or domestic partner, from benefiting under the will. That does not make an interested witness a good choice where independent people are available. Independence can reduce later questions about the circumstances, even where the gift is not automatically lost.
Queensland
Section 10 of the Succession Act 1981 sets out execution. Section 11 can void the disposition to an interested witness unless an exception applies. Section 12 also addresses a disposition to an interpreter used in making the will. The law's exceptions should not be treated as a convenient substitute for choosing independent witnesses at the start.
Western Australia
The Wills Act 1970 provides the execution requirements in section 8 and excludes a person unable to see and attest in section 11. The former interested-witness provision in section 13 has been deleted. Avoid applying an old rule found in a superseded will kit to a current execution. An independent pair still offers a clearer evidential arrangement.
South Australia
The current framework is the Succession Act 2023, which commenced in 2025. The Legal Services Commission's signing information explains that a beneficiary or their spouse or domestic partner may witness, although independent people are preferable. It also addresses marks, reading the document and recording special circumstances. Instructions referring only to the former Wills Act 1936 need to be assessed against the present framework and relevant transitional provisions.
Tasmania
The Wills Act 2008 addresses execution and interested witnesses. Section 12 can void the beneficial disposition to an attesting beneficiary, subject to specified exceptions; sections 13 and 14 provide a court application pathway. The law should not be reduced to a blanket claim that the whole will disappears because one beneficiary witnessed it. Obtaining a court order is also different from preventing the issue by choosing other witnesses.
Australian Capital Territory
Section 9 of the Wills Act 1968 requires witnesses to sign in the presence of the will-maker and each other. Section 15 prevents a will or provision being void merely because it was attested by a beneficiary or their domestic partner. These provisions demonstrate why both presence requirements and beneficiary rules need jurisdiction-specific treatment.
Northern Territory
Sections 8 and 11 of the Wills Act 2000 address execution and sight. Section 12 can void a disposition to a beneficiary who witnesses, with exceptions concerning other independent witnesses, consent or the court's satisfaction about knowledge, approval and voluntariness. A missing qualification can turn a broadly sensible warning into an inaccurate statement about the effect of the whole will.
Digital Legacy VaultA paper-signing session you can organise properly
1. Complete the decisions before the appointment
Settle gifts, substitutes, executor appointments and the residue before printing. Check names and any percentages against the complete final document. If the will-maker still has questions, arrange answers before witnesses arrive. A signing session should not become a pressured family discussion about changing who inherits.
For matters needing individual advice, an estate planning lawyer preparation guide can help assemble relevant information. Bring the actual draft and explain any difficulty with reading, writing, communication, capacity or independence. The professional needs those facts to design the appropriate process.
2. Select and brief the witnesses
Ask two independent adults who can attend for the whole session. Avoid beneficiaries and their partners, even where local law allows them, unless advice supports another arrangement. Check whether an executor you have chosen is also a beneficiary. Being described as an executor does not remove a separate financial interest.
Explain that each person must actually observe what the procedure requires and provide accurate details. Do not ask someone to sign a blank execution page or add their name later without the required participation. A neighbour or colleague may be suitable, but convenience should not override sight, understanding or independence.
3. Prepare the complete document and a quiet setting
Count the pages, check their order and remove superseded printouts from the signing area. Arrange enough light, a stable surface and any glasses or other assistance the will-maker uses. Keep interruptions to a minimum and allow sufficient time. A rushed signature at a doorway is an avoidable source of uncertainty.
An online will maker and legal document creator can assist with preparation, but the will-maker must review the final wording and complete the applicable execution steps. Do not confuse a platform's progress indicator with evidence of what happened at the signing appointment.
4. Read and approve before signing
Give the will-maker an opportunity to read the document privately and raise concerns. If reading or translation support is required, use an appropriate arrangement and record it accurately. Ensure that the document to be signed is the one the will-maker understands and approves. If a substantive revision becomes necessary, a clean corrected document is often easier to explain later than several handwritten changes.
5. Complete execution with everyone observing
Follow the applicable statutory process and the document's correct instructions. For an ordinary paper execution, keeping all three people together while the will-maker and witnesses sign avoids many presence problems. Sign the intended execution areas and complete the date and witness identification details accurately. Follow appropriate instructions about each page and any properly made alterations.
The Tasmanian Department of Justice witnessing checklist supplies a practical protocol for its audience. Some precautions in official checklists are stricter than the minimum statutory wording. Using the same pen, for example, can support a consistent record, but ink colour alone does not prove legal validity.
6. Check the result before everyone leaves
Confirm that no page is missing, the intended people signed and the witness details are legible. Address an omission through the appropriate process while the participants are available. Do not backdate a later event to make the record appear tidy. If the event did not follow the necessary requirements, seek advice about proper re-execution rather than conceal the problem.
Witness details deserve a separate check. A signature that cannot later be associated with a name or address can make it harder to obtain evidence when the estate needs it. Ask each witness to print the identifying details required by the document legibly. Keep any additional contact information in an appropriate private record, with a clear explanation of why it is retained. Do not add new contact details onto the original years later.
7. Store the original and identify its location
Make a clear copy after execution and distinguish it from the original. The secure document storage guidance should be applied with a practical retrieval plan. A locked location is useful only if the executor can establish how to obtain the original when required. Keep witness contact details current where reasonably possible without editing the signed will itself.
Remote witnessing needs a planned legal procedure
NSW permits audiovisual witnessing under its remote framework. The NSW Department of Communities and Justice explains real-time observation, confirmation on the document or copy, identification of the same document and an endorsement recording the method. Permission to witness remotely does not automatically authorise an electronic signature for every document.
The Law Society of NSW's estate-planning information addresses the interaction with will execution, including the will-maker observing witness signatures. It also explains why an interstate or overseas connection requires additional attention. A NSW procedure should not be casually exported to every Australian will.
Victoria has its own statutory remote execution process, including a special witness and same-day steps within Victoria. The Victoria Legal Aid summary is a useful starting point. Have the special witness organise the detailed process, including document transmission, statements and which final document is the will.
Technical visibility matters. The LPLC analysis of Re Curtis explains why seeing a face on a call did not establish that participants clearly saw the required signatures being made. Check camera positions and document visibility before the actual signing. A recording can support evidence where appropriately consented to, but does not cure a process that failed the law.
Queensland's general permanent electronic-document reforms do not extend to ordinary wills in the way some people assume. The Queensland Law Society's explanation identifies the exclusion. Elsewhere, use the applicable local law and obtain advice before attempting any remote arrangement. Old pandemic instructions should not be treated as continuing permission.
PlansArrange support for reading, language and physical disability
A person unable to hold a pen may still be able to make their own testamentary decisions. A mark or a signature at their direction may be legally possible, but the procedure and attestation need attention. Do not assume an attorney can simply sign a new will because they hold a financial power of attorney. That appointment does not ordinarily give the attorney the will-maker's personal testamentary power.
Where the will-maker cannot read, ensure the document is properly communicated and understood before execution. Where translation is required, use an independent competent interpreter and consider the jurisdiction's interested-interpreter rules. Avoid relying on a beneficiary as the only channel through which the person's intentions are communicated.
Record assistance as it occurred: who read or translated, what document was used, how the person indicated understanding and how the signature was made. A professionally prepared attestation clause can reflect the circumstances. It should not be copied from another document with facts that do not apply.
If a will-maker appears confused, frightened, heavily sedated or unable to communicate a decision, stop the routine session and obtain appropriate assistance. Waiting for a convenient witness does not solve a capacity problem, and obtaining a hurried signature does not protect an instruction the person did not understand. The urgency and available options need individual assessment.
Avoid repairs that make the evidence worse
Do not add a witness to an old document merely because one signature is missing. Do not replace a page in an executed will while retaining the old signature page. Do not correct a beneficiary's name with an unexplained pen alteration. These actions can leave uncertainty about both the document and when it changed.
Include execution in the top mistakes to avoid in estate planning. If the will-maker is alive, has capacity and wishes to proceed, proper new execution may be available. If they have died or capacity has become uncertain, preserve the documents and seek advice about evidence and any court application. Informal-will powers are remedies with legal tests, not automatic approval of every defect.
When updating a will after life events, keep a clear distinction between a new draft and a completed replacement. An account updated last week can coexist with a signed will made years earlier. Tell the executor which document is operative and where the original is held, subject to any advice about revocation and previous versions.
Connect signing with the records an executor will need
Evaheld supports will creation alongside estate essentials, digital assets, executor instructions and controlled family sharing. Complete the legally required execution of the generated will, then use the surrounding records to explain document locations and relevant contacts. Trusted family access can help someone locate information; it does not itself appoint them executor or give them authority to alter a will.
An executor handover pack should identify the original, any professional holding it and the supporting records. An essential documents checklist can connect separate appointments and care documents without mixing their different witnessing rules.
Personal explanations and practical wishes belong in clearly identified supporting material. A letter of wishes template can assist with context, but changing that letter is not a reliable way to amend legal gifts. Preserve story and legacy material for its personal value while keeping the operative legal instructions clear.
Final signing-session checklist
- Identify the relevant jurisdiction and any overseas or interstate connection.
- Read the final complete document and resolve outstanding instructions.
- Arrange two suitable independent adult witnesses for ordinary paper execution.
- Address interpretation, reading, capacity or physical-signing support in advance.
- Use the correct local process, with everyone able to observe the required acts.
- Complete signatures, dates and identifying details accurately.
- Check all pages before participants leave and never backdate a later event.
- Obtain advice about any defect or proposed remote procedure.
- Store the executed original and clearly label the copy.
- Tell the executor how to locate the original and supporting records.
