Wills and Estate Planning in Hobart: 8 Critical Mistakes to Avoid

Wills and estate planning in Hobart is one of those things most people know they should do but keep putting off. Life gets busy, the topic feels uncomfortable, and it’s easy to assume that what you have in place is “good enough.” The problem is that estate planning mistakes don’t show up until after you’re gone — and by then, your family is the one left to deal with the fallout.

Tasmania has its own specific laws governing wills and estates. The Wills Act 2008 (Tas) and the Intestacy Act 2010 (Tas) set strict rules about what makes a will valid, how estates are distributed when there is no will, and what rights your dependants have to challenge your estate. If your documents don’t line up with these requirements, the consequences can be slow, expensive, and deeply stressful for the people you love.

Whether you already have a will sitting in a drawer somewhere or you’ve never started the process, this guide covers the eight most common — and most damaging — mistakes people make when it comes to estate planning in Hobart. Understanding these pitfalls is the first step toward making sure your wishes are actually carried out when the time comes.

Mistake 1: Dying Without a Valid Will in Tasmania

This is the most fundamental mistake you can make, and it happens more often than most people realize. If you die intestate — meaning without a valid will — you hand control of your estate to the state government. Under the Intestacy Act 2010 (Tas), a strict formula determines who gets what, and it rarely matches what most people would actually want.

Here’s how it works in Tasmania when there is no will:

• If you have a surviving spouse and no children from another relationship, your spouse inherits everything.
• If you have children from a different relationship, your spouse receives a statutory spousal legacy of $350,000 (adjusted to CPI), plus half of whatever remains.
• If there’s no spouse or children, the estate passes to your parents, then siblings, then more distant relatives.
• If no eligible relatives can be found, your estate goes to the Tasmanian Government.

The administrator appointed by the court may not be the person you would have chosen. They must establish your full family tree using official certificates, which can be expensive and time-consuming — especially if relatives live overseas.

The fix: Make a valid will. It doesn’t matter how modest your assets are. Even a straightforward will with clear instructions protects your family from unnecessary legal complications and ensures your wishes are respected.

Mistake 2: Not Meeting Tasmania’s Formal Requirements for a Valid Will

Many people believe that writing down their wishes — even without formal legal assistance — is enough to create a legally binding will. It isn’t. In Tasmania, the Wills Act 2008 sets out specific requirements that must all be satisfied for a will to be valid.

A valid will in Tasmania must:

• Be in writing
• Be signed by the testator (the person making the will) or by someone else in the testator’s presence and at their direction
• Have the signature witnessed by two independent adult witnesses who are both present at the same time
• Witnesses must not be beneficiaries under the will — if they are, they forfeit their gift

What happens when execution fails? A court can treat the document as invalid, effectively pushing the estate into intestacy even though you tried to plan. The Supreme Court of Tasmania does have a discretion to admit an improperly executed document as a will if it can be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the testator intended it to be their will — but this is an expensive, uncertain process that your family has to go through after you’re already gone.

DIY wills carry a high risk of execution failures. The savings made by not seeing a lawyer are often vastly outweighed by the legal costs of fixing the problem later.

The fix: See a qualified estate planning lawyer in Hobart who understands the requirements under the Wills Act 2008. The investment is small compared to the potential cost of getting it wrong.

Mistake 3: Failing to Update Your Will After Major Life Events

A will you made ten years ago might have made perfect sense then. But life changes — and a static estate plan can cause serious problems. This is one of the most common mistakes estate lawyers see, and it often triggers disputes among family members.

Major life events that should trigger a will review include:

• Marriage or entering a de facto relationship (under the Relationships Act 2003 (Tas))
• Separation or divorce
• Death of a named executor or beneficiary
• Birth of children or grandchildren
• Significant acquisition or disposal of property or assets
• Starting or selling a business
• Moving to Tasmania from another state or country

One particularly dangerous situation in Tasmania: if you are separated from your spouse but not yet divorced, your will remains valid — including any provisions you made for that spouse. This can lead to an ex-partner inheriting a significant portion of your estate against your actual wishes.

Similarly, if a named beneficiary predeceases you and your will has no substitution clauses, that gift may fail entirely, potentially triggering a partial intestacy under the Intestacy Act 2010.

The fix: Review your will every two to three years and after every significant life event. Make sure your will includes substitution clauses that cover what happens if a beneficiary dies before you do. If you need to make changes, do so through a formally executed codicil or by creating a new will entirely.

Mistake 4: Choosing the Wrong Executor

The executor of your estate carries a serious legal responsibility. They collect your assets, pay outstanding debts, finalise tax affairs, and distribute your estate in accordance with your will. Choosing the wrong person for this role can create real problems — not because of bad intentions, but because the task is genuinely demanding.

Common executor-related mistakes include:

• Naming only one executor with no backup
• Choosing someone who is elderly or in poor health
• Naming a beneficiary who may have a conflict of interest in complex family situations
• Selecting someone who lives overseas (the executor ideally lives in the same state as the testator)
• Failing to speak to your chosen executor before naming them in your will

In Tasmania, if no executor is named in the will, or if named executors cannot or refuse to act, the Supreme Court will appoint an administrator. That administrator may not be the person you would have chosen, and the process takes time and money that comes out of your estate.

The fix: Name at least two executors in your will and make sure they are willing and able to take on the role. Discuss it with them before you finalise your documents. If your estate is particularly complex — involving a business, a trust, or significant assets — consider naming a professional executor such as the Public Trustee of Tasmania.

Mistake 5: Ignoring Powers of Attorney and Enduring Guardianship

Most people think of estate planning purely in terms of what happens after death. But a complete estate plan also protects you while you’re still alive, particularly if you lose the capacity to make decisions for yourself.

In Tasmania, there are two key documents that fill this role:

Enduring Power of Attorney: This appoints a person to manage your financial and legal affairs if you become incapacitated. Without it, no one — not even your spouse — has the automatic legal right to manage your bank accounts, pay your bills, or handle property transactions on your behalf. The court would need to appoint someone, which is a slow and costly process.

Enduring Guardianship: This appoints a person to make personal and lifestyle decisions for you — including medical decisions — if you cannot make them yourself. This is separate from a power of attorney and covers choices about where you live, what medical treatment you receive, and how you are cared for.

These documents are governed by the Guardianship and Administration Act 1995 (Tas), and they must be formally executed to be valid.

Many Hobartians go through their entire lives without these documents in place, assuming that a family member will “just handle it.” That assumption can lead to urgent, expensive court applications at the worst possible time — when a loved one is already in crisis.

The fix: When you prepare or update your will, also prepare an Enduring Power of Attorney and appoint an Enduring Guardian. Make sure the people you appoint know what to do and where to find the documents.

Mistake 6: Using Vague or Ambiguous Language in Your Will

The language in your will matters enormously. Vague instructions don’t just cause confusion — they create conflict. Beneficiaries who feel they’ve been treated unfairly will hire lawyers, and lawyers will find whatever ambiguity exists in the document to support their client’s position.

Phrases that routinely cause disputes include:

• “To be shared between my family” — which family members? All children equally? Including step-children?
• “The bulk of my estate” — what does “bulk” mean in legal terms?
• “My jewellery” — does that include watches? What about items with disputed ownership?
• “Some of my savings” — how much is “some”?

Courts in Tasmania interpret wills strictly. If a gift cannot be clearly identified or the beneficiary cannot be clearly defined, the gift may fail entirely. Every item of significance should be described precisely, and every beneficiary should be identified by their full legal name and relationship to you.

This is also worth thinking about when it comes to personal items with sentimental value. Family disputes over heirlooms — a particular piece of furniture, a piece of jewellery, a car — are disproportionately common and painful. Naming specific items and specific recipients removes the ambiguity entirely.

The fix: Work with an experienced estate planning lawyer to draft clear, precise language. If you have items of sentimental or financial significance that you want to go to a particular person, name both the item and the person explicitly in your will.

Mistake 7: Overlooking Superannuation and Non-Estate Assets

Here is something that surprises a lot of people: your will does not automatically control your superannuation. Superannuation sits outside your estate and is generally distributed at the discretion of your superannuation fund’s trustee — unless you have made a valid binding death benefit nomination (BDBN).

Without a current BDBN, the trustee of your super fund decides who receives your super balance. They will typically pay it to a dependant or to your estate, but not necessarily to the person you intended.

Other assets that commonly fall outside the scope of a will include:

• Jointly owned property held as joint tenants (this passes automatically to the surviving owner by operation of law)
• Life insurance with a nominated beneficiary
• Bank accounts held jointly
• Business interests with specific succession provisions

Many Hobart residents are surprised to find that their estate plan, as carefully drafted as it was, only covers a fraction of their actual wealth because so much sits in these non-estate assets.

The fix: Map out all of your assets — including super, jointly owned property, and life insurance — and make sure you have appropriate nominations and designations in place for each one. Review them every time your super fund sends you a notice, because many BDBNs expire after three years.

Mistake 8: Not Considering Family Provision Claims Under Tasmania’s Testator’s Family Maintenance Act

Even a perfectly drafted will can be challenged in Tasmania. Under the Testator’s Family Maintenance Act 1912 (Tas), if a dependant feels they have been left “without adequate provision for proper maintenance and support,” they can apply to the Supreme Court of Tasmania for an order that a portion of your estate be set aside for them.

Dependants who may be able to make such a claim include:

• A spouse (including a de facto partner under the Relationships Act 2003)
• Children (including adult children who are not financially dependent)
• Stepchildren or other people who were dependent on you

This doesn’t mean you must leave everything to your children or spouse. But if you are deliberately excluding a family member, or leaving them significantly less than another, it is important to:

• Document your reasons carefully
• Take proper legal advice before finalising your will
• Understand that a handwritten note saying “I’m excluding X because…” has limited legal weight without proper guidance

There are also strict time limits for making family provision claims in Tasmania. Anyone who believes they have a claim should seek legal advice as soon as possible after a death.

The fix: If you have a complex family situation — a blended family, estranged relatives, dependants with special needs — work with an estate planning lawyer in Hobart who understands the risks under the Testator’s Family Maintenance Act. Early, thoughtful planning can significantly reduce the risk of a contested estate.

How to Find the Right Estate Planning Lawyer in Hobart

Not all lawyers who offer will-drafting services have deep expertise in Tasmanian succession law. For anything beyond a straightforward will with a simple family structure, you want someone who understands:

• The interaction between Tasmania’s Wills Act 2008 and Intestacy Act 2010
• Testator’s Family Maintenance Act claims and how to structure an estate to minimise the risk
• Superannuation and non-estate asset planning
• Trust structures for complex family situations or business interests
• Powers of attorney and enduring guardianship under Tasmanian law

Hobart-based law firms with dedicated estate planning practices — including Murdoch Clarke and FitzGerald and Browne — have established expertise in this area. The Public Trustee of Tasmania is also a government-backed option, particularly for executor services and will storage.

Whatever route you take, make sure you get formal legal advice rather than relying on generic online templates. Tasmania’s specific legislative framework means that what works in another state may not comply with local law.

Quick Checklist: Wills and Estate Planning in Hobart

Before you walk away, run through this checklist to see where you stand:

• [ ] Do you have a valid, signed, and witnessed will?
• [ ] Has your will been reviewed in the past three years?
• [ ] Does your will have substitution clauses if a beneficiary predeceases you?
• [ ] Have you named at least two executors who know and agree to the role?
• [ ] Do you have an Enduring Power of Attorney in place?
• [ ] Have you appointed an Enduring Guardian?
• [ ] Have you made a current Binding Death Benefit Nomination with your super fund?
• [ ] Have you checked the beneficiary nominations on your life insurance?
• [ ] Is the language in your will precise and unambiguous?
• [ ] Have you considered potential family provision claims?

If you answered “no” or “I’m not sure” to any of these, it’s worth booking a conversation with an estate planning lawyer in Hobart.

Conclusion

Wills and estate planning in Hobart is not just about writing down who gets what. It’s a legal process governed by specific Tasmanian legislation — including the Wills Act 2008, the Intestacy Act 2010, and the Testator’s Family Maintenance Act 1912 — and getting it wrong can leave your family with costly disputes, delayed distributions, and outcomes that are completely different from what you intended.

The eight mistakes covered in this article — dying without a valid will, failing formal execution requirements, not updating documents after life changes, choosing the wrong executor, neglecting powers of attorney and enduring guardianship, using vague language, overlooking non-estate assets like superannuation, and ignoring the risk of family provision claims — are all avoidable with the right legal advice and a commitment to reviewing your plan regularly. Estate planning is one of the most meaningful things you can do for the people you care about, and in Hobart, getting it right means working with professionals who understand Tasmania’s unique legal landscape.