In this guide(13 sections)
If you're trying to work out what a will actually costs in Victoria, you've probably found a confusing spread — free will kits at one end, online templates in the middle, and law firms that won't quote a number until you've spoken to them. This guide explains what's behind that spread, what drives the cost of a will, and why a lawyer-drafted will is priced the way it is. It's general information only, not legal advice — for a fee specific to your situation, the figure is set in writing after a free consultation.
How much does a will cost in Victoria?
There's no single fixed price for a will in Victoria. At Fogarty Oliver Rothschild, principal lawyer Elisa Rothschild BA/LLB sets the fee in writing after a free, no-obligation consultation, because the cost depends on how complex your estate and family are — a straightforward will costs far less than one with a testamentary trust or blended-family structuring.
Book a free consultation → | Call 03 4328 5084
At a glance — the cost of a will in Victoria
| Is there a fixed price? | No — the fee depends on the complexity of your estate and family |
| How the fee is set | In writing, after a free no-obligation consultation, before any work begins |
| Who drafts your will | Elisa Rothschild BA/LLB — senior lawyer, not a template |
| What an estate plan typically includes | Will, testamentary trust (where useful), Enduring Power of Attorney, Medical Treatment Decision Maker appointment |
| What drives the cost | Number of beneficiaries, blended family, testamentary trusts, business/trust/SMSF assets, family-provision risk |
| DIY will kit | Cheapest up-front; highest risk of invalid execution, ambiguity or a contested estate later |
| Free will kits | Often available from charities and some banks — same execution and drafting risks apply |
| Governing law | Wills Act 1997 (Vic) |
| First consultation | Free, in confidence, no obligation |
| Office | 84 Chapel Street, St Kilda VIC 3182 |
What drives the cost of a will?
A will isn't a fixed-price product like a passport photo. The price reflects how much thinking, drafting and risk-management your situation actually needs. The main cost drivers are:
- The size and shape of your estate. A single home and a bank account is one thing. A home, an investment property, a share portfolio, a family company, a discretionary trust and superannuation is another — each of those passes differently on death, and a good will has to be coordinated around them.
- Your family structure. A first marriage with shared children is the simplest case. Blended families, stepchildren, an unmarried or de facto partner, a child with a disability, or a beneficiary going through their own relationship breakdown all add complexity — and value.
- Whether you need a testamentary trust. A will that simply gives everything to named people costs less to draft than one that creates an ongoing trust structure inside it. More on that below.
- Family-provision risk. If there's a realistic chance someone will challenge the will under Part IV of the Administration and Probate Act 1958 (Vic), careful drafting (and sometimes an explanatory statement) is worth the extra work — because a contested estate costs the people you love far more than the will ever did.
- The supporting documents. Most people don't just want a will. They want the full set — Enduring Power of Attorney and a Medical Treatment Decision Maker appointment — prepared at the same time so the whole picture is consistent.
Because these vary so much from person to person, the firm quotes the fee in writing after the free consultation, once it's clear what your situation actually requires — rather than advertising a one-size-fits-all number that wouldn't be honest.
What does a will cost — simple will vs testamentary trust vs full estate plan?
The table below shows the typical structure of will and estate-planning work, from simplest to most involved. The firm does not publish fixed prices; the fee for your matter is set in writing after a free consultation, before any work begins.
| Level | What it covers | Relative cost |
|---|---|---|
| Simple will | A straightforward will — executor, beneficiaries, guardians for minor children, specific and residuary gifts — for an uncomplicated estate and family | Lowest |
| Will with a testamentary trust | A will that creates an ongoing trust inside it to protect or stage an inheritance (e.g. against a beneficiary's divorce or bankruptcy, or for a young or vulnerable beneficiary) | Higher — more drafting and structuring |
| Full estate plan | Will (with a testamentary trust where useful), Enduring Power of Attorney, and Medical Treatment Decision Maker appointment — prepared together so they're consistent | Highest, but covers far more |
The full estate plan is what most people actually need, because a will alone only deals with what happens after you die — it does nothing while you're alive but unable to make decisions. That's the job of the power of attorney and the medical decision-maker appointment.
Book a free consultation to get your fee in writing →
Will kit vs lawyer-drafted will — what's the real difference?
A DIY will kit (bought from a newsagent or post office) or a free will kit (offered by some charities and banks) is the cheapest option up front. For a genuinely simple estate, a kit can technically work. But the saving is only real if nothing goes wrong — and with wills, the cost of getting it wrong lands on the people you love, after you're gone, when you can't fix it.
The risks with a kit or template:
- Invalid execution. The Wills Act 1997 (Vic) sets strict signing and witnessing rules. A will that isn't signed and witnessed correctly can be invalid, which can throw your estate into intestacy or force your executor into a Supreme Court application to have it admitted anyway.
- Ambiguous wording. Kit wills are filled in by non-lawyers, and unclear language is one of the biggest sources of avoidable probate disputes in Victoria. A phrase that seemed obvious to you can be read two ways once you're not there to explain it.
- Missed superannuation. Superannuation usually doesn't pass under your will at all — it's paid by your super fund's trustee, normally following a Binding Death Benefit Nomination. A kit won't tell you that, so a large chunk of your wealth can end up going somewhere you never intended.
- Missed family-provision risk. Leaving someone out, or leaving them very little, can prompt a Family Provision claim. A kit can't structure around that risk.
- Intestacy if it fails. If a homemade will is held invalid, the law decides who inherits using a fixed intestacy formula — which can leave an unmarried partner, a same-sex partner or stepchildren in a far weaker position than you'd ever intend.
A lawyer-drafted will costs more up front but is built to be valid, clear, and hard to challenge — and it's coordinated with your super, jointly-owned property and any trusts. For the firm's full service, see Wills & Estates. As a general rule, paying a lawyer to draft it once costs far less than a contested or invalid estate later.
What makes a will valid in Victoria?
Under the Wills Act 1997 (Vic), a will is generally valid in Victoria when:
- It is in writing.
- The will-maker is 18 or over and has testamentary capacity — they understand they're making a will, broadly what they own, and who might reasonably expect to be provided for.
- It is made freely and voluntarily, without undue pressure from anyone.
- It is signed by the will-maker (or by someone else in their presence and at their direction).
- The signature is made or acknowledged in the presence of two witnesses, both present at the same time, who then each sign the will.
A witness shouldn't be a beneficiary (or the spouse of a beneficiary), because that can jeopardise their gift. The Court does have a limited power to admit a document that doesn't meet the formalities if it's satisfied the person intended it to be their will — but that requires a Supreme Court application, which is exactly the cost and delay a properly executed will avoids. The signing appointment is where a lawyer-drafted will earns its keep: the execution is supervised so the formalities are met.
This is general information about the formalities — it is not advice that any particular document is valid. Whether a specific will is valid depends on its own facts.
What does a testamentary trust add — and why does it cost more?
A testamentary trust is a trust created by your will that holds part or all of your estate for your beneficiaries, rather than handing it to them outright. It's the single most common reason a will costs more, because it's substantially more to draft and structure. People use one to:
- Protect an inheritance through a child's own relationship breakdown or bankruptcy — assets held in the trust aren't personally owned by the beneficiary, so they're harder to lose.
- Stage when capital is received — for example, holding a grandchild's share until they reach a nominated age rather than handing a large sum to a young adult.
- Provide for someone who needs help managing money — a beneficiary with a disability, or one who simply isn't ready to manage a large inheritance.
- Improve tax treatment in some cases — income distributed to minor beneficiaries from a testamentary trust can be taxed at adult marginal rates rather than the penalty rates that usually apply to children.
A testamentary trust isn't for everyone — for many simple estates it's unnecessary. But for families with real assets, a business, or beneficiaries who need protection, the additional drafting cost is often well worth it. Whether one suits your situation is something to talk through at the consultation.
Estate planning for blended families
Blended families are one of the most common reasons a will needs to be more than a one-page document — and it's a frequent question in St Kilda and across bayside Melbourne. The classic problem: you want to look after your current partner and make sure your children from an earlier relationship eventually inherit. Leave everything to your partner outright and there's nothing legally stopping it later passing to their side of the family instead of your children. Leave everything to your children and your partner may be left without enough to live on — and may bring a family-provision claim.
There are good, well-tested ways to balance this — testamentary trusts, a life interest in the family home, and carefully structured gifts — but the right structure depends entirely on your family. This is exactly the kind of situation where a lawyer-drafted will protects everyone, and where the reasoning should be documented to reduce the risk of a later dispute. It's also a key reason the fee can't be a flat advertised number: the work genuinely varies with the family.
What's included in the firm's estate plan?
Most clients don't come in for "just a will" — they come in to get the whole picture sorted. The firm prepares the core documents together so they're consistent:
- A properly drafted will — who receives what, who carries it out (your executor), who cares for any young children, and a testamentary trust where it genuinely helps.
- An Enduring Power of Attorney — so someone you trust can handle your finances and personal decisions if you ever lose capacity. A will only operates after you die; this covers you while you're alive but unable to decide. See the plain-English guide to the Enduring Power of Attorney in Victoria.
- A Medical Treatment Decision Maker appointment — naming who makes medical decisions for you if you can't make them yourself.
- Family-provision risk planning — especially for blended families, where an earlier marriage or stepchildren can complicate things.
The work is done by Elisa Rothschild personally, not handed to a template, and for clients who can't easily get to the office, home visits can be arranged. For a sense of how this looks for a particular area, see estate planning in St Kilda. The fee for your full plan is set in writing after the free consultation, before any work begins.
Book a free consultation → | Call 03 4328 5084
Why won't a law firm just quote a price online?
It's a fair question, and the honest answer is that an advertised flat price for "a will" tends to be either misleading or padded. A genuinely simple will and a blended-family will with a testamentary trust are different amounts of work, and pretending they cost the same does no one any favours. At Fogarty Oliver Rothschild the approach is the opposite: a free consultation to understand what you actually need, then a fee confirmed in writing before any work starts — so there are no surprises, and you're never paying for complexity you don't have.
How often should you update your will?
Whenever life materially changes — a new relationship, a separation, a child or grandchild, the death of an executor or beneficiary, buying or selling a home or business, or moving interstate. Marriage generally revokes an earlier will, and divorce typically cancels gifts to and the appointment of a former spouse, so both events should trigger a review. If you can't remember when you last looked at your will, it's almost certainly out of date for your current life — and reviewing or updating an existing will is usually a smaller piece of work than starting from scratch.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a will cost in Victoria?
There's no single fixed price. At Fogarty Oliver Rothschild the fee is set in writing after a free, no-obligation consultation, because the cost depends on how complex your estate and family are. A straightforward will costs far less than one with a testamentary trust or blended-family structuring. A DIY will kit is cheaper up front, but carries a real risk of invalid execution or a contested estate later, which falls on the people you leave behind.
Is a will kit legally valid in Victoria?
A will kit can be valid if it's completed and executed correctly under the Wills Act 1997 (Vic) — but in practice, DIY and kit wills are a leading source of avoidable probate disputes. The common failures are incorrect signing and witnessing (which can make the will invalid), ambiguous wording, and missed superannuation. For a genuinely simple estate a kit can technically work; for most households it carries more risk than it's worth.
What makes a will valid in Victoria?
Under the Wills Act 1997 (Vic), a valid will is generally in writing, made by someone 18 or over with testamentary capacity, made freely and voluntarily, signed by the will-maker, and witnessed by two people who are both present at the same time and who each sign the will. A beneficiary should not act as a witness. A document that doesn't meet the formalities can sometimes still be admitted by the Supreme Court, but that's costly to do.
Do I need a lawyer to make a will?
You're not legally required to use a lawyer, but for most people it's worth it. A lawyer-drafted will is built to be valid, clear and hard to challenge, and is coordinated with your superannuation, jointly-owned property and any trusts — things a kit won't address. For blended families, unmarried partners, business owners, or anyone with family-provision risk, paying a lawyer once typically costs far less than a contested or invalid estate later.
Why does a testamentary trust will cost more?
Because it's substantially more to draft. A simple will gives assets to named people outright. A testamentary trust creates an ongoing trust inside the will to protect or stage an inheritance — for example, against a beneficiary's divorce or bankruptcy, or for a young or vulnerable beneficiary — and that structure has to be drafted and tailored to your family. For estates with real assets or beneficiaries who need protection, the extra cost is often well worth it.
What happens if I die without a will in Victoria?
You're said to have died "intestate", and your estate is distributed under a fixed legal formula rather than your wishes. That formula can leave an unmarried partner, a same-sex partner or stepchildren in a far weaker position than you'd intend, and it can force the people you love into a slower, more expensive process — including, in some cases, a court application. A valid will is the simplest way to make sure the right people are looked after.
Ready to find out what a will would cost for your situation?
The first consultation is free, in confidence, and no obligation.
📧 elisa@fogartyoliverandrothschild.com.au
📍 84 Chapel Street, St Kilda VIC 3182
🌐 Book a free consultation online →
Hours: Monday to Friday, 9am–5pm. Home visits available for clients who can't easily get to the office.
This page is general information about will costs in Victoria. It is not legal advice and does not promise any particular outcome. For advice on your own situation, please get in touch.
Written and reviewed by Elisa Rothschild BA/LLB — Principal Lawyer, Fogarty Oliver Rothschild. Admitted to legal practice in Victoria. Wills, estates and family law in Melbourne since 2012.Last reviewed 10 June 2026.
This guide is general information about Victorian wills and estate planning, not legal advice for your specific situation. For advice on your matter, book a free initial consultation.