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Searching for a Will

The Australian Will Register® is a national Will and Enduring Power of Attorney Register and Will and Enduring Power of Attorney Search service. The Australian Will Register® is an invaluable resource that can be used by the public, legal profession, law firms, Government agencies, charities, and other associated sectors and organisations to Register and Search for Wills and Enduring Powers of Attorney.

Who needs to search the Australian Will Register®

A Will expresses your wishes for the distribution of your assets after you have died. It cannot be changed after you have died except by a court and there have been many occasions where a Court has changed the Will on the request of persons entitled under the Will or by Law.

Regularly updating your Will may avoid disputes and your wishes being changed through Court action.

The Australian Will Register® securely stores your Will and other important documents (e.g. enduring power of attorney or insurance policy). You can upload certified copies of your Will or search your Will or other documents as a registered user of the Australian Will Register®.

The Australian Will Register® also allows your executor to download your Will to obtain probate if required.

the Australian Will Register® securely stores your client’s Will and other important documents (e.g. enduring power of attorney or insurance policy). You can upload certified copies of your client’s Will and access past Wills which remain stored indefinately. the Australian Will Register® also allows an executor to download a client’s Will to obtain probate if required.

When consulted by a client who has recently lost a loved one and they are seeking to find the most recent Will of the deceased, you will also have a resource at hand to search for the last Will. It is important that your client’s executor or loved ones can readily identify whether a Will exists and who holds the most up-to-date version of the Will.

As an Executor or Administrator, you have the legal authority, responsibility and duty to distribute the deceased’s estate correctly and could be held financially responsible for any mistakes made through any breach of duty.

To help avoid issues arising later in the process of distributing an estate, it is important to identify whether a Will exists and who holds the most up-to-date version before any work is undertaken.

It is recommended that to help confirm the existence of a Will or to prove the Will you hold is the most recent Will that an executor needs to search for any later Will made by the deceased.

A search of the Australian Will Register® is one way to verify that yours is the latest Will and acts as proof that reasonable steps were taken to search for a Will or later Will before proceeding with distribution of the estate.

When consulted by a client who has recently lost a loved one and they are seeking information regarding the most recent Will of the deceased, you will have a resource at hand to search for the last Will. This helps you guide the client and avoid issues arising later in the process of distributing an estate after probate.

Search Pricing

Search of the Australian Will Register® $27.50
Start Will Search

What happened next?

  • Entering your data into the search request should take around 5 minutes to complete
  • The Australian Will Register® will acknowledge your enquiry and email you a receipt which not only evidences that you have requested a search but is evidence of the expense for a claim back from the estate.
  • The Australian Will Register® will provide you with a report once the search is completed and will disclose whether the search has revealed the existence of a Will that:

    (a) is registered on the Australian Will Register®;

    (b) is publicly displayed on the Australian Will Register® with the consent of the Will Maker.
  • In addition, if you are searching for a lost Will a notification is placed on the Lost Will Notice Board which may be accessed daily by solicitors, Trustees and Trust Companies.

What Outcome May Be Achieved?

  • The Australian Will Register® allows for a quick and cost effective search for Wills and Enduring Powers of Attorneys that will disclose whether the search has revealed the existence of a Will that:

    (a) is registered on the Australian Will Register® and

    (b) is publicly displayed on the Australian Will Register® with the consent of the Will Maker.
  • In addition, if you are searching for a lost Will a notification is placed on the Lost Will Notice Board which may be accessed dailyby solicitors, Trustees and Trust Companies.

Need Help?

Email: [email protected]