Make a Will: Public Trustee

A Will is a legal document that describes how you wish your assets to be distributed upon your death.

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If you die without a Will then your estate may be distributed according to predetermined formulas, which may not be what you want.

With a carefully considered and valid Will you can also:

• Choose an executor, being the person who will look after your estate and distribute it according to the instructions in your Will.
• If your children are under 18, nominate guardians for them and make arrangements for their maintenance and education.
• Express your funeral wishes.
• Provide for others through the creation of trusts.
• Give some or all of your estate to charities or philanthropic organisations such as the Give2Good Foundation.

Public Trustee Wills

Your Will is one of the most important documents for you and your family, so it is wise to have it prepared by professionals. The Public Trustee’s Wills Officers will guide you through the process, addressing any concerns that may arise, while ensuring that you have a Will tailored to suit your requirements.

The Public Trustee drafts Wills that either*:

• nominate the Public Trustee as your one and only executor; or
• nominate your spouse (or de facto partner) as your first executor and the Public Trustee as your substitute executor.

*In some exceptional cases, the Public Trustee may draft other Wills, but different fees to those advertised in our brochure below, may apply.

Will drafting fees and charges

For information about our fees, refer to the Wills and Enduring Powers of Attorney brochure.

Forms

Make an appointment

1. Read our brochures to assess whether our service is right for you

2. Complete and return the Will Application Form

Complete a Will Application Form (WAF) and return it to us by email at PTOWillsAppointments@justice.wa.gov.au The WAF helps us assess whether we can prepare a Will for you, and whether your circumstances may require additional work.

For the best experience completing this WAF, please download Adobe Acrobat Reader DC from the Adobe website (Windows/MacOS), Adobe Acrobat Reader for PDF from the Apple App Store (iOS) or Adobe Acrobat Reader: PDF Viewer, Editor and Creator from the Google Play Store (Android).

If you have difficulty completing the WAF, call us on 1300 746 116 or emailPTOWillsAppointments@justice.wa.gov.au and one of our Client Service Officers will help you.

3. Will Application Form review

Once we have received the Will Application Form, we will endeavour to have one of our Legal Officers review it. If there is an issue, a Legal Officer will contact you to discuss the matter.

4. Booking your appointment

Once the Will Application Form has been reviewed, one of our Client Service Officers will contact you to book your appointment.

Depending on your circumstances, appointments are as follows:

• Metro clients – Will interviews are normally conducted at our office located on the ground floor at 553 Hay Street Perth. Phone appointments may be possible.
• Regional clients – Will interviews can be normally completed over the phone for clients living outside a 50 km radius of Perth.
• Wills on Wheels – For those who are unable to attend a face-to-face appointment due to health or mobility restrictions we may be able to visit you at home or in hospital if you live within a 30 km radius of Perth. Conditions apply as the availability of this service is limited.

5. Confirming your appointment

Once your appointment has been booked, we will confirm in writing and provide you with more information about the appointment.

If your appointment is held by phone, you will need to provide certified identification before the appointment can proceed. If you are not able to do that, please provide what identification you can and it will be considered.

6. Attending your Appointment

Taking your instructions, drafting and executing your Will typically takes about 1.5 – 2 hours. Sometimes it may take more time, for example, if you have many questions or if your Will is complicated.

For metro clients you can complete and sign your Will at the interview but don’t have to do so. You will also need to bring two forms of identification, especially any Centrelink concession cards.

For regional clients, you won’t need to stay on the phone while we draft your Will so your time on the phone could be about an hour. We will send your Will to you by post with instructions on how to get it properly signed.

For all clients, full payment is expected on the day of the appointment.

If you are unwell on the day of your appointment, please contact us on 1300 746 116 or at PTOWillsAppointments@justice.wa.gov.au as we may be able to conduct your appointment over the phone instead.