When someone says they want to “contest a Will”, they can mean two different things. In Queensland, those two paths have different rules, deadlines, and risks around costs.
This post explains:
- the common grounds people rely on
- the key time limits
- what to expect about costs
1) Two different types of Will disputes
A. “The Will is valid, but it isn’t fair to me” (Family Provision Claim)
This is the most common kind of “contesting”. You’re not necessarily saying the Will is fake or invalid. You’re saying the deceased didn’t leave you enough (or anything) for your proper maintenance and support.
B. “This Will shouldn’t stand at all” (Validity Challenge)
This is where you say the Will should not be accepted because something went wrong when it was made (for example, the person didn’t understand what they were signing, or they were pressured).
2) What grounds are needed?
A. Family Provision Claim (contesting the Will)
To bring a family provision claim, two things matter:
You must be eligible
In Queensland, only certain people can apply, generally:
- a spouse (including a qualifying de facto partner),
- a child, or
- a dependant (in the legal sense).
You must show “not enough provision”
The court isn’t deciding whether the Will was “nice” or “fair” in a general sense. The key question is whether the Will (and the overall estate plan) failed to make adequate provision for your proper maintenance and support.
Things that commonly matter include:
- your age, health, income, assets and financial needs
- the size of the estate
- your relationship with the deceased (and its history)
- what the deceased did for you (or you did for them) during their lifetime
- what other beneficiaries need, and any competing claims
- whether you’ve already received significant gifts or support
- conduct that might count against you
B. Validity Challenge (challenging the Will)
A validity challenge is about whether the Will should be accepted as the deceased’s true last Will.
Common grounds include:
| Ground | What it means in everyday terms |
|---|---|
| Lack of capacity | The person didn’t understand what a Will is, what they owned, or who should be considered when they signed it. |
| Lack of knowledge/approval | The person signed, but didn’t really understand or agree with what was in the document (often raised where there are “red flags” around how it was prepared). |
| Undue influence | Someone pressured/coerced the person so the Will reflects the influencer’s wishes, not the deceased’s real wishes. |
| Fraud/forgery | The Will or signature isn’t genuine, or the document was dishonestly created/changed. |
| Execution problems | The Will wasn’t signed/witnessed correctly (although the court can sometimes accept an informal document as a Will in certain circumstances). |
| Revocation/later Will | There’s a later Will, or the Will was revoked, or something happened that affected it. |
Some disputes aren’t about invalidity but about what the wording means (interpretation). That’s a different type of court application again.
3) Time limits (this is where people get caught out)
A. Family Provision: strict deadlines from the date of death
These deadlines generally run from the date of death (not from when you receive a copy of the Will, and not from when probate is granted):
| Step | Time limit (generally) |
|---|---|
| Give written notice to the executor / personal representative | Within 6 months of death |
| File the court application | Within 9 months of death |
Late claims can be possible, but only with the court’s permission, and they can be much harder—especially if the estate has already been distributed.
B. Validity challenges: no matching “6 and 9 month” rule, but don’t delay
Validity challenges don’t have the same fixed 6/9 month deadlines. However, waiting is risky.
As a practical matter, concerns about validity should be raised as early as possible, ideally before probate is granted. Once probate is granted and the estate is distributed, it can become more complex and expensive to unwind.
Important: Taking steps in a validity dispute doesn’t automatically protect a family provision claim. If you might have a family provision claim too, those 6- and 9-month deadlines still matter.
4) What about costs?
Costs in estate disputes are not automatic. The court has a broad discretion, and outcomes often depend on:
- how strong the case is
- how people behave during the dispute
- whether the matter could have been resolved earlier (including by mediation)
- whether legal costs are proportionate to the size of the estate
Family Provision costs
Often, if an applicant is successful (or partly successful), the court may order that some or all of their legal costs be paid out of the estate. But it isn’t guaranteed.
If a claim is weak, exaggerated, or run unreasonably, an applicant can end up paying their own costs—and in some cases may be ordered to contribute to other parties’ costs.
Validity challenge costs
Validity challenges can be especially risky on costs. If you lose, you may face an order to pay costs—particularly if the court thinks the challenge was speculative.
On the other hand, if there were genuine reasons to question the Will (for example, suspicious circumstances), the court may order that costs come out of the estate, depending on the facts.
Takeaways
- “Contesting” a Will can mean family provision (not enough provision) or validity (the Will shouldn’t stand).
- Family provision claims have strict deadlines: notice in 6 months and file in 9 months from the date of death.
- Validity challenges don’t have the same deadlines, but delay can make things harder—especially after probate and distribution.
- Costs are discretionary: the estate doesn’t automatically pay, and weak or unreasonable claims can be costly.
