How to Make a Will in South Australia: Requirements, Witnesses and What Happens Next

General information, not legal advice. This guide is our best interpretation of South Australian law as at October 2026. WillBuddy is not a law firm, and it never replaces advice from a lawyer or solicitor. If your situation is complex, or you are unsure about anything here, please get legal advice.

This guide explains how to make a valid will if you live in South Australia: who can make one, how it must be signed and witnessed, what can cancel it, and what happens after you die.

Quick Answer

In South Australia, wills are governed by the Succession Act 2023 (SA), which came into operation on 1 January 2025. A will must be in writing, signed by you, and witnessed by two witnesses who are present together when you sign (s8). The Act has no procedure for witnessing a will by video, so plan to sign in person. A gift is not void just because its recipient witnessed the will (s13), but independent witnesses are safer. Marriage or a new registered relationship generally cancels an existing will (s18), and divorce or the end of a registered relationship generally cancels gifts to your former partner (s19).

Who can make a will in South Australia

You generally need to be 18 or over (Succession Act 2023 (SA) s3, s5). The main exceptions for a person under 18 are someone who is or has been married, a will made in contemplation of marriage (it has no effect unless that marriage takes place) (s5), and a will the Supreme Court authorises in terms it approves (s6).

You also need testamentary capacity: you understand that you are making a will, what you own, who might expect to benefit, and the effect of your choices. If there is any doubt about capacity, for example because of illness, a lawyer and a doctor's assessment at the time of signing can help protect the will.

How to sign and witness a will in South Australia

Section 8 of the Succession Act 2023 (SA) sets out the formal requirements:

1. In writing. Printed or handwritten.
2. Signed by you, or by someone else in your presence and at your direction.
3. Two witnesses present at the same time when you sign, or when you acknowledge your signature.
4. The witnesses sign in your presence. They do not need to sign in front of each other, and no special wording is needed.
5. It must appear that you intended your signature to give effect to the will.

Use adult witnesses who could later explain what happened. Good practice: sign at the end of the will, initial each page, and have the witnesses write their names and addresses. Keep the original somewhere safe and tell your executor where it is.

Witnessing by video

The Succession Act 2023 (SA) has no procedure for witnessing a will over an audio-visual link. Sign in person, with both witnesses in the room, or get legal advice first.

Who should witness

Under section 13, a gift is not void only because it was witnessed by someone who benefits under it, or by their spouse or domestic partner. Even so, choose two independent adults: not beneficiaries, and not their partners. That makes it easier to show later that the will was made freely.

If something goes wrong

If a will was not signed or witnessed correctly, the Supreme Court can still admit a document to probate if it is satisfied the document sets out your testamentary intentions and you intended it to be your will (s11). This is a court process, it takes time and money, and it is not guaranteed. It is far better to sign correctly in the first place.

Choosing an executor

Your executor carries out your will: they apply for probate, collect your assets, pay debts and distribute what is left. Choose someone you trust, and name a backup in case they cannot act. An executor can also be a beneficiary, but must be 18 or over to receive probate (s56). In South Australia the Supreme Court may allow an executor commission or other remuneration that it considers just and reasonable (s96). The section sets no fixed percentage, and a will can also deal with executor pay.

Guardians for children under 18

In South Australia a parent can appoint a guardian for their children under 18 by will (Guardianship of Infants Act 1940 (SA) s13). A guardian appointed this way acts jointly with the surviving parent, unless that parent objects; the guardian can then ask a court to decide (s13(3)-(4)). If one parent dies, the surviving parent usually keeps parental responsibility under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), so your choice matters most if neither parent can care for your children. A court can make orders about the children's welfare if anyone disputes it. Talk to the person first, and consider a backup.

What can cancel or change your will

• Marriage generally revokes your will (s18). A will that is expressed to be made in contemplation of that marriage is not revoked by it. The will itself must say so: having the marriage in mind, or leaving gifts to your future spouse, is not enough on its own. Make a new will when you marry.
• Starting a registered relationship under the Relationships Register Act 2016 (SA) generally revokes your will too, unless a will made on or after 1 August 2017 is expressed to be made in contemplation of that registration (s18).
• Divorce, annulment, or the end of a registered relationship generally revokes gifts to your former partner and their appointment as executor, trustee or guardian, unless your will shows you intended them to continue or another exception applies, such as a binding contract to leave property to them, or re-signing the will or making a codicil after the relationship ended (s19). For those gifts and appointments, the will then takes effect as if your former partner had died on the date the relationship ended.
• Separation, or the end of an unregistered domestic partnership, does not trigger s19 (and see s17(2)). Update your will yourself.
• A later will, or a signed and witnessed document declaring that you revoke it (s17).
• Destroying the will with the intention of revoking it, yourself or by someone else in your presence and at your direction (s17).

Review your will after any major life change: marriage, separation, a new child, a death in the family, or buying or selling significant assets.

After you die: probate in South Australia

Your executor usually applies to the Supreme Court of South Australia, through the Registrar of Probates, for a grant of probate, which confirms the will and lets them deal with your assets (s3, s51, s53). The applicant must disclose the known assets and liabilities (s71).

Some people can apply for a family provision order if they are left without adequate provision for their proper maintenance, education or advancement in life (s116). Eligible people are your spouse, domestic partner, former spouse or former domestic partner, children, and, if they meet extra conditions, stepchildren, grandchildren, parents and siblings (s115). A former spouse or former domestic partner cannot claim if a binding financial agreement under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth), made on or after 1 January 2025, was in force when you died (s115(2); Succession Regulations 2024 (SA) r9). An application generally must be made within six months after the grant of probate or administration; the Court can extend this, but only on an application made before the estate is finally distributed (s118).

For a death before 1 January 2025, older rules may matter, so get legal advice.

If you die without a will in South Australia

If you die without a valid will, your estate passes under Part 5 of the Succession Act 2023 (SA). If you leave a spouse or domestic partner and no children, they generally take the whole estate (s105). If you leave a spouse or domestic partner and children, your partner generally receives your personal goods and, if the estate is worth no more than the preferential legacy, the whole estate. Otherwise your partner receives the preferential legacy and one half of the rest, and your children share the balance, with the children of a child who died before you taking that child's share (s105, s106, s108). The Act sets the preferential legacy at $120,000; a higher amount applies in a later financial year only if the regulations prescribe one, and none had been prescribed as at 30 September 2026 (s105(2); Succession Regulations 2024 (SA)). A domestic partner counts only if they are declared under the Family Relationships Act 1975 (SA) to have been your domestic partner at your death, or you were in a registered relationship with them (s3). These rules may not match what you would have chosen, which is the main reason to make a will.

Making your will with WillBuddy

WillBuddy asks plain-English questions, one at a time, and drafts a will designed to meet South Australia's requirements. Once you unlock printing, you print it and sign it in person with two independent witnesses as described above; WillBuddy shows you how. A will must be signed and witnessed correctly to be formally valid, and WillBuddy cannot promise that any will is valid. WillBuddy is not a law firm and does not give legal advice, so if you are unsure about anything, or your situation involves a family trust, a business, or someone you plan to leave out, please get legal advice.

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Sources

• Succession Act 2023 (SA)
• Succession Regulations 2024 (SA)
• Guardianship of Infants Act 1940 (SA)