Wills and estate planning in the Northern Territory

• Wills Act 2000 (NT) (NT)

  The principal Act for wills made on or after 1 March 2001. It sets the execution rules (s 8), lets the Supreme Court in section 10 admit a document that was not properly executed if satisfied the deceased intended it to be their will, deals with gifts to witnesses (s 12) and the effect of marriage and divorce on a will (ss 14 and 15), and allows the Court to authorise a will for a person who lacks testamentary capacity (Part 3).

• Advance Personal Planning Act 2013 (NT) (NT)

  Commenced on 17 March 2014. Creates the advance personal plan, the Territory's single planning-ahead document. An adult with planning capacity can appoint decision makers, make advance consent decisions about health care, and include advance care statements. The plan must be signed in front of an authorised witness. Since the Act commenced, new enduring powers of attorney cannot be made in the Territory.

• Powers of Attorney Act 1980 (NT) (NT)

  Still governs general powers of attorney, which end if you lose capacity (s 16), and continues to apply to enduring powers of attorney made in the Territory before 17 March 2014 (Part III). New enduring powers of attorney can no longer be created under it.

• Administration and Probate Act 1969 (NT) (NT)

  Deals with grants of probate and letters of administration, the duties of executors and administrators, and who inherits when a person dies without a will (Part III Division 4 and Schedule 6). Division 4A sets out a separate process for the estate of an Aboriginal person who dies without a will and was not married under the Marriage Act 1961 (Cth).

• Family Provision Act 1970 (NT) (NT)

  Allows a spouse or de facto partner, a child and, in some circumstances, a former partner, stepchild, grandchild or parent to apply to the Supreme Court for provision from a deceased person's estate where adequate provision was not made for their proper maintenance, education and advancement in life (ss 7 and 8). The application must generally be made within 12 months after the grant (s 9).

• Guardianship of Adults Act 2016 (NT) (NT)

  Allows the Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal to appoint a guardian for an adult whose decision-making capacity is impaired and who needs a guardian. In deciding whether a guardian is needed, the Tribunal considers whether the adult already has someone with authority, such as a decision maker under an advance personal plan (s 11).

• Health Care Decision Making Act 2023 (NT) (NT)

  In force from 1 July 2024. It sets out who can consent to health care for an adult whose decision-making capacity is impaired and who has not made an advance consent decision about that care, using a hierarchy of health care decision makers that includes family, close friends and First Nations kin, with the Public Guardian as a last resort. Where it is inconsistent with the Advance Personal Planning Act 2013 (NT), this Act prevails.

• Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Act 1993 (Cth) (CTH)

  Commonwealth law governing superannuation death benefits. It applies in the Northern Territory and, with the Superannuation Industry (Supervision) Regulations 1994 (Cth), controls who a fund can pay a death benefit to and what makes a binding nomination effective.

• Supreme Court of the Northern Territory

  Has jurisdiction in all probate and administration matters in the Territory. It grants probate and letters of administration, and decides applications to admit informal wills under section 10 of the Wills Act 2000 (NT), applications to authorise a will for a person without testamentary capacity, and family provision claims.

• Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal

  Deals with adult guardianship applications, applications under the Advance Personal Planning Act 2013 (NT), including orders about decision makers and amending or revoking a plan, and disagreements under the Health Care Decision Making Act 2023 (NT) about who should make a health care decision.

• Public Guardian and Trustee (Northern Territory)

  Prepares wills for eligible Territorians for a set fee, stores original wills for free, helps people understand and prepare advance personal plans, registers advance personal plans at no cost, and can act as executor, trustee and guardian. It has offices in Darwin and Alice Springs and takes calls on 1800 810 979.

• Land Titles Office (Northern Territory)

  The Registrar-General keeps the Advance Personal Planning (Part 4A) Register. If your advance personal plan lets a decision maker deal with your land, the plan must be registered there, and a fee is payable, before a dealing by the decision maker can take effect (ss 55A to 55D Advance Personal Planning Act 2013 (NT)). Offices are in Darwin and Alice Springs.

1. 01List your assets and how they are held

   Record real property and whether it is held as joint tenants or tenants in common, bank accounts, shares, superannuation and insurance held inside super, business and trust interests, and any interests connected to Aboriginal land or community organisations. Jointly owned assets pass to the surviving owner and super is paid by the fund, so neither passes automatically under your will, and you cannot leave property you hold only as a trustee.

   Typical timeframe: Before you see a lawyer

2. 02Choose your executor and decide the structure

   Decide who administers the estate (a family member or friend over 18, a lawyer, a licensed trustee company or the Public Trustee), who inherits, what happens if a beneficiary dies before you, and whether a testamentary trust is warranted. Consider who could claim under the Family Provision Act 1970 (NT).

   Typical timeframe: Before you see a lawyer

3. 03Draft the will

   Prepare the will with a private lawyer, with the Public Trustee if you are eligible, or with a do-it-yourself kit, taking account of remote and cultural considerations such as funeral and burial arrangements, and how family relationships should be described so the document is clear.

   Typical timeframe: Depends on who prepares it

4. 04Execute the will

   Sign and date the will in front of two witnesses who are present at the same time, and have each witness sign in your presence. The witnesses do not have to sign in front of each other (s 8 Wills Act 2000 (NT)). The Act has no provision for witnessing a will by video link, so sign in person.

   Typical timeframe: 1 day

5. 05Make an advance personal plan

   Fill in the approved Advance Personal Plan form to appoint one or more decision makers, make advance consent decisions about health care and set out advance care statements. Sign it in front of an authorised witness, such as a Justice of the Peace, police officer, legal practitioner, health professional, accountant or social worker. The Public Guardian and Trustee runs appointments to help you understand and prepare the form; book online or on 1800 810 979.

   Typical timeframe: Depends on appointment availability

6. 06Register the advance personal plan

   Registration with the Public Guardian and Trustee is free and optional, needs no appointment, and makes the plan easier for health care providers and decision makers to find. You post or bring in the original, and it is stamped with a registration number and returned. If a decision maker will deal with your land, the plan must also be registered with the Registrar-General at the Land Titles Office, and a fee applies.

   Typical timeframe: Allow time for postage and return

7. 07Refresh your superannuation nomination

   Confirm what nomination types your fund allows and lodge a new one. A lapsing binding nomination ends three years after it was first signed or last confirmed or amended, or sooner if the fund's rules say so. Some funds offer non-lapsing binding nominations.

   Typical timeframe: Check with your fund

8. 08Store the original and review

   Store the original will with the Public Guardian and Trustee for free, or with your solicitor or bank, who may charge a fee, and tell your executor where it is. Check your will every few years and after any major change, such as marriage, divorce, separation, a new relationship, a birth or a death in the family.

   Typical timeframe: Every few years

Private law firms set their own fees, and testamentary trust wills and business succession work cost more than a simple will, so ask for a written estimate before you engage a lawyer. The Public Trustee prepares wills for eligible people. From 1 July 2026 its fees are $30.80 for a concession card holder, $154 for a simple will naming the Public Trustee as executor, and $382.80 for a complex will, GST included. If the Public Trustee administers an estate, it charges commission on a sliding scale that starts at 4.4% of the first $200,000 of assets, with a minimum charge of $766.70. Storing an original will with the Public Guardian and Trustee is free, and so is registering an advance personal plan with it. Registering a plan with the Land Titles Office, so a decision maker can deal with land, costs a fee. After a death, the Supreme Court fee to apply for a grant of representation is $1,585 as at 1 July 2026, made up of a $1,548 filing fee and a $37 search fee. If paying it would cause financial hardship, you can ask the Court to waive or defer the fee or let you pay by instalments. Contested matters, such as informal will applications and family provision claims, are Supreme Court proceedings and can be expensive.