Most people put off writing their will because it feels complicated and expensive. When the time comes, the temptation is to keep it simple – download a free template, ask an accountant, avoid the lawyer’s bill. While it is understandable to want to save money, a 2026 Queensland Supreme Court decision showed that this instinct can cost a family far more than the legal fees they were trying to avoid.
The Di Trapani case
In Di Trapani & another v Di Trapani & others [2026] QSC 20, the Supreme Court of Queensland was asked to make sense of a will prepared not by a lawyer, but by an accountant who had known the deceased and her late husband for many years.
Elizabeth Anne Di Trapani died in November 2023. Her will had been executed in 2010 and drafted by an accountant who, in his own words, had been entrusted with the task partly because the Di Trapanis believed that engaging lawyers would be expensive and time – consuming.
The irony of that reasoning was not lost on the Court, as by the time the matter came before Justice McCafferty, the proceedings involved the executors of the estate, four of Mrs Di Trapani’s children, two grandchildren, a family construction company and a corporate trustee – nine parties in total, represented by multiple law firms and counsel.
What went wrong?
The core problem was one that an experienced wills and estates lawyer would have identified immediately: Mrs Di Trapani’s will seemed to give away assets she did not legally own.
The Di Trapani family had structured their financial affairs – which included property development and construction – through a discretionary family trust. The trustee of that trust was a company called Glutolo Pty Ltd. The properties in Kedron and Chermside that Mrs Di Trapani intended to leave to her children and grandchildren were owned by Glutolo as trustee, not by Mrs Di Trapani personally.
A will generally can only dispose of assets that form part of the deceased’s estate. When the will used phrases like “I give all my estate and interest” in those properties, the intended gifts failed, because Mrs Di Trapani had no estate or interest in them to give. The Court therefore found that the gifts assigned in the will had no legal effect.
There were further problems. A clause that attempted to prevent two corporate entities from making claims on intercompany loans was found to be unenforceable. A clause appointing the accountant himself as arbitrator in disputes between the trustees was ordered to be disregarded, in part because it effectively purported to restrict the Court’s supervisory role. And ambiguous drafting around two separate $400,000 gifts to one of the sons required detailed judicial analysis to resolve.
Every one of these problems had the same root cause: the will was drafted by someone without legal training.
Why Gold Coast families are particularly exposed
According to the City of Gold Coast Council, about one in six Gold Coast residents is a retiree, many of whom hold assets through family trusts, companies or self-managed superannuation funds. These are precisely the asset structures that a standard will template, or a will drafted without specialist legal advice, is most likely to handle incorrectly.
The Di Trapani family’s situation was not unusual, with its family trust, a small business and multiple investment properties. The problem was not the assets – it was the will that failed to account for them properly.
Getting a will right starts with asking the right questions. Here are some of the questions that every Gold Coast resident with property, a business or a trust should be able to answer before they sign anything, and that any experienced Gold Coast solicitor or estate lawyer will work through with you:
- Do you actually own the assets you intend to leave, or are they held in a trust or company?
- Does your will account for superannuation, which does not automatically form part of your estate?
- Do you have a binding death benefit nomination in place, and is it current?
- Have you chosen the right executor for the complexity of your estate?
- Could your will be vulnerable to a family provision claim?
What a properly structured Queensland will actually involve
Under Queensland’s Succession Act 1981, a will must satisfy strict formal requirements to be valid. But formal validity is only the beginning. A will that is validly executed can still fail to achieve what the testator intended – as the Di Trapani case demonstrated – if the underlying drafting does not account for the legal realities of how the deceased’s assets are held.
For Gold Coast residents with any complexity in their financial affairs, a properly structured estate plan typically involves:
- Identifying what actually forms part of your estate. Assets held in a family trust belong to the trustee, not to you. Superannuation does not automatically pass under your will. Jointly held property passes by survivorship, not by testamentary gift. A wills and estates lawyer maps these distinctions before a single clause is drafted.
- Reviewing your trust deed and corporate structures. If you intend for trust assets to be dealt with in a particular way after your death, the mechanism for doing so must be built into the trust deed itself, not into the will. Your estate plan and your trust structure must be designed to work together. This is where the guidance of a Gold Coast business lawyer who understands both corporate structures and estate planning can be invaluable.
Notably, Queensland’s new Trusts Act 2025 commenced on 28 April 2026 and introduces mandatory statutory duties and rules that can override inconsistent provisions in existing trust deeds. Critically, the new Act applies retrospectively to all Queensland trusts, not just those created after commencement. If your estate plan involves a trust, your will and trust structures should now be reviewed together as a
matter of priority.
- Ensuring your superannuation is covered. A binding death benefit nomination, properly executed and regularly reviewed, is essential for anyone with significant superannuation savings. Without one, the trustee of your fund has discretion over who receives the benefit, and your will has no say in it.
- Considering potential family provision claims. Under Part 4 of the Succession Act 1981, certain eligible persons – including children, spouses and dependants – can apply to the Court for further provision from an estate, even where a will exists. A poorly structured will, or one that fails to properly account for all eligible persons, can expose an estate to contested proceedings. An experienced estate lawyer will help you draft in a way that reduces this risk and, where appropriate, documents your reasoning.
- Documenting your intentions clearly. The Di Trapani case also illustrated the risks of informal records. The accountant’s handwritten file notes from a 2010 meeting were placed before the Court more than 15 years later, but without proper context and without the accountant providing sworn evidence, they were of limited assistance. A letter of wishes, prepared at the same time as your will, provides a far more reliable record of your intentions.
Cutting corners costs
The Di Trapanis thought they were being practical. They chose an accountant over a lawyer to avoid the cost and perceived complexity of legal advice. Instead, their estate ended up before the Supreme Court, their intended gifts to their children and grandchildren failed, and the costs of the litigation fell to the estate they were trying to protect.
This is not an unusual story. Estate lawyers and lawyers for litigation who work in Queensland’s succession law space see the consequences of poorly drafted wills regularly. The cost of getting a will right, with a Gold Coast lawyer who understands how your assets are structured, is a fraction of what it costs to litigate the consequences of getting it wrong.
Whether you are creating a will for the first time or reviewing an existing one, contact the team at QBM Lawyers to speak with an experienced wills and estates lawyer on the Gold Coast. Early advice often provides the clearest path forward.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, there is no law that prevents it. But there is also no requirement for a will drafter to hold legal qualifications or practise as a solicitor, which means they may not have the legal training required to properly deal with trusts, corporate structures or superannuation. The Di Trapani case showed exactly what that gap can cost.
Not directly. A will can only dispose of assets you personally own at the time of your death. Assets held by a trustee belong to the trustee, not to you, regardless of whether you control the company that acts as trustee. If you want trust assets dealt with in a particular way after your death, the mechanism needs to be in the trust deed, not the will.
Whenever something significant changes – such as marriage, separation, the birth of a child or grandchildren, a new business, a change in your superannuation or the acquisition of a major asset. The Di Trapani will was signed in 2010 and never updated before Mrs Di Trapani's death in 2023 – a period during which her husband died, her family's circumstances evolved, and Queensland's trust law framework changed entirely. The cost of a periodic review is negligible compared to the cost of an outdated will.
