What Does a Will Really Cost in New Zealand?

The cost of making a will in NZ can appear surprisingly difficult to pin down.

One person pays less than the cost of a restaurant meal. Another pays several hundred dollars. Someone with businesses, overseas property, a family trust, or a blended family may spend considerably more.

All three people may have paid a reasonable price.

That is because a will is not a standard product with one universal fee. The cost depends on how the document is prepared, the complexity of the estate, the family relationships involved, and the amount of professional judgment required to make the plan work.

A short will is not necessarily simple. A long will is not necessarily complicated. The real issue is how many legal and practical questions must be answered before the document can safely direct the estate.

Understanding the likely costs can help you choose an option that matches your circumstances without paying for unnecessary complexity or relying on a document that is too basic for the job.

How Much Does It Cost to Make a Will in NZ?

As a general guide, New Zealanders may encounter options ranging from free do-it-yourself documents to professionally prepared wills costing several hundred dollars or more.

Indicative price ranges may include:

• Free to approximately $50 for a basic template or do-it-yourself resource
• Approximately $50 to $200 for a guided online will
• Approximately $250 to $600 for a straightforward professionally prepared individual will
• Approximately $450 to $1,000 for two coordinated wills for a couple
• Higher fees for complex family, trust, business, or international arrangements

These figures are broad estimates rather than fixed market prices. Fees vary between providers, regions, service models, and individual circumstances. Tax may also be added to a quoted professional fee.

Before agreeing to a service, ask what the price includes.

A low headline price may cover only document generation. A higher fee may include an interview, legal advice, document preparation, amendments, witnessing, storage, and future access to the original.

Comparing prices without comparing services can create a misleading picture.

The Cheapest Option: Writing Your Own Will

New Zealand law does not generally require a lawyer to prepare your will.

You can write the document yourself or use a free template. This may reduce the immediate financial cost to almost nothing.

For someone with a genuinely uncomplicated estate, the option can seem attractive. You may have a bank account, a vehicle, ordinary personal belongings, no children, and one intended beneficiary.

However, the financial price is not the only cost to consider.

A do-it-yourself will requires you to determine:

• What property forms part of your estate
• Who should act as executor
• Who receives the residue
• What happens if a beneficiary dies first
• How debts affect gifts
• Whether young beneficiaries require trusts
• Whether relationship-property rights apply
• How the will must be signed and witnessed
• How the original should be stored
• Whether close family members may bring claims

A template can provide clauses. It cannot automatically tell whether those clauses match your life.

The greatest risk is not that the document will look informal. It is that it will confidently express an outcome the law or ownership structure cannot deliver.

Online Wills: Lower Cost With More Structure

Guided online wills generally cost more than free templates but less than fully personalised legal work.

An online process may ask structured questions about:

• Your executor
• Your partner
• Your children
• Your beneficiaries
• Specific gifts
• Guardian preferences
• The residue of your estate

The system then generates a will based on your answers.

This can be useful for straightforward circumstances. It removes the difficulty of starting from a blank page and may prompt decisions that a simple downloadable form overlooks.

The important question is whether the service provides document generation or legal review.

An automated system relies on the information you enter. It may not identify that:

• Your home is jointly owned
• A significant asset belongs to a trust
• A beneficiary owes you money
• Your de facto relationship has legal consequences
• Your stepchildren require specific wording
• An overseas will could be affected
• Your intended distribution creates a foreseeable claim

The cost may be reasonable when the estate suits the process. It may represent false economy when the family or ownership structure requires individual analysis.

Professionally Prepared Simple Wills

A straightforward will prepared with personalised professional assistance commonly costs several hundred dollars.

The fee may cover:

• An initial discussion
• Review of your family circumstances
• Identification of important assets
• Advice about executors and beneficiaries
• Drafting the will
• Explaining the clauses
• Reasonable amendments
• Supervised signing
• Secure storage of the original

The price varies partly because professional services are delivered differently.

One provider may offer a fixed fee for a standard will. Another may charge according to time. A third may offer packaged pricing for wills and enduring powers of attorney together.

Ask whether the quoted amount includes tax and additional expenses. Also ask whether changes requested after the first draft are included or charged separately.

A clear written estimate can prevent surprises.

Why Two Wills May Cost More Than One

Couples often ask for a joint will, but each person ordinarily makes their own will.

The documents may contain similar instructions and are sometimes described as mirror wills. For example, each partner may leave the estate to the survivor and then to their children.

Preparing both wills may cost less than purchasing two unrelated individual wills because much of the planning overlaps.

However, the documents still require separate consideration.

The partners may have:

• Different assets
• Children from previous relationships
• Separate property
• Unequal business interests
• Different executors
• Different personal gifts
• Different family obligations

A couple should not assume that identical wording is automatically fair or suitable.

Mirror wills also do not necessarily prevent the survivor from later changing their own estate plan. Where preserving assets for children from earlier relationships is important, more careful planning may be required.

What Makes a Will More Expensive?

The price generally increases when more analysis, drafting, consultation, and risk management are required.

Several factors can move a will beyond a basic fixed-fee service.

Blended Families

Blended families often need to balance the needs of a current partner with the expectations of children from an earlier relationship.

A person may want the surviving partner to remain in the family home while ensuring that the children eventually inherit it.

That arrangement may require consideration of:

• Property ownership
• Relationship-property rights
• Rights of occupation
• Life interests
• Testamentary trusts
• Insurance
• Maintenance costs
• What happens if the survivor enters another relationship

A sentence saying “my partner can stay in the house, then it goes to my children” may be emotionally clear but legally incomplete.

The additional fee pays for more than extra words. It pays for identifying and solving the questions hidden inside that sentence.

Family Trusts

A personal will cannot ordinarily distribute assets legally owned by trustees.

Where a family trust is involved, the estate plan may need to consider:

• Which assets are personally owned
• Which assets belong to the trust
• Loans between the person and trust
• Trustee succession
• Powers of appointment
• Gifts from the estate to the trust
• Existing letters of wishes
• The trust deed
• Relationship-property implications

Reviewing these matters can add time and cost.

The alternative is a will that assumes ownership of assets that never enter the estate.

Businesses and Farms

A business owner’s death can affect employees, co-owners, customers, lenders, and family income.

The will may need to coordinate with:

• Shareholder agreements
• Partnership terms
• Company constitutions
• Succession arrangements
• Insurance
• Personal guarantees
• Business debt
• Management plans
• Trust ownership

A farm may raise additional concerns involving land, livestock, equipment, family labour, debt, and unequal participation among children.

Complexity arises because the estate plan must preserve value while producing an outcome that is practical for the family and business.

Overseas Assets

Property in another country can increase the cost because different legal systems may govern succession, probate, ownership, and tax.

You may require:

• A coordinated New Zealand will
• A separate will in the other country
• Advice from professionals in both jurisdictions
• Carefully limited revocation clauses
• Translation or certification
• Planning for multiple probate processes

A cheaply drafted New Zealand will could accidentally revoke an overseas document or attempt to control property under rules that do not apply there.

Cross-border advice costs more because errors can also be far more expensive.

Vulnerable Beneficiaries

A direct inheritance may be unsuitable for a beneficiary who is young, has impaired decision-making ability, is vulnerable to exploitation, or requires long-term support.

The will may need to create a testamentary trust and explain:

• Who manages the property
• How money may be used
• When capital may be distributed
• Who replaces the trustees
• How the beneficiary participates in decisions
• How the trust interacts with other support

Long-term trusts require more drafting and future administration. The cost reflects the need to create a structure that may operate for years rather than simply paying a gift once.

Unequal Gifts or Excluded Relatives

Leaving children unequal amounts or excluding a close family member can increase the risk of a claim against the estate.

A professional may need to explore:

• The reasons for the decision
• The needs of close family members
• Lifetime financial assistance
• Estrangement
• Care provided by others
• Promises made
• Relationship-property rights
• Evidence supporting the instructions

The goal is not necessarily to persuade you to divide the estate equally. It is to help you make an informed decision and create reliable evidence of your independent intentions.

Capacity or Undue-Influence Concerns

Where a will-maker is seriously ill, cognitively impaired, dependent on a beneficiary, or making a sudden major change, additional precautions may be sensible.

These can include:

• Private meetings
• Detailed attendance notes
• Additional explanations
• Medical assessment
• Careful documentation of capacity
• Confirmation that instructions are independent

This work can increase the fee, but it may help defend the will from a later challenge.

A diagnosis does not automatically mean a person lacks capacity. The issue is whether they understand the will and its effects at the time it is made.

Is a Free Will Really Free?

A free will may have no preparation fee, but conditions can sometimes be attached.

A service may offer free preparation where it is appointed as executor or given another ongoing role. That appointment may lead to administration fees being charged to the estate after death.

This does not automatically make the arrangement unfair. Professional estate administration can be valuable, particularly where the estate is complex or no suitable personal executor is available.

The key is informed choice.

Before accepting a free or discounted will, ask:

• Must the provider be appointed executor?
• Can I choose someone else?
• What estate-administration fees may apply?
• Can the appointment be changed later?
• Who stores the original?
• Are updates included?
• What happens if the provider changes ownership?
• Are additional documents recommended at extra cost?

The preparation fee is only one part of the financial picture.

Will Storage Fees

Some providers store original wills without a separate charge. Others may include storage for a period or charge an ongoing or retrieval fee.

Ask:

• Who holds the original?
• Is storage included permanently?
• How can you retrieve it?
• How can the executor obtain it after death?
• What happens if the business closes?
• Is there a fee to release or transfer it?

You can keep the will at home, but it should be protected from fire, water, loss, unauthorised access, and accidental disposal.

The executor must know where it is.

Saving a modest storage charge has little value if the original disappears.

The Cost of Updating a Will

A will should be reviewed every few years and after major changes such as:

• Marriage
• Separation or divorce
• A new de facto relationship
• The birth or adoption of a child
• The death of an executor or beneficiary
• Buying or selling property
• Starting or selling a business
• Establishing a trust
• Moving overseas
• A substantial change in wealth

A limited change may sometimes be made through a codicil, which is a supplementary document signed and witnessed with the same formality as a will.

For several changes, a replacement will is usually clearer.

Update fees may be lower than the original preparation cost where the plan remains substantially the same. Major changes may require a complete review and be priced as new work.

Do not avoid an update solely because of cost. An outdated will can be valid while producing an entirely unsuitable result.

Should You Bundle a Will With Other Documents?

Many people prepare a will at the same time as enduring powers of attorney.

These documents serve different purposes.

A will applies after death. Enduring powers of attorney allow appointed people to make authorised property or personal-care decisions during your lifetime, particularly if you lose mental capacity.

Bundled pricing may reduce the combined cost compared with arranging each document separately.

However, do not judge the package only by the discount. Confirm:

• Which documents are included
• Whether both types of enduring power are covered
• Whether independent witnessing and certification are included
• Whether consultation time is limited
• Whether updates cost extra
• Whether copies and storage are provided

A cheap will does not solve the lifetime incapacity problem. A complete plan may cost more initially while preventing a much harder legal process later.

What Is the Cost of Not Having a Will?

Dying without a valid will is known as dying intestate.

An eligible person may need to apply for letters of administration rather than an executor applying for probate. The estate is distributed under statutory rules instead of personal instructions.

Additional work may involve:

• Identifying the correct administrator
• Establishing the family tree
• Obtaining consents
• Locating relatives
• Proving relationship status
• Dealing with additional court documents
• Resolving disagreement over who should apply
• Distributing the estate under a fixed legal formula

The financial cost depends on the estate, but the emotional cost can be equally significant.

Friends, stepchildren, community causes, and other chosen people may receive nothing automatically. Family members may be forced to make decisions during grief without knowing what the deceased wanted.

The cost of a will should therefore be compared not only with doing nothing today, but with the administration that may follow if no effective will exists.

A Cheap Will Can Become an Expensive Estate

Suppose someone saves several hundred dollars by using a basic template.

The document is witnessed by a beneficiary, omits the residue, and attempts to give away a house owned by a trust.

After death, the estate may require:

• Legal interpretation
• Court applications
• Evidence from witnesses
• Advice on the failed gift
• Investigation of ownership
• Negotiation between family members
• Additional executor work

The original saving can disappear quickly.

This does not mean every inexpensive will is defective. Nor does it mean every expensive will is excellent.

Value depends on whether the service identifies the right issues, creates an effective document, and helps ensure that it is executed and stored correctly.

How to Get a Clear Quote

Before choosing a will service, prepare a short summary of your circumstances.

Include:

• Relationship status
• Children and stepchildren
• Main assets
• Property ownership
• Trust involvement
• Business interests
• Overseas property
• Intended beneficiaries
• Proposed executors
• Any unequal or unusual gifts
• Beneficiaries needing support
• Existing wills and enduring powers

Then ask the provider:

• Is the fee fixed or hourly?
• Does it include tax?
• What consultation is included?
• Are amendments included?
• Is signing assistance included?
• Is original storage included?
• Are copies provided?
• What makes the fee increase?
• Will I be warned before extra work is charged?
• Does the provider need to be appointed executor?

A good quote should describe both the price and the scope of work.

How to Control the Cost Without Cutting Corners

You can often reduce professional time by arriving prepared.

Before the appointment:

• List your assets and debts
• Confirm property ownership
• Choose possible executors
• Speak to those executors
• List beneficiaries using full names
• Consider substitute beneficiaries
• Identify family loans
• Gather trust and business documents
• Note overseas assets
• Write down questions

Avoid trying to draft technical clauses yourself unless requested. The goal is to provide accurate facts and clear intentions.

Good preparation allows more of the professional time to be spent solving legal issues rather than collecting basic information.

Price Should Match Risk

The cost of making a will in NZ is not simply the price of paper and signatures.

It is the cost of turning personal intentions into instructions that can survive death, legal scrutiny, changing assets, and family pressure.

A free template may be appropriate for one person. A guided online service may suit another. A professionally prepared will may offer better value where property, relationships, trusts, businesses, or possible claims create complexity.

The right amount to spend is not the lowest amount available.

It is the amount required to produce a will that fits your life, is signed correctly, can be found after death, and gives the executor a plan that works.

A will is often one of the least expensive legal documents connected with an estate.

The consequences of getting it wrong may be among the most costly.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How much does a simple will cost in New Zealand?

A simple professionally prepared individual will commonly costs a few hundred dollars. Guided online options may cost less, while complex wills involving trusts, businesses, blended families, or overseas assets may cost substantially more.

2. Can I make a will for free?

Yes. You can prepare your own will or use a free template. The document must still be suitable for your circumstances and correctly signed and witnessed. A free preparation method does not guarantee legal effectiveness.

3. Are online wills cheaper than lawyer-prepared wills?

Online wills are often cheaper because the process uses standardised questions and automated drafting. They may suit uncomplicated estates but can be inadequate where personalised legal judgment is required.

4. Why do lawyers charge different prices for wills?

Fees vary according to complexity, location, experience, service scope, time required, and whether consultation, amendments, signing, storage, and related advice are included.

5. Does a couple need one will or two?

Each person ordinarily makes a separate will. Couples may receive package pricing where their instructions are coordinated, but each person’s ownership, family obligations, and wishes must still be considered individually.

6. Does the fee normally include storing the original will?

Sometimes. Some providers include secure storage, while others charge separately or expect you to store the original. Confirm the arrangement and tell your executor where the document is held.

7. Does making a will avoid all estate costs?

No. The estate may still incur probate, legal, accounting, valuation, property, tax, and administration expenses. A clear will can nevertheless reduce uncertainty and avoid some of the extra work associated with intestacy or defective drafting.

8. Is an expensive will always better?

No. Price alone does not prove quality. The best value comes from a will that accurately reflects your circumstances, addresses relevant risks, follows New Zealand law, and is properly executed and stored.