Most will mistakes do not begin with carelessness.
They begin with good intentions.
A parent writes down which child should receive the house. A couple signs matching documents before a holiday. Someone changes an executor’s name in the margin after a family disagreement. Another person places a completed will somewhere so secure that nobody can find it after their death.
Each person believes they have made life easier for those left behind.
Unfortunately, a will is not judged only by what its writer hoped to achieve. It must be legally valid, clearly expressed, compatible with the ownership of the assets, and practical for the executor to administer.
Some errors can cause a particular gift to fail. Others can lead to court applications, family disputes, additional expenses, or part of the estate being distributed under intestacy law. A few can place the validity of the entire document in doubt.
Understanding the most common mistakes in wills can help New Zealanders create plans that work outside the quiet room where they were written.
Mistake 1: Signing the Will Incorrectly
A beautifully drafted will can still cause difficulty if the signing process is wrong.
Under the ordinary New Zealand requirements, a will must be in writing and signed by the will-maker, or by someone acting at the will-maker’s direction and in their presence. At least two witnesses must be together in the will-maker’s presence when the will-maker signs or acknowledges the signature. Each witness must then sign in the will-maker’s presence. citeturn391006search0turn391006search11
A common mistake is signing the will privately and collecting witness signatures later.
For example, Natalie signs at home on Sunday. A neighbour witnesses the document on Monday, and a colleague adds the second witness signature on Tuesday. Everyone is honest, but they have not completed one shared execution ceremony.
The safest process is simple:
The will-maker and both witnesses gather together. The will-maker signs while both witnesses observe. Each witness then signs while the will-maker remains present. Everyone checks the document before leaving.
A court may sometimes validate a document that does not satisfy the standard formalities, but this can require evidence, legal work, delay, and expense. Correct execution is far safer than relying on a future rescue application.
Mistake 2: Asking a Beneficiary to Witness
A beneficiary should not witness the will.
New Zealand law provides that a gift to a witness may be void. The same problem can affect a gift to the witness’s spouse, civil union partner, or de facto partner, subject to statutory exceptions and possible remedies. The will itself may remain valid while the affected gift fails. citeturn391006search0
This creates a painful outcome because the witness is often chosen for convenience.
A father leaves his estate to his daughter and asks her and her husband to witness the document. Their signatures may seem entirely natural, but the daughter’s inheritance may be placed at risk.
An executor is legally permitted to witness a will. However, executors are often beneficiaries as well. An executor who inherits should therefore not act as a witness.
Use two independent adults who receive no direct, substitute, or conditional benefit and who are not partners of beneficiaries.
Mistake 3: Forgetting the Residue
People naturally focus on the possessions they care about most.
They leave the car to one child, jewellery to another, and a cash gift to a grandchild. They may then forget to say who receives everything else.
The residue is what remains after debts, administration expenses, taxes, and specific gifts have been dealt with. It may include the home, bank balances, investments, refunds, sale proceeds, and property acquired after the will was signed.
Without an effective residue clause, part of the estate may be left undistributed by the will. That part may then pass under intestacy law rather than according to the will-maker’s preferred plan.
A complete residue clause should state:
- Who receives the remainder
- What proportion each beneficiary receives
- What happens if one beneficiary dies first
- Whether that beneficiary’s descendants take their share
- Who receives the estate if none of the primary beneficiaries survives
The residue clause is often the provision that does most of the financial work.
Mistake 4: Giving Away Property You Do Not Own
A will controls property forming part of the deceased person’s estate. It cannot automatically distribute every asset the person used, managed, or thought of as their own.
Suppose Grace leaves “my home” to her son.
Years earlier, Grace transferred the property to a family trust. Although she continued living there, the trustees became the legal owners. Her executor cannot simply transfer the house under her personal will.
Similar problems arise with jointly owned property. Depending on the legal ownership structure, an asset may pass directly to a surviving owner rather than through the estate. Jointly held money, for example, may pass to the surviving account holder and remain outside the deceased’s estate. citeturn391006search9
Before writing significant gifts, check:
- Whose name appears on the title
- Whether ownership is joint or divided into separate shares
- Whether trustees own the asset
- Whether a company owns it
- Whether relationship-property rights apply
- Whether a contract controls what happens at death
The wording of the gift and the legal ownership records must tell the same story.
Mistake 5: Using Vague Language
A will should reduce uncertainty, not preserve it.
Instructions such as these can cause problems:
- “Divide everything fairly.”
- “Give my jewellery to the girls.”
- “Make sure my partner is comfortable.”
- “Let the family decide what happens to the house.”
- “My closest friend can have my car.”
What does “fairly” mean? Which jewellery is included? How much money is needed to keep the partner comfortable? Who has the deciding vote if the family disagrees? Which friend did the writer consider closest?
Use full names and precise descriptions where appropriate. State percentages rather than relying on assumptions about equality. Explain who makes decisions and what happens when people cannot agree.
Clarity does not require complicated language. It requires wording that produces an answer.
Mistake 6: Naming No Backup Executor
The executor named today may not be available when the will is eventually needed.
They may:
- Die before the will-maker
- Lose capacity
- Become seriously unwell
- Move overseas
- Refuse the role
- Develop a conflict of interest
- Become estranged from the family
An executor controls and distributes the estate according to the will and may need to undertake significant legal and financial administration. citeturn391006search32
Naming a replacement makes the plan more resilient.
Choose executors for their honesty, organisation, availability, judgment, and ability to communicate. Do not appoint every adult child merely to avoid hurt feelings. Multiple executors can provide oversight, but they can also slow the administration if they cannot cooperate.
Discuss the appointment before finalising the will. An unexpected executor may become an unwilling executor.
Mistake 7: Assuming a Partner Will Automatically Receive Everything
Many couples assume the surviving partner will inherit the entire estate without careful planning.
That is not always the outcome.
Property ownership, the existence of children, relationship status, relationship-property rights, trusts, and the will’s wording can all affect what the survivor receives.
This becomes particularly important in blended families.
Imagine a person who wants a current partner to remain secure while preserving assets for children from an earlier relationship. Leaving everything outright to the partner may provide immediate security, but the surviving partner may later spend the assets, enter another relationship, or make a new will benefiting different people.
Leaving everything directly to the children may create the opposite problem by failing to provide properly for the partner.
These competing needs may require rights of occupation, trusts, insurance, ownership changes, or other tailored arrangements. A vague promise that “everyone will be looked after” is not enough.
Mistake 8: Forgetting Stepchildren
A will-maker may regard stepchildren exactly as they regard biological or adopted children.
The document may not.
A general reference to “my children” should not be assumed to include every stepchild in every situation. If a stepchild is intended to benefit, the will should identify that intention clearly.
The same care is needed when defining:
- Children
- Grandchildren
- Descendants
- Adopted family members
- Future children
- Children of a partner
- Whāngai relationships
Family meaning and legal meaning do not always align automatically.
This is one of the reasons a standard clause copied from another person’s will can create unexpected exclusions.
Mistake 9: Ignoring What Happens When a Beneficiary Dies First
A will should not depend on every beneficiary surviving in the expected order.
Suppose a mother leaves everything equally to her two sons. One son dies before her, leaving three children.
Does his half pass to his children? Does the surviving son receive everything? Does the failed share fall into another clause?
The answer depends on the wording and any applicable statutory rules.
A well-prepared will names substitute beneficiaries and explains what happens to each share. It may provide that a deceased child’s descendants inherit that child’s portion, or it may direct the share elsewhere.
Backup instructions are especially important where beneficiaries are of similar age to the will-maker or where several family members frequently travel together.
Mistake 10: Giving Specific Assets Without Considering Change
A specific gift can disappear from an estate before death.
If a will leaves “my current car” to a nephew but the vehicle is later sold, the nephew may not automatically receive the replacement car or its cash value.
The same issue can arise with:
- A particular home
- A named bank account
- Specific shares
- Jewellery
- Artwork
- Business assets
- A holiday property
Specific gifts should be used selectively and reviewed whenever the relevant asset is sold, replaced, transferred, or substantially changed.
A residue gift is often more adaptable because it can capture assets acquired later without listing each one individually.
Mistake 11: Failing to Address Family Loans
Family lending is often informal.
A parent may transfer money to help one child buy a home while describing it alternately as a loan, an advance, and “something we will sort out later”.
After the parent dies, the surviving children may have very different memories of the arrangement.
The will and supporting records should clarify whether an outstanding family loan is to be:
- Repaid to the estate
- Forgiven
- Deducted from the borrower’s inheritance
- Treated as earlier financial assistance
- Continued under its existing terms
Written loan documents should be retained with the estate information.
An executor should not be forced to reconstruct a six-figure arrangement from old text messages and family recollections.
Mistake 12: Treating a Wishes List as the Will
A separate wishes list can help identify who should receive personal possessions or explain funeral preferences.
However, it does not necessarily have the same binding legal status as a properly executed will.
A note saying “My granddaughter gets the necklace” may provide guidance without legally overriding a clause that gives all jewellery to someone else.
The will should explain whether the executor has discretion regarding personal possessions and how any separate list is to be treated.
Do not use an informal list to make major gifts, change beneficiaries, or replace the residue clause.
A wishes list should support the will rather than contradict it.
Mistake 13: Writing Passwords Into the Will
Modern estates contain email accounts, digital photographs, online businesses, websites, subscriptions, electronic manuscripts, and other digital property.
These assets need planning, but a will is usually the wrong place for passwords, security answers, access codes, or recovery phrases.
Passwords change frequently. A will does not.
The document may also become accessible through estate or court processes, creating security concerns.
Keep a separate protected digital-estate record identifying:
- Important accounts
- Devices
- Digital assets
- Income-producing content
- Relevant professional contacts
- Lawful access procedures
- The location of securely stored credentials
The will can provide legal directions. The separate record can provide practical information.
Mistake 14: Making Handwritten Changes Later
Crossing out a beneficiary or writing a new executor in the margin may feel like an efficient update.
It can instead create uncertainty over whether the alteration is legally effective.
A supplementary will, known as a codicil, must be signed and witnessed using the same formal process as a will. A person may also replace the entire document with a new properly executed will. citeturn391006search26
Do not update a signed will by:
- Crossing out words
- Using correction fluid
- Replacing pages
- Adding margin notes
- Attaching unsigned instructions
- Removing staples
- Writing in a new gift
- Changing percentages by hand
Where several amendments are needed, one clean replacement will is often easier to interpret than multiple codicils.
Mistake 15: Destroying the Old Will Too Soon
A person may decide to replace an old will and immediately tear it up.
Then the replacement is never signed.
Depending on how the earlier document was revoked, the person may be left without the estate plan they thought they had.
Complete and correctly execute the new will before dealing with the old original.
Extra caution is needed where separate wills cover assets in different countries. A broad revocation clause in a new document may accidentally affect an overseas will.
The documents should be coordinated rather than changed independently.
Mistake 16: Hiding the Original Too Well
A will cannot guide an executor who cannot find it.
The original should be stored somewhere secure, dry, protected from damage, and accessible after death.
Tell the executor:
- That a will exists
- The date of the current will
- Where the original is held
- How it can be retrieved
- Where supporting estate information is stored
A digital copy is useful for reference, but the signed original is normally important during probate.
Avoid secret hiding places known only to you. A waterproof container beneath a floorboard is not a successful storage plan if the house is sold before anyone discovers it.
Mistake 17: Never Reviewing the Will
A will may remain valid while becoming completely unsuitable.
Review it after:
- Marriage or civil union
- Separation or divorce
- Beginning or ending a de facto relationship
- The birth or adoption of a child
- The death of an executor
- The death of a beneficiary
- Buying or selling property
- Starting or selling a business
- Establishing or changing a trust
- Moving overseas
- A substantial change in wealth
- A beneficiary developing new support needs
Community legal guidance confirms that a will can be changed through a properly executed codicil or revoked through legally recognised methods. citeturn391006search26
A review every few years can reveal outdated addresses, deceased beneficiaries, unsuitable executors, failed gifts, and ownership arrangements that no longer match the document.
Mistake 18: Assuming the Will Cannot Be Challenged
A valid will is not necessarily immune from legal claims.
Eligible people may seek provision from an estate if they believe they were not properly provided for. A claim may also arise where someone says the deceased promised to reward work or services and failed to do so. citeturn391006search4turn391006search16
This does not mean every unequal will is invalid.
It means that unusual decisions should be made deliberately, with an understanding of potential claims.
Leaving one child substantially less, excluding a current partner, or rewarding a caregiver may be entirely intentional. Clear independent instructions and appropriately documented reasons can become important if the estate is later disputed.
An angry exclusion clause does not necessarily prevent a claim and may intensify conflict.
Mistake 19: Using a Homemade Will for a Complex Estate
New Zealanders can prepare their own wills, but homemade documents are more likely to create probate difficulties or challenges when the circumstances are complicated. citeturn391006search20
A generic form may not be enough where the will-maker has:
- A blended family
- Overseas assets
- A farm or business
- Trust interests
- Significant family loans
- A vulnerable beneficiary
- A recent separation
- Relationship-property complications
- Unequal gifts
- A likely estate dispute
- Concerns about capacity or pressure
The risk is rarely the spelling of the clauses. It is the interaction between the will, asset ownership, family rights, trusts, and other legal arrangements.
A document can be short while the legal situation is highly complex.
Mistake 20: Choosing Simplicity Over Clarity
Many people want a simple will.
That is a sensible goal.
The mistake is achieving simplicity by ignoring difficult questions.
A strong will does not need to mention every possible event. It should nevertheless cover the events that are reasonably foreseeable:
Who acts if the first executor cannot? Who inherits if a beneficiary dies first? What happens to the residue? Who manages money for a child? How are significant debts and family loans treated? Which property actually forms part of the estate?
Simplicity should be the result of clear decisions, not missing instructions.
A well-made will may never attract attention. The executor will locate it, obtain the required authority, pay what is owed, and distribute the estate.
That quiet outcome is the purpose of careful planning.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the most common mistake when making a will?
Incorrect signing and witnessing is one of the most serious common mistakes. The will-maker and two witnesses should complete the required process together, with both witnesses present for the will-maker’s signing or acknowledgement.
2. Does a mistake automatically invalidate the whole will?
Not always. Some mistakes affect only a particular gift or clause. Others may place the whole document in doubt. The High Court can sometimes validate a noncompliant document, but this requires evidence and is not automatic.
3. Can I correct a spelling mistake by writing on my will?
Do not make handwritten changes to a signed will. Even a seemingly minor alteration can create questions. A clean replacement or properly executed codicil is safer.
4. What happens if a beneficiary witnesses the will?
The whole will may remain valid, but the gift to that witness, or to certain people connected with the witness, may be void unless an exception or remedy applies.
5. Is it a mistake to leave everything to one person?
Not necessarily. However, close family members or others may have rights to bring claims depending on the circumstances. The decision should be made with an understanding of family, relationship-property, and estate-claim risks.
6. What happens if the will does not name a backup executor?
If the first executor cannot or will not act, another form of court appointment may be needed. Naming a suitable replacement makes administration more straightforward.
7. Can a will distribute property owned by a trust?
Generally, no. Assets legally owned by trustees must be dealt with under the trust deed and trust law. A personal will normally controls only property forming part of the individual’s estate.
8. How often should a will be reviewed?
Review it every few years and after significant changes involving relationships, children, executors, beneficiaries, property, businesses, trusts, residence, or wealth. An unchanged will can remain valid while becoming practically unsuitable.
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