Sometimes, life doesn’t give us the luxury of the time we desperately want or need. Health situations can worsen, plans can change, and new opportunities can arise — typically without notice or warning. In these fast-moving moments, legally binding fast Wills could be necessary.
Perhaps you need to put your affairs in order before travelling, maybe you’ve started a new business, or possibly you or a loved one are facing a life-threatening illness or end-of-life situation. Whatever the scenario, it’s possible to get a formal, solemn Emergency Will prepared both rapidly and legally — without corner-cutting.
Reasons You Might Need a Will Fast
From a sudden terminal illness and high-risk employment, to moving abroad or travelling — the driving forces behind getting an urgent Will can differ vastly from person to person.
Health Circumstances When You Might Need a Fast Will
- Serious health diagnosis.
- Terminal illness.
- Inoperable stage 4 cancer.
- End-stage Parkinson’s.
- Emergency admission to the hospital.
- Starting end-of-life or palliative care.
- Facing major, high-risk surgery.
- Sudden accident or injury.
Other Circumstances When You Might Need a Will Fast
- Travelling to a war zone.
- Moving abroad.
- Any overseas travel.
- Military deployment.
- Starting a high-risk occupation.
- Business or asset sale or purchase needing estate planning.
- Divorce, birth of children, or a rapid change in your family dynamics.
- The recent death of a loved one, which means you need to update your Will.
- Beneficiaries facing legal action, meaning you wish to protect their inheritance from claims.
Avoiding Common Mistakes — How NOT To Get a Will Fast
While understandably tempting when time is short, you mustn’t fall into the trap of trying to make a Will yourself — or on behalf of another. Going down this route can mean the DIY Last Will and Testament is declared to be an Informal Will, and its contents ignored or challenged.
Examples of this risky procedure include:
Recording a video on your smartphone.
Writing a Will on a piece of A4.
Recording a voice note or memo.
Asking an AI program to write a Last Will and Testament.
Electronically signing a Will.
An oral deathbed Will.
Using an off-the-shelf, store-bought Will.
Sending a social media message saying who receives which assets.
Using an online Do-it-Yourself Will website.
Writing, signing, and witnessing the Will with different pens.
What Happens if My Will Is Informal or Invalid?
An Emergency Will has to meet all the legal requirements of a standard Will. Even if the document is created rapidly at a moment of worry, high emotion, and upset — the law remains the same, no allowances are made for circumstances, however dire.
If a Will is considered to be Informal, and does not adhere to the NSW Succession Act (2006) Section 6, it can mean that:
- The Will is challenged in court.
- The Public Trustee decides who receives what inheritance.
- Confusion, upset, and stress for loved ones.
- The Testator’s apparent wishes are ignored.
- The chances of disputes and arguments between loved ones increase.
- Problems only arise once Probate is applied for, and possibly denied.
- Undeserving people receive an inheritance, contrary to the Testator’s supposed wishes.
- The rules of intestacy apply — and, if there are no beneficiaries in Australia — the government takes the estate.
How To Create a Will Quickly
The only legally robust way to obtain a formal Will — that will stand up to the strict requirements outlined by the NSW Succession Act — is to speak to a specialist Emergency Wills lawyer.
These experts, such as Falzon Legal, provide comprehensive and compassionate assistance at incredibly short notice.
Usually, the process looks something like this:
1. Rapid Appointment
Wherever possible, your lawyer will meet you on the same day you contact them. This ensures that no time is lost — wasted minutes or hours can mean the difference between having a Will, or the estate being left to the court to decide.
2. Mobile Service
The most reputable and dedicated lawyers will meet you, or your loved one, at a time and place that is most convenient and offers the best opportunity to create a rapid Will. This mobile service should encompass anywhere from private homes to businesses, hospitals to aged care facilities.
3. Check for Testamentary Capacity
As outlined in Banks v Goodfellow (1870), the lawyer will delicately check that the Testator is of sound mind, understands the scope of their assets, and grasps the full consequences of making a Last Will and Testament.
4. Discussion and Details
The Emergency Will solicitor will have an in-depth discussion about the reasons behind creating an urgent Will, the size of the estate, intended beneficiaries, dependent young children, and who will act as the Executor to manage the assets.
5. Providing Witnesses
To ensure the Will is legal, the lawyer will make sure that the document is signed by the Testator — in front of at least two witnesses — and then signed by these witnesses with the same pen.
6. Complete the Will On-Site
The Last Will and Testament will be drafted, signed, witnessed, and printed — with the aid of a mobile printer — at the appointment. This means that in one visit, the Testator’s estate, and their beneficiaries, have been safeguarded.
7. Follow-Up Service
An experienced Emergency Will lawyer should be available for any later queries or amendments. Furthermore, the best solicitors — such as Falzon Legal — are willing to testify in court at the Probate stage to give evidence on testamentary capacity.
How To Speed Up the Will-Making Process
If circumstances allow, you can speed up the drafting of the Will by having all required information readily available for your appointment. Ideally, have to hand:
- A comprehensive list of assets, for example:
- Property.
- Stocks and shares.
- Bank accounts — including account numbers and names.
- Antiques and collectibles.
- Vehicles.
- Name and address of your intended Executor.
- Full names and addresses of your beneficiaries.
- List of who receives what.
- Specific special instructions, for example:
- Funeral preferences.
- Care and wellbeing choices.
- Charity donations.
- Original Will over which the new Will shall take precedence (if relevant).
- Photo identification — to prove the identity of the Testator.
Don’t panic if you don’t have all these details immediately — or are unsure of what to include or bequeath — a good Emergency Layer will take you patiently through the whole process.
Falzon Legal — Your Fast Will Lawyer in Sydney
Compassionate, efficient, and always professional — Falzon Legal is your lawyer for rapid Wills.
Whether you need an Emergency Will for end-of-life or an illness situation, or a fast Will to address change of life circumstances — Falzon Legal is here to guide you with compassion, experience, and understanding.
Don’t take the risk of creating an Informal Will that could jeopardise your or a loved one’s estate. At life’s most crucial moments, we protect your legacy — promptly.
