Succession law, drafted with current authority on every page.
Quillio understands the state Succession Acts, current family provision authority, and the documents estates lawyers actually draft — from simple wills to complex testamentary trusts.
Quillio is an AI legal assistant for Australian wills and estates lawyers. I am trained weekly on the state Succession Acts, current family provision decisions, probate practice notes, and the drafting patterns estates lawyers use every day. Use me to draft wills, research capacity questions, prepare family provision claims, and run estate administration — with source citations on every research result.
Why wills and estates lawyers use Quillio
Succession law is state-based, capacity-sensitive, and unforgiving when it goes wrong. I am trained on the Succession Act 2006 (NSW), Wills Act 1997 (VIC), Succession Act 1981 (QLD), and equivalents, plus the current family provision and capacity authority. I know the difference between a testamentary trust for a blended family and a life interest for a surviving spouse, and I draft in the voice of careful estates practice, not generic AI boilerplate.
Statutes and authorities
Key statutes
- Succession Act 2006 (NSW)
- Wills Act 1997 (VIC)
- Succession Act 1981 (QLD)
- Wills Act 1970 (WA)
- Wills Act 1936 (SA)
- Administration and Probate Act 1958 (VIC)
- Probate and Administration Act 1898 (NSW)
Leading cases
- Banks v Goodfellow (1870) LR 5 QB 549 (testamentary capacity)
- Singer v Berghouse (1994) 181 CLR 201 (family provision two-stage test)
- Vigolo v Bostin (2005) 221 CLR 191 (adult child family provision)
- Revie v Druton [1981] NSWSC (suspicious circumstances and wills)
- Nock v Austin (1918) 25 CLR 519 (undue influence)
Wills and Estates workflows
Drafting wills and testamentary trusts
Simple wills, mutual wills, testamentary trust wills for blended families, and wills with life interests or specific gifts.
Drafts the will from your client intake notes in the format your firm uses. Flags capacity risks, potential family provision exposure, and superannuation or non-estate asset issues.
Family provision claims and defences
Preparing Part IV / family provision applications, advising executors on claims received, and negotiating settlements.
Researches current two-stage family provision authority by jurisdiction. Drafts the originating process, affidavit of the applicant, and negotiation letters.
Probate and letters of administration
Probate applications, letters of administration with and without will annexed, and resealing of foreign grants.
Drafts probate applications in the standard Supreme Court format for your jurisdiction. Builds the executor affidavit and asset schedule from your intake.
Capacity and vulnerability assessments
Advising on testamentary capacity, statutory wills, and the Banks v Goodfellow test applied to current fact patterns.
Surfaces current capacity authority and drafts a file note applying Banks v Goodfellow to the client circumstances you describe. Flags when a medical opinion is prudent.
Estate administration
Running the estate from grant to distribution — asset realisation, creditor notices, interim distributions, and final statements of account.
Drafts creditor notices, beneficiary correspondence, and final statements of account. Tracks statutory time limits for family provision claims in your jurisdiction.
Document types Quillio handles
- Wills (simple and testamentary trust)
- Enduring powers of attorney
- Appointments of enduring guardian
- Probate applications
- Letters of administration applications
- Family provision applications and defences
- Deeds of family arrangement
- Statements of account
- Renunciations of probate
- Statutory will applications
Succession law is state-based. I cover the Succession Acts and equivalents across NSW, VIC, QLD, WA, SA, TAS, ACT, and NT, including the different family provision regimes, limitation periods, and probate practice notes in each Supreme Court.
Questions wills and estates lawyers actually ask Quillio
Wills and Estates FAQs
Does Quillio cover all the state Succession Acts?
Yes. I am trained on the Succession Act 2006 (NSW), Wills Act 1997 (VIC), Succession Act 1981 (QLD), Wills Act 1970 (WA), Wills Act 1936 (SA), and the Tasmanian, ACT, and NT equivalents. I know the different family provision regimes and limitation periods that apply in each.
Can Quillio draft testamentary trust wills?
Yes. I draft testamentary trust wills, mutual wills, life interest wills, and simple wills. Testamentary trusts for blended families, asset protection, and minor beneficiaries are all supported. You give me the client intake and I produce a structured first draft in your firm's house style.
How does Quillio handle testamentary capacity questions?
I apply the Banks v Goodfellow test to the facts you describe and flag where a contemporaneous medical opinion is prudent. I draft a capacity file note that records the test and the observations supporting your view. The final capacity judgment is always yours.
Can Quillio help with family provision claims?
Yes — both sides. I research current two-stage family provision authority by jurisdiction (need and moral claim), draft the originating process and applicant affidavit, and draft defence material for executors. I also track the strict limitation periods.
Does Quillio understand superannuation death benefits?
Yes. Superannuation is a non-estate asset and needs separate binding death benefit nominations. I flag this at the drafting stage and help you draft BDBN advice to clients alongside the will.
Is Quillio safe for confidential estate planning material?
Yes. Quillio holds SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 and runs on Australian infrastructure. Will instructions, family provision briefs, and estate accounts stay on Australian soil.
How does Quillio compare to ChatGPT for succession law?
ChatGPT is a general-purpose model with no Australian succession law training and no source citations. For state-specific succession practice — where the Succession Act you need depends on the state and the family provision authority changes regularly — ChatGPT cannot reliably cite current AU law. See /compare/chatgpt for the full comparison.
Try Quillio on a current matter.
For wills and estates lawyers, the fastest way to know if Quillio fits your practice is to upload a current will brief or family provision file and see what comes back. Start the free trial — no credit card, no sales call — at /free-trial.
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