A recent decision1 by the Queensland Supreme Court highlights why the drafting of wills should remain the province of solicitors.
Mr and Mrs Di Trapani were people who took their finances seriously and clearly careful when it came to spending money. In pursuance of their fiscal prudence, they sought to save money when updating their wills in November of 2010, by using an accountant to draft the new wills.
As noted by the judge, the accountant reasoned, “that he was ‘entrusted’ with Mr and Mrs Di Trapani’s wills for various reasons including that the late couple held a belief that legal disputes would be expensive and take time to resolve.”2
In documents supplied by the accountant in the course of the proceedings, he suggested he did no more than re-type the wills from an earlier version; unhelpfully he did not retain a copy of the source document, nor take note of who had prepared it.
In any event, the court considered it likely that the accountant had provided greater input than this, especially given the invoice he provided, which had an entry for, “matters in relation to provision of assistance for new wills, discuss same and make recommendations and draft same; execution of various documents; matters in relation to company structure, family trust and income.”3
Unfortunately, the accountant apparently had no legal training4 and the will contained much which gave rise to dispute. Exacerbating the matter was the fact that Mr and Mrs Di Trapani held their assets in a fairly complex manner, involving companies and trusts. There was no evidence that either of them received any legal advice prior to executing the new wills.
Mr Di Trapani predeceased his wife, and the recent proceedings concerned the will of Mrs Di Trapani. Disputes arose as to certain aspects of the will, and the executors sought declarations from the court in relation to its interpretation.
The proceedings were relatively complex, involving multiple law firms and counsel – ironically, the desire of Mr and Mrs Di Trapani to avoid expensive disputes by engaging a non-lawyer to draft their wills has led to the involvement of many more lawyers, and no doubt a great deal of expense.
That would come as no surprise to solicitors who operate in the wills and estates sphere, and it is in an effort to avoid the involvement of courts that the law requires that only those qualified and licensed to do so can provide legal services.
That issue is particularly acute in this case, as given the complexity of their financial arrangements, Mr and Mrs Di Trapani needed a very carefully drafted will, as well as thorough estate planning advice – services beyond the capabilities of non-lawyers.
Practitioners should highlight cases such as this when discussing wills and estate services with clients. Mr and Mrs Di Trapani will never know the expense and angst caused by their well-meant attempt to save money, but their children certainly do.
Di Trapani & another v Di Trapani & others [2026] QSC 20
Footnotes
1 Di Trapani & another v Di Trapani & others [2026] QSC 20
2 Ibid [9]
3 Ibid [7]
4 Ibid [5]
Share this article