How long do you have to contest a will in Queensland?

“Contesting a Will” covers two very different challenges, and they run on different clocks. Mixing them up is how families lose rights worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Family provision claims: the 6 and 9 month rules

A family provision claim (adequate provision from the estate) is the most common Will contest. Queensland’s Succession Act imposes two hard deadlines:

• 6 months from death: written notice of the claim must be given to the executor. Notice need not be a formal court document - a letter from a solicitor suffices - but it must identify the claim and the applicant.
• 9 months from death: proceedings must be filed in the Supreme Court.

Miss the filing deadline and the claim is gone unless the court extends time. Extensions are possible - prompt conduct once aware, genuine reasons for delay, and no prejudice to beneficiaries are the touchstones - but they are discretionary and expensive to pursue. Executors, for their part, should not fully distribute the estate in the first nine months precisely because valid claims can still appear.

Challenging the Will’s validity: different clock, same urgency

Alleging the Will is invalid - the deceased lacked capacity, was unduly influenced, or the document was not properly executed - is not a family provision claim and has no 6/9 month rule. But timing still matters enormously: probate proceedings move fast, and a challenger who sits idle while a grant issues fights uphill. The practical rule: raise the challenge before probate is granted, or seek revocation afterwards on solid evidence (medical files, witnessing histories, solicitor’s file notes).

Other clocks to watch

• Claims against superannuation death benefit distributions - complaint and review deadlines with the fund and the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (generally years, but they exist)
• Notional estate-style adjustments and clawbacks - transactions before death can be attacked under other statutes with their own limitation periods
• Executor removal/accounts applications - no fixed bar, but delay erodes sympathy and evidence

The practical advice

If you think you might have a claim, see a estates lawyer before six months pass. If you are an executor, diary the nine-month mark before you distribute anything.

• The family provision claims timeline
• Who can challenge a Will?
• Contesting a Will practice area