Where to keep an original will and who should know where it is

The will is finished. You remember putting the paperwork somewhere, but could the person you want to tell explain where the original is held and whom to contact?

This guide helps you prepare that conversation. It does not choose a storage arrangement, decide whether a document is valid, or say who is entitled to read or collect it. For the wider context, see wills in Australia.

Start with the original’s location

Moneysmart recommends storing your will in a safe place and telling someone you trust where to find it.

The State Library of NSW’s legal information guide makes the original’s location explicit. It recommends telling appointed executors where the original will is kept and keeping a copy among personal papers with a note explaining that location.

That is NSW practical guidance, not a national rule about who must hold your will. It also does not answer whether a copy or scan would be accepted for a particular legal purpose.

A useful starting question is: “Does this location refer to the original, a copy, or something we have not confirmed?” If the answer is uncertain, record the uncertainty and ask the solicitor or holder to clarify. This page cannot identify the operative will from the documents you have.

Questions before choosing a storage arrangement

NSW Government’s wills guidance recommends safe storage and letting the executor and family know the location. It also describes keeping a will with a solicitor as an option people use.

There can also be a court storage option. In Victoria, the Supreme Court says a will may be deposited with the Registrar of Probates for safekeeping. The Court charges a deposit fee and handles the request through RedCrest-Probate. This is a Victorian option, not a statement about what every state or territory offers. Ask the relevant court or a wills and estates lawyer whether a comparable service is available where you live and what its current process requires.

Rather than treating one option as right for everyone, ask the solicitor or storage service you are considering:

• Would you hold the original document or a copy?
• How would I confirm what you hold?
• What contact details could I give the person I want to inform?
• Does the court in my state or territory offer a safekeeping service, and what does its current process require?
• How are documents stored, and what are your current terms and charges?
• How does someone make a request, and what authority or evidence would you need?
• What happens to the contact arrangements if I move or your office changes?

These are questions to check, not statements about a service’s security, availability or release rules. This guide does not recommend a particular custodian or say that knowing the location gives anyone access.

Who needs the location information?

Start with Moneysmart’s trusted-person prompt and the NSW guide’s suggestion to tell the appointed executor where the original is kept. For general role context, see being an executor.

If you are the will-maker, decide what practical information you want to discuss and with whom. If you are an adult child starting the conversation, ask permission rather than asking to take charge of the documents.

For example:

“Would you be comfortable telling the person you have chosen where the original is kept and whom they could contact? We do not need to discuss what you have left to anyone.”

This is suggested wording, not a disclosure requirement. Leave room for the person to decline or pause. Questions about who may inspect, receive or collect a will belong with a wills and estates lawyer.

Prepare a will-location note

Moneysmart says a list of important documents and where they are kept can help your family and executor.

For this conversation, a separate note could record:

• the person or organisation understood to hold the original
• the location or contact details they have confirmed
• whether the information concerns an original, a copy or an unconfirmed document
• when the location information was last confirmed
• whom the will-maker has chosen to tell
• any questions still to ask the holder or solicitor.

Keep this as a separate preparation note, not an addition to the will. It is not proof of validity, permission to collect a document or a replacement for legal advice. There is no need to include passwords, account balances or the will’s contents in this location note.

If the location or contact information changes, revisit the note and the conversation with the will-maker’s agreement.

If the original cannot be found

If all you have is a copy, an uncertain location or conflicting information, take that uncertainty to a wills and estates lawyer in the relevant state or territory.

Ask: “We have this document and this information about where the original was kept. What needs to be checked?”

This page does not conclude that a will is missing, revoked, invalid or replaceable. It does not say whether a copy is enough for probate or any other purpose, and gives no instructions to alter or dispose of documents.

Who to talk to

Ask the solicitor or organisation holding the document about its current contact and request process. Ask a wills and estates lawyer about custody, access rights, uncertain documents and the law in the relevant state or territory.

The next step is a clear location conversation, not a decision about anyone’s inheritance.