Are Video Wills Valid? (NSW)

By James Stevens, Director and Solicitor, Go To Court Lawyers. Last reviewed 15 April 2026.

A will is a legal document that expresses a person’s intentions for the distribution of their estate after their death. Traditionally, wills are written documents signed by the testator (the person making the will) in the presence of witnesses. However, with advances in technology and changes in how people communicate, there has been increasing interest in whether video wills are valid under Australian law. In New South Wales, the Succession Act 2006 governs the creation, execution, and recognition of wills. While video wills are not automatically valid under the standard statutory requirements for creating a will, the law does provide a pathway for recognising unconventional wills in certain circumstances. This article examines the validity of video wills in NSW, with reference to case law.

Validity of wills

Under NSW law, a will is only considered valid when it meets the following formal requirements:

• the testator is an adult (except in limited circumstances) and has testamentary capacity.
• the will is written (either handwritten or typewritten).
• the testator has signed the will or acknowledged their signature on the document.
• the signature is witnessed by two impartial individuals who also sign the will in the testator’s presence. These witnesses cannot be married to the testator or benefit from the will themselves.

Any will that fails to meet these criteria is known as an informal will and may be legally challenged and found invalid. If a will is invalid, and the testator has made no other will, then the deceased estate is “intestate”, and their assets will be distributed according to intestate succession law. Under intestate rules, the close family of the deceased will inherit, but any charitable bequests or gifts to friends and extended family members will be ignored.

What are video wills?

A video will is a recording in which a person verbally outlines their wishes for the distribution of their estate after their death. Unlike traditional written wills, video wills use audio-visual technology to express the testator's intentions. A video will may also include the testator speaking about their motivations, addressing beneficiaries, and explaining decisions that may seem contentious.

Video wills offer benefits such as clarity of intent and the ability to document the testator’s mental state. They are also beneficial for testators who are not literate. However, since a video will is not a written document, and cannot be signed or witnessed in the traditional sense, a video will does not automatically satisfy the formal requirements under legislation. However, section 8 of the Succession Act 2006 allows the court to dispense with these formal requirements and recognise an informal will, such as a video recording, that expresses the testator’s intentions. However, in order for a video will to be recognised as an informal will, the court must be satisfied that:

1. The recording is a "document" under the law, and
2. The testator intended the recording to constitute their will.

Definition of document

The Act defines "document" broadly to include electronic and audio-visual recordings, such as a video file. This means a video recording can qualify as a document capable of being admitted as a will.

Intention to create a will

The court must determine whether the testator intended the video to be their final testamentary document. Evidence that supports this intention includes:

• Statements made by the testator during the recording, such as “This is my will.”
• The absence of a written will.
• The absence of any evidence that the testator created the video as a temporary measure.
• Contextual evidence, such as the testator’s actions or conversations leading up to the recording.

The NSW Supreme Court has recognised informal wills in various forms, including unsigned documents and electronic files. Most notably, in the case of Re Estate of Wai Fun, Deceased [2015], the court recognised a DVD recording of an oral statement as a valid codicil to a will. In this case, Wai Fun Chan died leaving a will dated 2012 and the DVD. In the formal will, she left her small estate to her eight children as she had been persuaded not to make greater provision for two of her children who had attended her in her final years. Subsequently, she changed her mind and, unable to return to her solicitor’s officer, she recorded a new will on video. 

She recorded the DVD as a supplementary statement of her testamentary intentions in the presence of one of her children. The testator acknowledged that the informal nature of the video might present problems but said that she wanted to “speak” directly to her children to make her last wishes clear. The court was satisfied that the DVD was a document and that the deceased intended it to alter her existing will. In his judgment, Justice Lindsay warned that although a video recording of testamentary intentions may be admitted to probate under section 8, the process of validating a video will can impose a costly burden on an estate and potentially create uncertainty around a testator’s meaning. Based on this case, to minimise the risks and associated expense, it is advisable for testators to create a formal written will and only use video recordings as supplementary evidence of their intentions. 

Contact Go To Court Lawyers if you are estate planning and would like to discuss your options. Phone 1300 636 846 today for assistance.