Can You Disinherit Your Child in Australia? (2026 Guide)

This guide covers whether you can disinherit a child, why leaving them out doesn’t end the story, how the risk changes for adult versus dependent children, the rules and deadlines in each state, and the legitimate steps that make your decision far harder to overturn. If you want the general mechanics of leaving anyone out — including how to do it in Will Hero — see how to exclude someone from your Will; this article is specifically about children, who are treated differently from everyone else.

Disinherit vs. leave out: what actually happens

There’s a gap between what people mean by “disinherit” and what the law allows:

• Leaving a child out of your Will — completely within your rights. You can give them nothing, or less than their siblings.
• Preventing a child from claiming — not something any Will can do. Australian law lets certain family members ask a court for provision regardless of what your Will says.

So you can exclude a child. You cannot immunise your estate against their claim. The goal is to make a deliberate, well-documented decision that a court is far more likely to respect.

The rule that overrides your Will: family provision

Every Australian state and territory has family provision legislation (in Tasmania it’s still called testator’s family maintenance). It lets an eligible person apply to the court for a share — or a larger share — of an estate if the Will didn’t make adequate provision for their proper maintenance, education or advancement in life.

Children — biological and adopted — are eligible claimants in every jurisdiction. That makes a child the single most important person to think carefully about when you’re leaving someone out. When a claim is made, the court weighs things like:

• the child’s financial position, needs and resources;
• the size and nature of the estate;
• the relationship between you and the child, including any estrangement — and who caused it;
• competing claims from other beneficiaries and eligible people;
• any provision or support you already gave the child during your life; and
• any disability, age or special need.

An explicit exclusion clause is important — but on its own it does not stop a claim. Courts focus on adequacy of provision, not on the emotional reasons for exclusion.

Adult children vs dependent children: the risk is very different

Not all children carry the same risk when left out.

The practical takeaway: disinheriting a dependent or struggling child is legally fragile, while excluding a financially secure, long-estranged adult child from a modest estate is much more defensible — provided you document it properly (below).

The rules and deadlines by state

The core principle is national, but eligibility details and — critically — the deadline to claim differ. The deadline also differs in what starts the clock: some states count from the date of death, others from the grant of probate.

A couple of points worth knowing: South Australia’s rules changed on 1 January 2025 (the Succession Act 2023 (SA) replaced the old 1972 Act and reshaped eligibility — broadening when stepchildren can claim while restricting former spouses, grandchildren, siblings and parents; a natural child remains eligible), and courts can grant leave for a late claim in limited circumstances — usually only if the estate hasn’t been fully distributed. Tasmania has the narrowest list of eligible claimants — essentially spouses, children (including adopted children), and parents only where there’s no spouse or child; grandchildren, siblings and other dependants are shut out. A natural or adopted child, though, is always an eligible claimant there. Stepchildren and grandchildren are treated differently again from state to state, which is a separate topic from a natural child.

Can you get around it with super, trusts or joint assets?

This is the most common “workaround” — and the most misunderstood. Some assets can pass outside your estate, and because family provision claims are usually made against the estate, moving assets out can, in theory, reduce what’s available to a claimant:

• Superannuation paid via a valid binding death benefit nomination;
• assets held in a discretionary (family) trust; and
• property owned as joint tenants (which passes automatically to the survivor).

But there’s a serious catch, and it’s called notional estate. New South Wales law lets a court claw certain assets — including superannuation and some transfers made before death — back into the estate to satisfy a family provision order. In Benz v Armstrong [2022] NSWSC 534, a multi-million-dollar self-managed super death benefit — paid under a valid binding death benefit nomination to the deceased’s second wife — was reached through the notional estate rules. Three of his six children, left almost nothing under the Will, received provision orders totalling about $3.7 million (plus costs).

So the honest position is: “just put it in super or a trust and they can’t touch it” is not reliable — especially in NSW. Legitimate structuring done early, for genuine reasons, can have a place, but treat any promise of a bulletproof workaround with suspicion, and get tailored advice before restructuring anything.

How to reduce the risk of a successful claim

You can’t guarantee a child won’t claim. You can make the decision far more likely to hold up:

1. Use a clear, deliberate exclusion clause. Don’t just silently omit the child — silence lets a court wonder whether you simply forgot them. Name them and state that the omission is intentional. Will Hero inserts a structured exclusion clause for you (see how to exclude someone from your Will).
2. Write a statement of reasons — ideally a statutory declaration. Explain why: the relationship history and any estrangement (and who caused it), any attempts to reconcile, the financial support you already gave (with figures), and your understanding of the child’s financial position. It won’t bind the court, but it’s strong evidence of your intentions. A sworn, witnessed statutory declaration carries more weight than a loose note.
3. Consider a modest gift instead of nothing where the risk is real. A deliberate smaller share, or a gift on conditions, can be harder to disturb than a complete exclusion — and can make a claim less attractive to run. Remember too that the legal costs of a family provision fight are often paid out of the estate, so even a claim that only partly succeeds can eat into what your intended beneficiaries actually receive — another reason a modest, deliberate gift can be cheaper than a fight.
4. Keep your evidence. Dates, messages, notes of key events — anything that supports your account of the relationship.
5. Get legal advice where the stakes are high — a large estate, a dependent or disabled child, or a challenge that looks likely. This is one of the higher-risk estate decisions, and documentation is where cases are won or lost.

A note for South Australia: since 1 January 2025, section 116(2)(a) of the Succession Act 2023 (SA) makes the wishes of the deceased the court’s primary consideration in a family provision claim — with the court also required to weigh your documented reasons and the applicant’s vulnerability, contribution and conduct. It doesn’t give you a veto (the court can still order provision for proper maintenance), but it puts real weight behind a clearly drafted Will and a well-prepared statement of reasons — which makes the two steps above matter even more in SA.

A well-made Will is the foundation of all of this. It sets out your wishes clearly and in enforceable terms, records your exclusion deliberately, and pairs with a statement of reasons to show the court exactly what you intended — and why.

Will Hero lets you build a legally valid Will online, add a structured exclusion using our provisions library, and update it whenever your circumstances change. Succession law varies by state, so your Will is tailored to yours.

The bottom line

You can disinherit a child in Australia — but you can’t stop them from asking a court for provision, and a court can override your Will if it decides you didn’t provide adequately. Whether a claim succeeds depends on the child’s need, your relationship, the size of the estate, and your state’s rules. The way to make your decision stick is to be deliberate and well-documented: a clear exclusion clause, a statement of reasons, sensible structuring, and advice where the stakes are high.

For the flip side — what happens if there’s no Will at all — see what happens if you pass away without a Will in Australia. For blended families juggling a new partner and children from an earlier relationship, see blended family Wills in Australia.

Make your wishes unmistakable

• How to Exclude Someone From Your Will — the step-by-step for adding an exclusion clause in Will Hero
• How to Make a Legally Valid Will in Australia — get the foundations right
• Blended Family Wills in Australia — protecting a partner and children together
• Does a Spouse Automatically Inherit Everything in Australia? — how spouses fit the picture

Ready to start? Create your Will online with Will Hero — add a clear exclusion clause, tailor it to your state, and update it any time. A Will is $99, or $158 for a couple. See how it works and pricing.