Can I Leave Money to My Kids but Hold It Until They're Older? (Australia)

Leaving money to your children is one of the main reasons people make a Will. But a question comes up again and again: “I want my kids to get it — just not all at once the moment they turn 18.” It’s a fair worry. A meaningful inheritance landing in the lap of an 18-year-old, with no strings attached, isn’t what every parent has in mind.

The good news is you can set an older age — and with Will Hero you can do it yourself, without a lawyer. This is one of the ways the platform is more than just a simple Will. Here’s how it works, the two options you can choose from, and when each one makes sense.

Why 18 can be too young

Across every Australian state and territory, 18 is the age of majority — the point at which someone can legally receive property in their own right. If your Will doesn’t say otherwise, that’s the default: a beneficiary is entitled to their full gift once they turn 18. A younger child’s share is generally held until they reach 18, and then it’s theirs to do with as they please.

For a modest gift, that’s often fine. But for a larger sum — the proceeds of a house, a life insurance payout, a share of the whole estate — many parents would prefer their child be a bit older and steadier before receiving it in one lump sum. Setting an age like 25 or 30 gives them time to finish study, mature, and make more considered decisions.

The catch is how to arrange it. Most people assume it takes a lawyer, and traditional will kits and online will platforms don’t give you this as a standard option — they leave everything payable at 18. Will Hero is one of the few places you can set it yourself.

Yes — you can hold a gift until a later age

Will Hero lets you attach a condition to any beneficiary of any gift — a specific gift like a sum of money, or a share of your residual estate (everything left after debts, taxes and expenses). One of the condition types holds that gift in trust until the beneficiary reaches an age you choose.

A few things worth knowing up front:

• You pick the age from a set list (for example 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 30, 35 and up). Without a condition, the default remains 18.
• Your executor holds the funds. In Will Hero, the person who holds and manages the money is your executor, who also acts as the trustee. Will Hero doesn’t currently let you name a separate trustee — so it’s worth choosing an executor you trust to handle this well.
• It works alongside your other planning. You can still name a backup beneficiary in case something happens, and conditions are especially useful in blended families where you’re balancing children of different ages — you can test how each scenario plays out before you finalise.

The two ways to hold it in trust

Will Hero gives you two hold-in-trust options, and the difference between them matters. It comes down to a single question: should the money be usable for your child before they reach the age, or locked away entirely until then?

An example of each:

• Hold until a certain age — You leave $150,000 to your 16-year-old and set the age to 25. Nothing is paid out until they turn 25; then they receive the full amount. Good when the child is already provided for and you simply want them older before a lump sum lands.
• Hold and benefit until a certain age — You leave the same amount to a 6-year-old and set the age to 25, but choose the “benefit” option. Their guardian can ask the trustee to use the money for school fees, medical costs or day-to-day needs as they grow up, and whatever’s left is handed over at 25. Good when the money may need to support the child in the meantime.

How to set it up in Will Hero

Because Will Hero builds your Will as a visual diagram, adding a condition is just a few taps — and you can watch your whole plan update as you go. Here’s the full flow, start to finish. Swipe through the screens below.

The flow, start to finish

Swipe / scroll →

Screens shown on mobile; the same steps apply on desktop.

What this does — and doesn’t — do

It’s worth being precise about what you’re setting up, so there are no surprises later.

• What it does: your Will creates a binding instruction that the gift is held in trust until the age you chose, and — if you pick the “benefit” option — that the trustee may apply the funds for the beneficiary’s benefit in the meantime.
• What it doesn’t do: Will Hero’s documents don’t spell out how the trust is run day to day — how it’s invested, accounted for, or taxed. Those responsibilities sit with the trustee under general trust law.
• When to get advice: for a large or complex estate, or if you want bespoke trust terms (staged payments, specific investment rules, tax planning), it’s worth speaking to a lawyer or adviser. For the common goal — “hold my child’s share until they’re older” — the condition does exactly that.

This is general information, not legal or financial advice.

More than just a simple Will

Leaving money to your children doesn’t have to mean handing it over the day they turn 18. Setting an age — and choosing whether the money can support them along the way — is the kind of control most people assume takes a lawyer. With Will Hero, it’s a click on your visual Will.