Eastwood Law Urges WA Families to Review Wills as Wealth Shifts

SUBIACO, WA, Aug. 06, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SUBIACO, WA - August 06, 2026 -

Eastwood Law, a Perth will and estate practice, is urging Western Australian families to review outdated wills as superannuation, trusts and blended families reshape how estates are inherited.

Australia has entered the largest handover of private wealth in its history, and the assets moving between generations no longer look like they did a generation ago. The Productivity Commission estimated in a December 2021 research paper that around $3.5 trillion in assets will pass between Australians by 2050, with annual inheritances climbing from about $120 billion now to close to $500 billion. Eastwood Law, a Perth practice working solely on will and estate matters, is urging Western Australian families to review wills that were drafted before superannuation, family trusts and blended families became a standard part of most family estates.

Superannuation balances, family trusts and property now sit alongside straightforward savings in most Australian estates, adding more moving parts than a simple will was ever written to cover. A will drafted in the 1990s can leave a family working through a seven-figure asset pool with paperwork that no longer describes the family it was written for.

Perth's median house price reached $938,000 by the end of June 2026, according to the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia, up more than 4 percent in a single quarter. Average superannuation balances have grown at a similar pace over the past decade, meaning many family estates now carry more value than the original document was built to manage. Advisers across the property, superannuation and estate planning sectors report similar conversations happening earlier than they used to, as families try to get ahead of the changes rather than react to them after a life event.

Despite the scale of what is changing hands, many Australians have not kept their paperwork current. A 2025 survey by estate planning provider Safewill, covering more than 1,000 respondents, found that only 42 percent of Australians have a will that reflects their current situation. The remainder are working from a will that is outdated, incomplete, or does not exist at all. A will written around one job, one property or one relationship rarely still fits a life that has since added a marriage, a business or a blended family.

Family structures have also shifted. Data from the 2021 Census, analysed by the Australian Institute of Family Studies, found that 12 percent of Australian couple families with dependent children were step-families or blended families, up from 5 to 6 percent in earlier census periods. More relatives now sit inside the average family tree than the wills drafted decades ago were built to describe.

"In my experience, confusion about a will has usually been years in the making," said Cameron Eastwood, Director of Eastwood Law. He noted that blended families and changing personal circumstances are often behind an old will causing problems later. "Reviewing a will every few years, rather than only after a major life event, is the cheapest way to keep it doing the job it was written for."

Eastwood Law has advised executors, beneficiaries and family members across Western Australia since 2005. Clear, current documentation prevents more family stress than any single form, the firm says, which is why regular reviews between parents and adult children remain one of the cheapest forms of protection available. A short conversation now, the firm notes, is usually far easier than the one a family has to have later, once an outdated will has already caused confusion. Families weighing their options, including contesting a will in Western Australia, can find further information on the Eastwood Law website.

About Eastwood Law

Eastwood Law is a Perth, Western Australia practice focused solely on will and estate matters, advising executors, beneficiaries and family members across Western Australia and beyond.

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For more information about Eastwood Law, contact the company here:

Eastwood Law
Cameron Eastwood, Director
(08) 9481 8460
secretary@eastwoodlaw.legal
Level 1, 26 Railway Road, Subiaco WA 6008

Cameron Eastwood, Director