Contesting a will in New Zealand: the grounds, the cost and the time limits
Contesting a will in New Zealand is free to file, and generally must be done within 12 months of the grant of probate, under either the Family Protection Act 1955, for a family member not properly provided for, or the Law Reform (Testamentary Promises) Act 1949, for someone promised something that was not delivered (Ministry of Justice, Apply to challenge a will, retrieved 9 September 2026).
The two Acts protect different people and different claims, and which one applies changes both who can claim and what the court can order. Our estate planning hub sets out where this fits against making a will, dying intestate and every other decision in this cluster.
The two legal routes
What are valid grounds to contest a will in NZ?
New Zealand law recognises two separate grounds: under the Family Protection Act 1955, a defined list of close family members can claim the deceased had a moral duty to provide for them and failed to in the will; under the Law Reform (Testamentary Promises) Act 1949, anyone, family or not, can claim the deceased promised to reward them from the estate for a service performed while alive, and did not (Ministry of Justice, Challenge a will, retrieved 9 September 2026). A will being simply unfair, without falling into one of these two categories, is not on its own a ground to challenge it.
The table below compares the two Acts side by side.
| Family Protection Act 1955 | Law Reform (Testamentary Promises) Act 1949 | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can claim | A defined list of close family members | Anyone promised a reward for a service to the deceased |
| What must be shown | A moral duty to provide, breached by the will (or intestacy) | A genuine promise, made in exchange for a service actually performed |
| Time limit | 12 months from grant of probate (2 years for a minor or mentally handicapped person via an administrator) | 12 months from grant of administration |
| What the court can order | Redistribute the estate to remedy the breach | Payment from the estate, or an order transferring specific property |
(Ministry of Justice, Challenge a will and Apply to challenge a will, retrieved 9 September 2026.)
Who can legally contest a will in NZ?
Who can legally contest a will in NZ?
Under the Family Protection Act 1955, a claim can be made by the deceased's spouse, civil union partner or de facto partner, their children (including from a de facto relationship), any grandchild who was alive when the deceased died, a stepchild the deceased was maintaining wholly or partly immediately before death, and in some circumstances a parent, such as where the deceased had no living spouse, partner or children (Ministry of Justice, Apply to challenge a will, retrieved 9 September 2026). A claim under the Testamentary Promises Act is not restricted to family at all; it turns on the promise and the service, not the relationship.
The table below lists the full protected class under the Family Protection Act.
| Relationship to the deceased | Can claim? |
|---|---|
| Spouse or civil union partner | Yes |
| De facto partner at date of death | Yes |
| Child (including of a de facto relationship) | Yes |
| Grandchild, if alive when the deceased died | Yes |
| Stepchild the deceased was maintaining before death | Yes |
| Parent, only if no living spouse, partner or children | Yes, conditionally |
| A friend, however close | No, not under this Act |
(Community Law, If the will is unfair to family members, retrieved 9 September 2026.)
Does a de facto partner have the same rights to contest a will as a spouse?
Yes, for a Family Protection Act claim: a de facto partner who was living in a de facto relationship with the deceased at the date of death is on the same protected list as a spouse or civil union partner (Community Law, If the will is unfair to family members, retrieved 9 September 2026). Whether a relationship legally qualified as de facto at the date of death can itself become a disputed factual question in some claims, and our relationship property in NZ guide covers how a partner's property rights are assessed more generally.
Can a grandchild contest their grandparent's will?
Yes, but only if the grandchild was alive at the time the grandparent died; a grandchild is on the Family Protection Act's protected list in their own right, separate from any claim their own parent might have (Ministry of Justice, Apply to challenge a will, retrieved 9 September 2026).
What you have to prove
What is the Family Protection Act 1955?
The Family Protection Act 1955 lets the court redistribute a deceased person's estate where it decides the deceased had a moral duty to provide for a specific class of close family members and breached that duty, either through what the will actually says or, where there is no will, through how the rules of intestacy apply (Community Law, If the will is unfair to family members, retrieved 9 September 2026). The Act applies even where the will-maker specifically stated they did not want to provide for the claimant.
What factors does the court weigh in a Family Protection Act claim?
The court considers, among other things, what the claimant has already been left, the deceased's own wishes, the claimant's age, health, ability to earn a living and financial position, the size of the estate, the claimant's character and conduct and their relationship with the deceased, and whether anyone else has a legal or moral duty to maintain them (Community Law, If the will is unfair to family members, retrieved 9 September 2026). Courts are generally reluctant to override a will, and if a breach of moral duty is found, they make only the minimum change needed to remedy it.
What counts as a "testamentary promise"?
A testamentary promise claim requires proving the deceased promised, during their life, to reward you from their estate for a service you actually performed for them, and the promise itself does not need to have been written down or included in the will (Ministry of Justice, Challenge a will, retrieved 9 September 2026). If the claim relates to land, a house or a farm that is part of the estate, a successful claimant can be awarded an order transferring ownership of all or part of that specific property, not only a cash payment, which is a separate question from who gets a deceased person's other assets.
Cost and time limits
How much does it cost to contest a will in New Zealand?
Filing a Family Protection Act or Testamentary Promises Act application in court is free (Ministry of Justice, Apply to challenge a will, retrieved 9 September 2026). Lawyer's fees for running the claim are not published anywhere as a fixed or typical figure, and given claims range from straightforward to heavily contested, this page does not estimate a total cost; you may be eligible for legal aid, and Community Law can give free initial advice on whether a claim is worth pursuing before you commit to paying a lawyer. If the estate is also administered through a testamentary trust, a successful claim can affect how that trust is ultimately funded.
How long do you have to contest a will in NZ?
You must file a Family Protection Act claim within 12 months of the grant of probate, or 2 years if an administrator is applying on behalf of a minor or a mentally handicapped person; a Testamentary Promises Act claim must be filed within 12 months of the grant of administration (Ministry of Justice, Apply to challenge a will, retrieved 9 September 2026). Our probate in NZ guide covers what the grant of probate is and roughly how long it takes to obtain, since that grant date is what starts this clock.
Can I ask for more time if I miss the deadline?
You can ask the court for more time, but it must be requested before the estate has been finally distributed, and there is no guarantee it will be granted (Community Law, If the will is unfair to family members, retrieved 9 September 2026). Once an estate is fully distributed to the beneficiaries, this option closes, which is why acting promptly matters even if you are still gathering information about whether you have a claim.
Can a will be contested after probate has been granted?
Yes, and in practice this is the normal timing, since the Family Protection Act's 12-month time limit runs from the date probate is granted, not from the date of death; you are not too late simply because probate has already been granted, provided you are still within that 12-month window (Ministry of Justice, Apply to challenge a will, retrieved 9 September 2026).
The process
What is the procedure for filing a claim?
You need to file a notice of proceeding, a statement of claim, a sworn affidavit, and an application asking the court for directions on who else needs to be formally served with the claim; applications go to the court nearest to where you, or one of the applicants, live, and the Ministry of Justice recommends getting a lawyer to help prepare and present the claim (Ministry of Justice, Apply to challenge a will, retrieved 9 September 2026).
The table below sets out the documents every application needs, whichever Act it is filed under.
| Document | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Notice of proceeding | Formally starts the court process |
| Statement of claim | Sets out the grounds and what you are asking the court to order |
| Sworn affidavit | Your evidence in support of the claim |
| Application for directions on service | Asks the court who else must be formally notified |
(Ministry of Justice, Apply to challenge a will, retrieved 9 September 2026.)
Where this fits with the rest of estate planning
Contesting a will is one branch of a wider set of decisions this cluster covers. If you are the one writing a will and want to reduce the risk of a future claim, our making a will in NZ and will template NZ guides cover what a valid will needs, and dying without a will in NZ explains the intestacy rules that apply if there is no will to contest at all. Our next of kin in NZ guide covers a related but legally distinct question, since being next of kin does not by itself put you on the Family Protection Act's protected list. Once probate is granted, the when someone dies hub, probate in NZ, how long does probate take in NZ, executor of a will in NZ and debts when someone dies in NZ cover the administration process this 12-month clock runs alongside.
QuoteHub built this page because "contesting a will" gets searched by people in two very different positions, someone who feels unfairly left out and someone who was promised something specific, and the Act that applies, and the deadline that applies, differ between the two. Financial advice is provided by Craig Smith Business Services Limited, trading as Smiths Insurance & KiwiSaver, a licensed Financial Advice Provider (FSP712931). QuoteHub is a trading name. If a contested estate has you thinking about your own will or your family's protection, our guides to who gets your life insurance payout in NZ, estate planning insurance in NZ, insurance and enduring power of attorney in NZ and our free will service are useful starting points, with our life insurance guide and a licensed adviser available to talk through your own cover.
Adviser's view
The gap QuoteHub sees most often is between 'I disagree with the will' and 'I have a claim': the Family Protection Act only protects a defined list of relationships and only where the deceased had a moral duty to provide for you, so a will that is simply unfair, without breaching that duty, is not automatically something a court will rewrite.
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Cite this page QuoteHub NZ (2026). Contesting a Will in NZ: Grounds, Cost, Time Limits. www.quotehub.co.nz/guides/estate/contesting-a-will-nz. Updated 2026-09-09.
References
- Ministry of Justice: Challenge a will
- Ministry of Justice: Apply to challenge a will
- Community Law: If the will is unfair to family members
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