A will is a legal document that sets out how you want your possessions to be distributed when you die. Legal Aid advises writing a will is a positive step you can take to provide for the people you care about. It also ensures you have appointed a person you trust to carry out your instructions.

Legal Aid confirms wills can be, and are, challenged when people believe they are not valid.

Grounds for challenge include when a will is not properly signed and witnessed, or when wills are changed after they were originally signed.

Challenged wills can lead to enormous expense and heartache for all involved. In many cases a challenged will can end with very little left to distribute to beneficiaries after legal costs are paid. It can lead to permanent family estrangement.

In the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal this week Newcastle solicitor Louise Renfrew was found guilty of professional misconduct and strongly criticised for "disgraceful and dishonourable conduct" over her handling of Stockton woman Kathleen Chambers' will.

Mrs Chambers was 90 when she died in January, 2016. Her will was signed by one witness, Ms Renfrew, rather than the required two, leaving it potentially open to challenge.

Ms Renfrew was heavily sanctioned for the way she sought to rectify the problem by attempting to mislead the NSW Supreme Court about the validity of the will, including submission of an affidavit that contained a false statement.

As the tribunal said, there was no excuse for Ms Renfrew's conduct.

Although she has acted as a sole practitioner in recent years, Ms Renfrew can now only work as a legal practitioner if she is employed by another solicitor and supervised. Mrs Chambers' two daughters, Pam Yelland and Kathleen Spruce, are estranged over their mother's estate, with Ms Yelland as executor acting on Ms Renfrew's advice and Mrs Spruce claiming she is entitled to $65,000 under her mother's will.

In its decision the tribunal noted publicity about the case would be a deterrent to other solicitors and ensure public confidence in the legal profession. But questions raised by Mrs Spruce are a concern.

Issue: 39,195.