How to set up a Will?

[Olive]

I worked in law firms for most of my career, specialising in wills and estates.   I strongly advise against trying to prepare and  execute your will without professional input.   There are very very strict parameters to be observed, both in the wording and in the signing and witnessing of a will,  and if you make any mistakes it will at worst be invalid, or at best cost your heirs significant money to validate and administer

Is that the case even if the will is uncontested by siblings Olive?  

does the will need to be processed by a government department or some such that can lead to it being rejected as invalid?

Unless the estate is very small and all real estate is jointly owned the executors need to get a grant of Probate from the High Court.  Probate is required to validate the will so that they can close bank accounts, transfer real estate, withdraw KiwiSaver and claim on life insurance policies.   It is the High Court Probate registry which scrutinises the will and checks that it has been properly signed and witnessed and that there are no marks or blemishes.   For example, if the will has any writing on it apart from the date and the signatures this could mean that the testator meant to alter it.  If the will has a paperclip indentation this could indicate that there was something attached at some point.  It is a very technical area.   For example, it is more common than you think for a perfectly written will to be invalidated because a witness or a testator has scribbled in the margin to "try out the pen".   Witnesses can be called upon to swear an affidavit as to the state of the will when it was signed.   That is an extra expense, especially if the will was executed some time ago and the witnesses are hard to track down and/or cannot remember clearly.

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Whether or not a will is contested has no bearing on the acceptability of the will.  It is possible for an interested party to lodge a caveat in the High Court to prevent Probate being granted, but this is rare.   It is more usual for claims to be made after Probate is granted.