A man who drafted his will on a text message he never sent will have his wishes respected, following a challenge by his widow in an Australian court.

The 55-year-old man drafted the text to his brother, saying he wanted to leave everything to him and his nephew, but he committed suicide before he sent it.

The text message was quite specific, giving account details and indicating where some money had been hidden.

According to BBC News, his widow argued in court that the text message was not valid as a will as it was never sent, but the Brisbane Supreme Court felt that his intention was quite clear, in spite of its ‘informal nature’.

"The reference to his house and superannuation and his specification that the applicant was to take her own things indicates he was aware of the nature and extent of his estate, which was relatively small," the judge said.

Typically, for a will to be valid in Queensland, it must be written and signed by two witnesses. In 2006, the law was changed to allow less formal types of documents to be considered as a will.