United Kingdom.svg){kind=small}
USA.svg){kind=small}
Australia
What this last will and testament template includes?
The fully customisable template includes all necessary details required to make a will that is fully compliant with Canadian laws. The document covers:
- Details of a testator, or a person who is making this will, including family status, date of birth and place of residence;
- Revocation of all prior wills and testamentary dispositions, if applicable;
- Appointment of estate trustee along with alternate trustees in case the main trustee is dead or refuses to perform their duties;
- Appointment of guardians for minor children, if a testator has any child under the age of 18;
- List of specific gifts of personal items, money, real estate or shares and names of individual beneficiaries to whom these items shall be distributed to;
- Powers of the estate trustee (investment, sale, distribution, borrowing);
- Treatment of debts, taxes and funeral expenses; and
- If the trustee has any digital assets such crypto and online accounts, their type amount and how they should be distributed after the death.
Province-by-province legal considerations and requirements
The creation of a will in Canada is governed by provincial legislation which may differ when it comes to formality requirements such as witnessing rules, treatments of a subsequent marriage, electronic signatures of will and many more. This last and will template aligns with necessary requirements imposed by each province.
Ontario
Governed by the Succession Law Reform Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. S.26 (SLRA). A valid formal will in Ontario must be in writing, signed at the end by the testator, and witnessed by two witnesses present at the same time who then sign in the testator’s presence.
A will cannot be witnessed by a testator him/herself, their spouse or any beneficiary under the will. Holograph wills (fully handwritten by the testator) are permitted under section 6 SLRA. Virtual witnessing is permitted under O. Reg. 129/21 if at least one witness is a licensed Ontario lawyer or paralegal. This last will and testament ontario template follows those requirements by default.
British Columbia
The provisions of the Wills, Estates and Succession Act, SBC 2009, c. 13 (WESA) in British Columbia provide the following legal requirements for the will created there:
- Minimum two witnesses both physical present during the signing process;
- The subsequent marriage does not revoke the will (WESA s. 55).
- Unlike in other provinces, in certain circumstances the court may validate the document which does not meet formal requirements.
Alberta
Creation of a will in Alberta is fully governed by the Wills and Succession Act, SA 2010, c. W-12.2 which requires a testator to meet the following standard requirements:
- Two witnesses, both physically present at the moment of signing;
- Recognition of holography wills (wills written by a hand);
- Possibility of recognition of the will’s validity in the court in limited circumstances (Section 16).
Saskatchewan and Manitoba
The Wills Act, 1996, SS 1996, c. W-14.1 and Wills Act, C.C.S.M. c. W150 govern the creation of will in Saskatchewan and Manitoba respectively. Both provinces have very similar requirements when it comes to legal formalities for a will, including:
- Minimum two-witness requirements who must be physically present during the signing;
- Recognition of holograph wills;
- Validation of wills that do not meet formal legal requirements by a court in a limited number of circumstances.
Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador
To create a will in either in these two provinces you have to have at least two witnesses. Unlike in Alberta, the new marriage automatically revokes any prior wills, unless made in contemplation of marriage.
How the customisation of Canadian will template works?
To get a fully customisable document template, follow the steps below:
- Click the “Create Document” button.
- Answer simple questions in the form.
- Select a template’s format – PDF or Word.
- E-sign the document online.
- Make a payment.
The file is delivered as an editable Microsoft Word document and PDF with clearly marked fields and plain-English guidance notes in the margin.
For canadian last will and testament purposes, the signing moment is the one that matters most. Find two witnesses who can witness the fact of you, a testator, signing this will.
Please note, that this template cannot be used for the province of Quebec.