Originally published: April 29, 2016 | Last updated: January 1, 2025
The Canadian Will kit exists as a paper-based product which lets users create their own Will through its pre-designed template with empty sections to enter their information. People can buy these kits from stores which sell stationery and books and through internet shops at prices between $15 and $40. These products provide users with a basic Will template which fits all situations and include fundamental guidance and occasionally a list of legal words. These kits offer an excellent intention to provide affordable Will-writing access but they contain major defects which make your Will vulnerable to legal disputes and total invalidity.
A Canadian Will kit is a paper-based, do-it-yourself product that provides a generic Will template with blank spaces for you to fill in. These kits are sold in stationery stores, bookstores, and online for $15 to $40. They typically include a one-size-fits-all Will template, basic instructions, and sometimes a glossary of legal terms. While the intention is good, making Will-writing accessible and affordable, these kits have serious limitations that can leave your Will vulnerable to legal challenges or render it completely invalid.
What Are the Problems with Will Kits?
1. They Ignore Provincial Legal Differences
Canadian estate law varies significantly by province. Signing requirements, witness rules, intestate succession formulas, and specific legal clauses differ across jurisdictions. A generic Will kit sold nationally cannot account for these differences. A Will that is valid in Ontario may not meet the requirements in British Columbia or Quebec. An online service like LegalWills.ca generates province-specific documents tailored to your jurisdiction’s exact requirements.
Each Canadian province maintains its own set of estate laws which differ from one another. Different regions maintain their own requirements for document signing and witness identification and they also use their own formulas to handle cases without wills and establish unique legal provisions. A generic Will kit which sells across the nation fails to address these variations between different locations. The requirements for Will validity in Ontario do not satisfy the legal standards which British Columbia and Quebec have established. LegalWills.ca functions as an online platform which produces documents that match the specific demands of your province through their service.
Once a Will kit is printed and sold, it is frozen in time. Laws change; provinces update intestate succession rules, modify signing requirements, and introduce new estate legislation. A kit purchased five years ago may contain outdated information or omit provisions required by current law. LegalWills.ca has been continuously updated since 2000, ensuring every Will reflects current provincial legislation.
2. They Are Never Updated for Law Changes
Will kits work (to the extent they work at all) only for the simplest situations: a single person leaving everything to one beneficiary. The moment you add complexity. blended families, multiple beneficiaries, trusts for minors, charitable bequests, alternate distributions, specific gifts, a generic template fails. The blank spaces do not accommodate nuanced provisions, and there is no guidance on how to structure complex distributions correctly.
The printed Will kit becomes permanently fixed at the moment it reaches the market. The law undergoes changes when provinces update their intestate succession rules and they modify signing requirements and they create new estate legislation. A kit that someone bought five years back might have outdated content which fails to include all current legal requirements. LegalWills.ca has updated its services every year since 2000 to make sure all Wills follow the most recent provincial rules.
A paper template cannot validate your entries. If you misspell a beneficiary’s name, leave a section blank, create a mathematical impossibility (percentages that do not add up to 100%), or include contradictory instructions, the kit cannot warn you. These errors may only surface after your death, when it is too late to fix them, and they become grounds for contesting the Will. An online service validates your input in real time and prevents common errors before they occur.
3. They Cannot Handle Complex Situations
The signing process is one of the most critical aspects of creating a valid Will. Witnesses must meet specific criteria, be present at the same time, and sign in the correct manner. Some provinces require additional formalities. Will kits often provide generic, incomplete signing instructions that do not account for provincial variations. An improperly signed Will is the easiest type to challenge in court, and one of the most common reasons Wills are declared invalid.
Will kits provide minimal value for straightforward situations because they only work when one person wants to leave their entire estate to a single beneficiary. The addition of multiple family members and special gifts and trust arrangements and charity donations and alternative gift plans and particular gift instructions breaks every generic template system. The empty spaces fail to support detailed contract terms and the system does not provide any direction about how to arrange complex distribution systems.
Saving $20 on a Will kit versus a proper online service means nothing if the resulting Will is invalid or incomplete. The cost of dying intestate or with a defective Will dwarfs any savings: court administration fees, legal disputes, frozen assets, and family conflict can cost thousands or tens of thousands of dollars. A $49.95 online Will from LegalWills.ca is one of the most cost-effective investments your family will ever benefit from.
4. They Do Not Check for Errors
An online Will service combines the affordability of a Will kit with the quality and legal validity of a lawyer-drafted document. Here is why LegalWills.ca is the best option for most Canadians:
- Convenient: Complete your Will from home, on any device, at any time. The process takes about 20 minutes.
- Easy to update: Log in, make changes, and print a new version. No codicils, no lawyer appointments, no additional fees during your subscription.
- Affordable: $49.95 compared to $500-$1,500+ for a lawyer or $15-$40 for a kit that may produce an invalid document.
- Province-specific: Every document is tailored to your jurisdiction’s current legal requirements.
- Error-checked: The system validates your entries and prevents common mistakes.
- Value-added tools: Includes executor resources through our LifeLocker feature, document storage, and the Keyholders notification system.
A paper template cannot validate your entries. The kit fails to protect your work when you enter incorrect beneficiary names or leave sections blank or create mathematical errors which exceed 100% or when you provide conflicting instructions. The errors will become visible after your death when it becomes impossible to correct them which will create grounds for Will disputes. The service verifies your input during real-time validation which stops you from making typical errors before they happen.
LegalWills.ca has served Canadians since 2000, making it the country’s longest-running online Will service. The service has consistently high customer reviews, with users praising the ease of the process, the clarity of explanations, and the value for money. Many customers report completing their Will in under 20 minutes and feeling confident that their documents are legally sound. For those who have questions along the way, our support team is available to help at no additional charge.
Ready to get started? Skip the Will kit and create a proper, legally valid Will today. Read our six reasons to use an online Will service or go directly to our step-by-step guide.
Tim Hewson is one of the founders of LegalWills.ca.
He has over 20 years of experience helping people to write their Will and other estate planning documents. He has been interviewed by many of the major news media outlets including CTV, Global News, The Toronto Star, and other leading Canadian publications. He has also contributed to a number of financial planning books.
Throughout his career, Tim has written extensively on the subject of Will writing and estate planning.
