registering

There is no official way of registering a Will in Canada until after it is probated. There is a common misconception that once you have written your Will, it must be registered in order to be accepted as a legal Will. In fact, your Will is a document that is updated throughout your lifetime and just kept somewhere safe that is known and accessible to your Executor. Your Will is only registered after you have passed away, and it becomes your official Last Will and Testament. The document then becomes public record.

The Canada Will Registry

We receive a call almost daily that sounds something like:

“My father has recently died. We know he had a Will, but we can’t find it. What can we do?”

The simple answer is, keep looking. If you die, and nobody can find your Will, the result is exactly the same as dying without a Will. It is called “dying intestate” and your estate will be distributed according to Provincial laws.

All of the time (and money) that you put into preparing your Will counts for nothing if nobody can find it.

Canada Will Registry

Will Registry in Canada

There are some confusing aspects of Will Registration to clear up first.

Every Will in Canada is registered after it is probated. Most Wills in Canada are probated, but this happens after you have died. If you are looking for the Will of somebody who has died, then you can usually find the Will with an application to the local probate courts.

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Customer question of the day: How to Register a Will

Register a WillWe get this question a lot. “Once I have prepared my Last Will and Testament, and signed it in the presence of two witnesses, what do I do with it to make it legal? How do I register a Will?”

When do you register a Will?

In Canada, there is no way to register a Will until after you have died, and at this time, the Will is registered with the probate courts. In some Provinces, like British Columbia, you are able to register the location of your Will for a fee, with the department of vital statistics. British Columbia is the only Province to offer this.

There is also a private company called Notice Connect working to establish a nationwide centralized registry of Wills. We do partner with Notice Connect who offer free Will registration for LegalWills.ca customers. Again, at the Canada Will Registry you register the location of your Will, they do not store the document itself.

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