How to Make a Will in Canada: Types & Requirements

A valid will in Canada must meet the signing and witnessing rules of the province where you live, and the right type of will (formal, holograph, or one of Quebec's civil law forms) depends on that province and your situation.

Why a Valid Will Matters

A will is the legal document that says who receives your property, who raises your minor children, and who is responsible for winding up your affairs after you die. Provincial law, not federal law, governs wills and estates in Canada, so the exact rules for signing, witnessing, and revoking a will vary by province and territory.

Getting the formalities wrong is one of the most common reasons a will is challenged or rejected at probate. A court can refuse to recognize a document as a valid will if it was not signed or witnessed the way the applicable provincial Wills Act (or, in Quebec, the Civil Code of Quebec) requires.

The Three Types of Will Recognized in Canada

Formal (attested) wills

A formal will is typed or printed, signed by the testator (the person making the will), and signed by two witnesses who watch the testator sign and then sign in the testator's presence. This is the most common and most reliably enforceable will format across every common law province.

A critical rule: a witness (or that witness's spouse) generally cannot also be a beneficiary. If a beneficiary witnesses the will, the gift to that person can be voided even though the rest of the will remains valid. This is why lawyers use independent witnesses, such as staff at a law office, rather than family members.

Holograph wills

A holograph will is entirely in the testator's own handwriting and signed, with no witnesses required. It is recognized in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador, among others, as a valid alternative to a formal will.

Holograph wills are risky in practice. Because there are no witnesses, courts have less independent evidence of the testator's capacity and intent at the time of signing, which makes a holograph will more vulnerable to challenge, and a partially typed or partially handwritten document can fail entirely if it is not wholly in the testator's own hand.

British Columbia does not treat the traditional unwitnessed holograph will as its normal route. Under BC's Wills, Estates and Succession Act (WESA), a will generally still needs two witnesses to be valid on its face. BC's real safety net for imperfect documents is different: WESA section 58 gives the BC Supreme Court discretion to "cure" a document that does not meet the formal signing requirements, such as an unwitnessed handwritten note or a saved electronic file, if the court is satisfied it represents the deceased's fixed and final testamentary intentions. This is a court application after death, not a substitute for making a properly signed will while you are able to.

Ontario's Small Estate Certificate context

Ontario also simplified probate paperwork for smaller estates: since April 1, 2021, estates valued at $150,000 or less can use a Small Estate Certificate process with reduced documentation. This affects how the estate is probated, not how the will itself must be signed.

Quebec's three forms

Quebec follows the Civil Code of Quebec rather than a common law Wills Act, and it recognizes three forms of will:

1. Notarial will: prepared and signed before a notary and a witness (or two witnesses in some circumstances). Because a notarial will is an authentic act kept in the notary's registry, it does not need to be probated (verified) after death, which saves the estate both time and a court step.
2. Holograph will: entirely handwritten and signed by the testator, with no witnesses, similar to the common law version. It must still be judicially or notarially verified after death.
3. Will made before witnesses: signed by the testator and declared to be their will in front of two witnesses, who also sign. This form must also be verified after death.

Only the notarial will skips the post-death verification step in Quebec, which is one reason it is the most commonly recommended form there.

Electronic Wills

Several provinces have moved to accommodate electronic wills, in force since 2021 in British Columbia under WESA. Where permitted, an electronic will must still meet an equivalent signing and witnessing standard, often through audio-video technology, and the rules are specific about format and storage. Check your province's current Wills Act or equivalent before relying on an electronic signature, since not every province has adopted this yet.

Legal Requirements to Make a Valid Will

Across Canada, three basic legal requirements apply, whatever format is used:

• Age: You generally must have reached the age of majority to make a will, though most provinces carve out exceptions for a minor who is married, in the armed forces, or a mariner at sea.
• Testamentary capacity: You must understand the nature of making a will, the extent of your property, and who might reasonably expect to benefit from your estate, at the time you sign.
• Intention: The document must reflect your genuine, voluntary intention to dispose of your property on death, free from undue pressure from anyone who stands to benefit.

What a Complete Will Should Address

A will that only names an executor and one beneficiary often leaves gaps. A well-drafted will typically covers:

• Executor (called an estate trustee in Ontario, a liquidator in Quebec): the person or trust company responsible for administering the estate, plus at least one alternate in case the first choice cannot serve.
• Guardians for minor children: naming a guardian in a will does not bind a court, but it is the single strongest piece of evidence a court considers.
• Specific gifts: particular items or amounts left to named people or organizations.
• Residue clause: who receives everything left over after debts, taxes, and specific gifts are paid out. A will without a residue clause can leave part of the estate to fall into intestacy even though a will exists.
• Alternate beneficiaries: what happens if a named beneficiary dies before you do.

Will Types by Province

Compare estate settlement paths in detail on our Canada wills and probate hub and see the difference between Quebec's own formats on notarial vs. holograph wills.

Why a DIY or Unwitnessed Will Risks Being Challenged

Online will kits and homemade documents are not automatically invalid, but they fail more often than lawyer-prepared wills for a few recurring reasons:

• Missing or improper witnessing (a spouse or beneficiary signs as witness, or only one witness signs).
• A holograph will that is only partly in the testator's own handwriting, which can void the whole document in provinces that require it to be wholly handwritten.
• No residue clause, leaving part of the estate to intestacy.
• Ambiguous language about which assets a gift is meant to cover, inviting a dispute among beneficiaries.
• No revocation clause, creating uncertainty about whether an earlier will was replaced or simply supplemented.

If a will is successfully challenged or found invalid, the estate can end up distributed under provincial intestacy rules instead of the deceased's actual wishes, which is exactly the outcome a will is meant to prevent. See what happens without a will for how each province's intestate succession rules work.

Updating or Revoking a Will

A will is not a one-time document. Life events that should trigger a review include marriage, separation or divorce, the birth of children, a move to another province, and significant changes in assets.

Marriage and wills: at common law, marriage traditionally revoked an existing will automatically, unless the will was made in contemplation of that marriage. This has been changing:

• Ontario repealed the automatic revocation-by-marriage rule effective January 1, 2022, so a will made before marriage now generally remains valid afterward.
• British Columbia removed automatic revocation on marriage when WESA came into force.
• Several other provinces still apply the older automatic-revocation rule, so always confirm the current rule in your own province before assuming an old will still stands after a marriage.

Divorce, by contrast, generally does not revoke an entire will in most provinces. Instead, it typically revokes gifts and appointments made in favour of the former spouse specifically, treating the will as if that person had predeceased the testator, unless the will says otherwise.

A will can be updated with a codicil (a short, separately witnessed amendment) for minor changes, or replaced entirely with a new will that includes a clause revoking all earlier wills. For anything beyond a small, isolated change, a fresh will is usually clearer than stacking codicils. Once your will is signed, your executor's duties and, where required, probate costs can be estimated with our Canada probate fee calculator.

Disclaimer: This article provides general information about Canadian wills law and is not legal advice. Wills, probate, and estate rules vary by province and change over time. Consult a lawyer or notary licensed in your province before making, signing, or relying on a will.