The following requisites to the making of a valid will
are necessary in all the Provinces of Canada. No person
under twenty-one years of age can make a valid will.
No imbecile, insane or interdicted person can make a
The testator must be of a sound mind.
All wills must be signed at the end of the will by the
All wills must be in writing. By "writing" is meant
either print, handwriting, typewriting, etc., and is used to
express that a will cannot be oral.
Two or more persons cannot make a will by one and the
There are three forms of wills: The notarial or
authentic; the English form and the holograph will. The
latter is only valid in Manitoba or Quebec.
The notarial or authentic form is executed before two
notaries or one notary and two other witnesses, neither of
whom shall be clerk or servant to the notary, the testator
in their presence and with them signs the will, or declares
he cannot do so after it has been read to him by one of the
notaries in the presence of the other, or by the notary in
the presence of the other witnesses. Mention is made in the
will of the observance of the formalities. The date and
place of its execution must be stated in the will. Witnesses
must be named and described in the will. They must be of the
male sex and of full age.
A will cannot be executed before notaries who are related
or allied to the testator or to each other in the direct
line, or in the degree of brothers, uncles, or nephews.
The original will remains with the notary and needs no
probate. Cannot be dictated by signs.
Wills made in the form derived from the laws of England,
whether they affect moveable or immoveable property, must be
in writing and signed at the end with the signature or mark
of the testator made by himself or by another for him in his
presence and under his express direction, which signature is
then or subsequently acknowledged by the testator as having
been subscribed by him to his will then produced, in
presence of at least two competent witnesses together, who
attest and sign the will immediately in the presence of each
other and of the testator and at his request.
Females may serve as attesting witnesses and the rules
concerning the competency of witnesses are the same in all
other respects as for will in authentic form.
Holograph will must be wholly written and signed by the
testator and require neither notaries or witnesses. They are
subject to no particular form.
In holograph wills and wills made in the form derived
from the laws of England, whatever comes after the signature
of the testator is looked upon as a new act, which in the
former case must likewise be written and signed by the
testator. In the latter case the attestation of witnesses
must follow each signature or come after the last as
witnessing the whole of the will preceding such signatures
with the same formalities as the original will.
Subsequent wills which do not revoke the preceding ones
in an express manner annul only such dispositions therein as
are inconsistent with or contrary to those contained in the
An heir accepting inheritance makes himself liable for
his share of debts due by the estate. The taking into his
possession as heir by an heir of anything belonging to the
estate makes an acceptance.
Any one witnessing a will bars his or her right to any
bequest in that will and nullifies any legacy lift to the
wife or husband of the witness.
Alberta and Saskatchewan (41)
No holograph form of will valid in Alberta and
Saskatchewan. The laws relating to the descent of real and
personal property are the same. A married woman is as free
to dispose of her property by will as a man.
Ord. 13, 1901. A man dying intestate leaving no issue the
whole of his property goes to his widow provided that prior
to his death such widow had not left him and lived in
adultery. If issue, one-third to widow, balance to issue in
equal shares. If no widow, or issue, or their
representatives, the father if living takes the whole. If no
widow, no issue or their representatives and no father
living the mother takes the whole.
Sec. 3. An illegitimate child inherits equally with a
legitimate child the property of a mother dying intestate.
Sec. 4. An illegitimate child dying intestate and leaving
no issue the mother is heir.