Wills & Estates Frequently Asked Questions

If you want to write your own will, here are the main things you will need to include:

1. Your full name
2. Statement that this will is your last will and testament
3. Full date when you are writing your will
4. The person who you choose to be the Executor(s) to administer you estate
5. Your wishes
6. Your signature along with signatures from two witnesses.

To avoid a conflict of interest, choose a seperate witness from the beneficiary.

The executor is the person who is legally responsible for overseeing and settling your will and estates. This person has a number of duties and responsibilities:

1. File a copy of your original will with the local probate office
2. Notify the banks, credit card companies and other institutions
3. Maintain any property until it is distributed
4. Pay the taxes and the debts of your estate.

This is a very important role of your will and you must be certain of who you choose. This person can also be a beneficiary of your will. You can choose among your family members (must be an adult) or a trustworthy friend. If this becomes a much more complicated matter, choose someone with estate expertise like a Wills & Estate lawyer. If you prefer, you may choose joint executors, a combination of a person of your choosing and a lawyer.

If your family discovers more than one will, the court will generally prefer the most recent version to settle the assets. You should consult with a lawyer to determine next steps, including whether an application to the court is required.

If you have lost your will, this wouldn’t automatically revoke your will. A true copy of the original can be used to obtain a grant of probate. If this is not present the estate will be distributed according to a previous will or intestacy. Dealing with a lost will is very difficult, make sure you keep your original will in safe and accessible place. You may want to keep a copy with the executor or beneficiary.

As the testator, you can destroy your will which will then be revoked. You may destroy it by burning or tearing it. If you are planning on writing a new will, the previous one maybe destroyed like this.

it is very important that your Will is kept in a safe place – somewhere that is secure, dry, and ideally fire-proof. We do not recommend that you keep your will in a safety deposit box, or anywhere that you do not have easy access and full control.

Dying without a valid will means that your estate in intestate (you have left no instructions on how you want your estate to be settled). This is where the Ontario Succession Law Reform Act will step in and govern how your property will be settled among your relatives.

Not having a valid will can cause many problems, and so we highly recommend that you make a will. 

A marriage may revoke a will, depending on the timing of when you made your will and when you were married. It is important to consult with an Estates lawyer to advise you respecting your situation. 

In the case of a divorce, your will won’t be revoked. The parts that will be revoked from your spouse whom can longer be your executor, trustee or guardian, and anything left to your former spouse will now go to someone else. If you do get a divorce, revoke your previous will and write a new one immediately.

A joint will that is signed by the two spouses will leave their assets and property to each other, while a separate will can cover each other separately.

A joint will is “locked in” after one of the spouses die, and it can be a burden for the living spouse to update and make changes. Since you still have independent estates, consider getting a separate will or even a mirror will. A mirror will be identical to a joint will, but this can be updated at any time like a separate will.

If you want to revoke (cancel) a previous will, start with writing a new will, as you should avoid dying without a will.