What makes a will legally valid?

Four things. Get all four right and you have a valid will, whether it was drafted by a lawyer, typed on a platform like this one, or filled in on a form from a stationery shop.

1. It must be in writing

Every province requires this. A video recording of your wishes, a voice memo, a text message to your daughter — none of these is a will in Ontario, British Columbia or Alberta.

2. You must have capacity, and must intend it to be your will

Legal capacity to make a will means, roughly, that you understand you are making a will and what a will does, have a general idea of what you own, and know who might reasonably expect to inherit from you.

The bar is not high, and it is assessed at the moment you sign. But it is the ground on which most will challenges are fought, usually years later. If there is any realistic chance someone will argue you lacked capacity or were pressured, use a lawyer — their file notes become the evidence that defends your will.

3. You must sign it

You sign at the end of the document. If you physically cannot sign, all three provinces allow someone else to sign on your behalf, in your presence and at your direction, though the formalities are stricter.

4. Two witnesses must witness it correctly

This is the requirement that actually fails.

Both witnesses must be present when you sign — or when you acknowledge a signature you already made — and both must then sign the will themselves while you are present. All three of you in the same place at the same time.

Your witness ages differ by province — 18 in Ontario and Alberta, 19 in British Columbia. Your executor can be a witness, since being executor is a job rather than a gift, but if your will also leaves your executor a bequest, that bequest is at risk.

The provincial differences in full

The two that trip people up:

Handwritten wills. Valid in Ontario (Succession Law Reform Act s 6) and Alberta (Wills and Succession Act s 16) if written wholly in your own hand and signed by you — no witnesses needed. Not valid in British Columbia.

Electronic wills. Valid in British Columbia since 1 December 2021. In Ontario, remote witnessing over video is permitted if at least one witness is a Law Society of Ontario licensee, but the will is still signed on paper. In Alberta, not permitted at all.

What if you get it slightly wrong?

British Columbia is the forgiving one. WESA section 58 lets a court declare that a document represents your intentions even if it does not meet the formal requirements. Ontario has a narrower validation power; Alberta has one too. But all of them require a court application, which means a lawyer, a delay of months, and a bill your estate pays. Curing a defect costs vastly more than avoiding it.

Things that do not affect validity

• Notarisation. Not required for a will in any of the three provinces.
• A lawyer’s involvement. Not required.
• Registration. No province requires you to register a will.
• Initialling every page. Common practice, sensible for guarding against substitution, but not a validity requirement.
• Paper colour, font, or fancy language. “Being of sound mind and body” does nothing. Plain English is fine and clearer.

Next

Read the witnessing rules in detail before you pick your two people — it is the cheapest hour you will spend on this.