Personal Finance

Personal Will Registration / Lawyer Certification

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  • May 19th, 2011 2:47 pm
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May 4, 2006
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Personal Will Registration / Lawyer Certification

Sorry all if this is not the correct thread but wasn't sure where to post this. MODs / Admins feel to move if it does not fit here.

I was wondering, we have created a personal will (for our home/money etc) on our own and need to know if a lawyer should atest or authorize it? Or is it possible to register it in the Toronto City Hall?

Any ideas/tips? :confused:

Also, anyone familiar with: LegalDeeds.Com ???
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rsarwar wrote: Sorry all if this is not the correct thread but wasn't sure where to post this. MODs / Admins feel to move if it does not fit here.

I was wondering, we have created a personal will (for our home/money etc) on our own and need to know if a lawyer should atest or authorize it? Or is it possible to register it in the Toronto City Hall?

Any ideas/tips? :confused:

Also, anyone familiar with: LegalDeeds.Com ???

For a will to be valid in Ontario, if you didn't write it out by hand entirely, there needs to be at least two witnesses (who are not getting anything under the will) present at the time you sign the will (this makes sure that people saw you sign the will instead of a forger and that the people who saw you sign it didn't force you to do it).

Lawyers are generally good witnesses because they generally won't get anything under the will :razz: but seriously, you don't need a lawyer to attest or authorize it because you authorize the will (by signing it) and others witness your authorization (by signing that they saw you sign it).

I'm pretty sure there's no registry of wills prior to the death occurring.

You keep the originals in a safe place (usually lawyer's office and/or safety deposit box), but once the person dies, THEN the will has to be registered with the court if you want to get probate (i.e., to allow the executor to deal with the deceased's financial assets held by financial institutions such as banks), which involves paying probate taxes which is based on the value of the estate.

Never heard of legaldeeds.com but there are threads about will kits which this looks to be.
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ShopperfiendTO wrote: For a will to be valid in Ontario, if you didn't write it out by hand entirely, there needs to be at least two witnesses (who are not getting anything under the will) present at the time you sign the will (this makes sure that people saw you sign the will instead of a forger and that the people who saw you sign it didn't force you to do it).

Lawyers are generally good witnesses because they generally won't get anything under the will :razz: but seriously, you don't need a lawyer to attest or authorize it because you authorize the will (by signing it) and others witness your authorization (by signing that they saw you sign it).

I'm pretty sure there's no registry of wills prior to the death occurring.

You keep the originals in a safe place (usually lawyer's office and/or safety deposit box), but once the person dies, THEN the will has to be registered with the court if you want to get probate (i.e., to allow the executor to deal with the deceased's financial assets held by financial institutions such as banks), which involves paying probate taxes which is based on the value of the estate.

Never heard of legaldeeds.com but there are threads about will kits which this looks to be.
Thank you ShopperfiendTO :) We have signed it along with two witnesses who won't get anything under the will. We were just concerned that it is something that has to be done via a Lawyer. So to clarify once a person dies then it will have to be registered with court to have an executor deal with the deceased financial assets and/or property as well?
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rsarwar wrote: Thank you ShopperfiendTO :) We have signed it along with two witnesses who won't get anything under the will. We were just concerned that it is something that has to be done via a Lawyer. So to clarify once a person dies then it will have to be registered with court to have an executor deal with the deceased financial assets and/or property as well?

Doing it via a lawyer provides two tangible benefits:

1. They usually keep a signed copy of the will so that there isn't a need to go on a scavenger hunt after the death.
2. They should make sure that what you want to happen to your property is actually what's written in the will. This is especially important if you have a complex situation (prior marriages and children and/or assets) and/or complex wishes.

The power to create the will comes from the person making the will; lawyers make it easier to understand and ask questions you might not have thought about. It's up to you to decide if these are worth the lawyers' fees.

In your last sentence, I am guessing you mean land, as in your house, when you say "property".

If yes, then you will probably need to get the will probated in court because dealings with land can only be performed by lawyers in Ontario now, and although I may be wrong, I don't think a lawyer's going to want to do anything without first confirming that the will is the probated (i.e., court-sanctioned) one.

Just so you know, if your house is held in joint tenancy with your spouse, when you die, your share automatically goes to your spouse and you just have to get the lawyer to change this on title to your house. For this, the death certificate is more important than the probated will.

I've re-read your posts. You are really asking two questions here:

1. Is a lawyer required to make a valid will? (Answer: no, but they can be helpful in making sure your will actually reflects your wishes), and
2. Does a will need to be probated (which is essentially registered with the court) to be able to deal with the deceased's land? (Answer: technically no, but in practice, yes)

Good luck.

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