In Ontario, there are 2 types of legally-recognized wills:
- The holograph will, entirely written by hand and dated and signed by the testator, requires no witnesses but is easily contested;
- The will made in the presence of witnesses written by the testator or by an attorney. It is dated and signed by the testator before 2 witnesses of full age.
Trustees have to get a court-issued “Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee”, which is a document attesting to the authority of the estate trustee.
In order to get the “Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee”, statutory charges have to be paid on the value of the estate. Even if everyone is in agreement with the contents of the will, this procedure is generally required before the administration of the estate.