Make a Will Month in Canada: What to Do This November
November is Make a Will Month. Here is how the month works across Canada, what happens without a Will, and the simplest way through each step, whether you have a Will already or not.
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The short version
November is Make a Will Month, and it is a good reason to do a few things most of us have been putting off: get a Will done properly, name the people who would act for you, and make sure they could find what they need when the time comes. Here is how the month works across Canada, what happens without a Will, and the simplest way through each step, whether you have a Will already or not.
What is Make a Will Month?
Make a Will Month is an awareness month. In Ontario, the Ontario Bar Association has run it every November for years. Estate lawyers volunteer their time to give free information sessions through public libraries and community groups, in person and online, on what goes in a Will, what happens without one, and why Powers of Attorney matter just as much. You can find a session near you on the OBA site.
What happens without a Will
A CIBC poll from June 2026 found that 94% of Canadians surveyed believe everyone should have a Will, yet only 52% have one. People without a Will tend to say the same things: they have been meaning to draft one, they do not know where to start, or it feels like a job for later. Make a Will Month gives that job a deadline.
Here is what the Will does, and what goes missing without it.
Without a Will, your province decides who inherits
Dying without a Will is called dying intestate, and provincial law decides who inherits, not you. In most provinces a married spouse receives a fixed amount first, called the preferential share, and the rest is split with your children. The amount, the split, and whether a common-law partner counts as a spouse all depend on where you live. These rules apply only to what forms part of your estate. Some things you own are not part of it. A home or account owned jointly with a right of survivorship goes straight to the surviving owner. A registered account or life insurance policy with a named beneficiary goes straight to that person. The intestacy rules do not affect those assets.
| Province or territory | What a spouse receives first, when there are also children | Does a common-law partner count as a spouse? |
|---|---|---|
| Alberta | Everything, if all the children are also the spouse's. Otherwise the greater of $150,000 or half, with the rest to the children. | Yes, as an adult interdependent partner |
| British Columbia | Household furnishings plus $300,000 if all the children are also the spouse's, or $150,000 if any are not. Then half of what remains. | Yes, after two years in a marriage-like relationship |
| Manitoba | Everything, if all the children are also the spouse's. Otherwise the greater of $50,000 or half, then half of what remains. | Yes, if registered, after three years together, or after one year with a child together |
| New Brunswick | The deceased's share of the marital property. Then half of what remains with one child, or one third with more. | No |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | Nothing first. Half with one child, or one third with more. | No |
| Northwest Territories | $100,000, or the family home in its place. Then half with one child, or one third with more. | Yes, after two years, or sooner with a child together |
| Nova Scotia | $50,000, or the family home in its place. Then half with one child, or one third with more. | Only if registered as domestic partners |
| Nunavut | $50,000, or the family home in its place. Then half with one child, or one third with more. | Yes, after two years, or sooner with a child together |
| Ontario | $350,000 (for deaths on or after March 1, 2021). Then half with one child, or one third with more. | No |
| Prince Edward Island | Nothing first. Half with one child, or one third with more. A new Act, not yet in force, will give the spouse everything when all the children are also theirs. | Unclear under the current Act. The new Act will count a partner after three years together or with a child together. |
| Quebec | Nothing first. After the couple's shared property is divided, the spouse receives one third and the children two thirds. | Only a parental union spouse: unmarried parents of a child born or adopted on or after June 30, 2025, or couples who opted in. Other common-law partners do not. |
| Saskatchewan | Everything, if all the children are also the spouse's. Otherwise the first $200,000, then half of what remains with one child, or one third with more. | Yes, after two years |
| Yukon | $75,000, plus the household furnishings and the right to live in the family home for life. Then half of what remains with one child, or one third with more. | No, but a partner can apply to the court for a share |
Legal rules last reviewed October 2026. Sources: the intestacy legislation of each province and territory: Alberta, Wills and Succession Act; British Columbia, Wills, Estates and Succession Act; Manitoba, Intestate Succession Act; New Brunswick, Devolution of Estates Act; Newfoundland and Labrador, Intestate Succession Act; Northwest Territories, Intestate Succession Act; Nova Scotia, Intestate Succession Act; Nunavut, Intestate Succession Act; Ontario, Succession Law Reform Act; Prince Edward Island, Probate Act; Quebec, Civil Code of Quebec; Saskatchewan, The Intestate Succession Act, 2019; Yukon, Estate Administration Act.
Here is what that looks like in Ontario. Mark dies at 41 without a Will. He leaves his wife, Sarah, and two children, aged seven and four. The house, worth $900,000, is in his name, along with $200,000 in investments. His estate, after debts, is $1.1 million.
Without a Will, Sarah receives the first $350,000 and one third of the remaining $750,000, for a total of $600,000. Their children receive the other $500,000, or $250,000 each. Sarah cannot simply hold the children's money for them. It is paid into court and held and invested by the Accountant of the Superior Court of Justice until each child turns 18. If Sarah wants to manage it herself, she must apply to the court and file a plan for how she will do it. If she needs some of the funds to raise the children, she must apply for that too, through the Office of the Children's Lawyer.
Most of the estate value is the house. To pay the children their $500,000 share, Sarah may have to sell the house and move.
At 18, each child receives their full share in one payment, with no conditions attached, regardless of what is happening in their lives at the time.
If Mark and Sarah had never married, Sarah would inherit nothing from Mark's estate. In Ontario, a common-law partner is not a spouse under these rules, so the entire estate, house included, would go to the children and be held in court until they turn 18.
With a Will, Mark could have left everything to Sarah, or set the children's shares in a trust she manages, to be paid out at ages chosen by Mark.
The formula can be challenged, in two ways. In Ontario, a married spouse can choose instead to take the share of the couple's property they would receive in a divorce, called an equalization payment. That is a form filed within six months of the death, not a lawsuit. It pays more than the formula only in some situations; for Sarah, it would pay less. Several other provinces give a surviving spouse a similar right. Separately, a spouse or dependant who is left short can ask a court for support from the estate. Every province allows this, but it is a lawsuit against the estate: a lawyer, a court application, months or longer, and legal fees, often paid out of the estate itself.
Most married people with children incorrectly assume their spouse would receive everything if they die without a Will. In most provinces, the formula says otherwise: the children take a share, the court holds it if they are minors, and the estate may pay tax a spouse would not owe. If you are in a second marriage or a common-law relationship, or have children from more than one relationship, the gap between the formula and what you would have chosen is even wider. A Will replaces the formula with your own decisions.
No one is named to care for your children
In Ontario, a Will is a document in which you name who should care for your children if both parents die. The appointment is temporary, and the person you named must agree to act. It lasts 90 days, and if they apply to the court for a permanent order within that window, it continues until the court decides. The court makes the final decision based on the child's best interests, with your wishes as the starting point. Without a Will, the court starts without your input.
A Will does nothing while you are alive
A Will only takes effect on death. If you are alive but cannot make decisions, a Power of Attorney is a document that lets the person you chose pay your bills, deal with your bank or make care decisions for you. Without one, decisions about your care fall to whomever provincial law puts first in line, usually your spouse or closest relative. Decisions about your money and property do not: no one, not even your spouse, can act without a formal application. In Ontario that means a Continuing Power of Attorney for Property and a Power of Attorney for Personal Care. Other provinces use different names. British Columbia pairs an Enduring Power of Attorney with a Representation Agreement, Alberta pairs an Enduring Power of Attorney with a Personal Directive, and Quebec uses a single Protection Mandate for both, which a court must approve before it takes effect. If you are doing a Will this month, it is worth doing both at the same time; the OBA's sessions cover Powers of Attorney alongside the Will for that reason.
Step one: Get a Will done properly
Decide the people first
A Will is the last step, not the first. Before anyone drafts it, you decide who administers your estate (your executor, called an estate trustee in Ontario), who would step in if they cannot, who holds your Powers of Attorney for property and personal care, and, if you have minor children, who would raise them. These are the same decisions whether you use a lawyer or an online service, and they are the ones people get stuck on.
Two free tools help:
- Estate Kit's Help Me Choose tool compares up to three people for the same role, whether that is your executor, a Power of Attorney or a guardian, and it takes under five minutes. For an executor, it scores each person on factors that matter for the job: whether they are legally eligible, whether they will follow your wishes, how they handle money, how organized they are, how they deal with conflict and stress, how discreet they are, and whether they live close enough to act. You decide how much each one counts, and you see who in your life is best placed for each role.
- 15 Questions to Answer Before You Make Your Will walks through every decision a Will covers, in order, from executor to digital accounts.
Choose your route
You do not need a lawyer for a Will to be valid, as long as it meets your province's signing and witnessing rules. Which route you choose will depend on your situation.
An online Will service, or a general-practice lawyer who prepares Wills, can work well if your situation is simple: one marriage, children you share, everything in one province, and no business.
A lawyer whose practice focuses on estate planning is the right choice if any of these apply:
- Children from an earlier relationship, or a second marriage with obligations to a former spouse
- You own a business, a farm or a professional practice
- A child or dependant with a disability
- Property or accounts outside your province or Canada
- Separated but not yet divorced
- You want tax planning built into the Will
Working with an estate lawyer. Look for a lawyer whose practice focuses on estate planning, usually listed as Wills and Estates. Our guide How to Find an Estate Lawyer in Canada covers what kind of lawyer you need, what it costs, every province's referral service, and the questions to ask before you hire. It comes with a free printable guide you can take to the first meeting.
Using an online Will service. If your situation is straightforward, an online Will can be an affordable option. Willful is a Canadian online Will platform and an Estate Kit partner. Estate Kit users save 20% on a Willful plan. You can add it at checkout or any time from inside your Estate Kit.
Don't have a Will yet? Start with the groundwork
Estate Kit guided setup helping you choose an executor, guardian and who inherits what before making a Will
Most of the time spent making a Will is spent gathering: who you want in each role, what you own and owe, who depends on you, where things are. Estate Kit asks those questions in plain language and keeps the answers in one place, so that when you sit down with a lawyer or open an online service, the time goes to the Will itself rather than to paperwork. If you use a lawyer, your Legal Onboarding Summary puts it all in one document to share once you have retained them.
With the free trial, you can also complete Estate Insights. Answer 30 yes-or-no questions in under five minutes and see which estate planning decisions matter most for your family, finances and wishes, and why. Estate Kit's estate planning insights are reviewed by experienced Canadian estate lawyers.
Try Estate Kit free for 7 days. No credit card required.
Work through the decisions a Will needs, keep what your family would look for in one place, and bring in the people who may one day step in.
Step two: Make sure the people you named can act
A Will names the people. Readiness lets them act.
This is the part Make a Will Month tends to skip. A signed Will names an executor and divides an estate. It does not tell that executor which bank you use, where original documents are kept, what insurance you hold, who your accountant is, how to get into your phone, or what you wanted for your funeral.
Those are the questions a family faces first, and the answers are often in someone's head, a drawer, and a dozen logins.
Since June, more than 1,300 people have completed our free Estate Readiness Assessment. While nine in ten in this group have a Will, fewer than one in five scored high enough to be considered estate-ready, and nearly 40% were not yet or only partially there. The full findings are in What 1,300 Canadians told us about estate readiness.
Estate readiness is the work of making sure the people you chose can do the job. It has three parts.
Legal readiness
- Your Will is signed and witnessed according to your province's rules
- Your Powers of Attorney (or your province's equivalent) are signed
- Your beneficiary designations on RRSPs, TFSAs and insurance still reflect your wishes and work with your Will
Information readiness
- Your executor knows where the original Will is kept
- Your accounts, policies, debts and professional contacts are listed in one place your executor can reach
- Someone can get into your phone and your primary email; those two unlock almost everything else
Human readiness
- Your executor has agreed to the role and knows what it involves
- The people you named in your Powers of Attorney know they have been named
- Your family knows a plan exists and where to start
| The Will settles this | Your family still has to find this |
|---|---|
| Who your executor is | Everything the executor needs to actually do the job: where the original Will is, which accounts, policies and debts exist, who your accountant, advisor and lawyer are, and how to reach them. |
| Who inherits what | What there is to inherit, where it is held, and roughly what it is worth. The Will names people. It does not list everything you own. |
| Who would care for your children | How you hoped they would be raised, who else matters in their lives, and what you set aside for them. |
| What you wanted done | Why you decided what you decided. A Will gives instructions, not reasons, and a short explanation can prevent arguments later. |
The quickest way to see where you stand is our free Estate Readiness Assessment: twelve questions, about five minutes, a score across all three parts, and no account needed. If you want to go deeper, two of our Knowledge Hub articles are a good place to start: What Is Estate Planning? A Practical Guide for Canadians and The 3 Estate Planning Documents Every Canadian Needs.
Already have a Will? Read it this month
One in four people with a Will who took the assessment said theirs may be outdated. Many of us have not read our Will since the day we signed it. This month, take it out and check four things:
- Could the executor you named still take it on?
- Does it reflect your family as it is today?
- Does it say when your children should inherit, or does it leave that to the age of majority?
- Does your executor know where it is?
If something has changed, the lawyer who drafted it or an online Will service can update it.
Reading a Will can be difficult. It is written for lawyers, and the answers to those four questions are spread across pages of it.
Upload a copy to Estate Kit, or take a photo of it, and Will Insights reads the Will for you. In plain language, it shows who you named, who inherits what, and the wishes you recorded, confirms it still reflects your situation and current wishes, and flags anything worth a closer look. You review the key details before they are saved to the right sections of your Estate Kit, where your family will find them alongside everything else they need. Your information is protected by institutional-grade security.
Estate Kit Will Insights explaining a Will in plain English and flagging a detail worth a closer look
Try Estate Kit free for 7 days. No credit card required.
Upload your Will, understand what it says, and see the gaps your family would run into.
Questions families ask
Important information
This page is published for general information and educational purposes only. Nothing herein is legal, tax, accounting, financial or family law advice, and nothing herein is a substitute for advice from a qualified professional who knows your situation.
The descriptions of Wills, Powers of Attorney, guardianship, intestacy, executors and estate administration on this page are generalities. The rules differ by province and territory and change over time, and how they apply depends on individual facts. The province-by-province table and the Ontario example are illustrations of how the rules work, not a statement of what would happen in any particular case. The legal rules on this page were last reviewed in October 2026 and are only a summary of rules that generally apply in most situations; check the current legislation, linked under the table, before relying on any figure or related information.
Estate Kit Inc. is not a law firm, accounting firm or financial advisor, and does not provide legal, tax, accounting or financial advice or services. Estate Kit helps people organize their information and prepare the people they have named; it does not prepare legal documents or give advice on their contents. Estate Kit Inc. makes no representation that the information on this page is complete or accurate for any particular purpose, and accepts no liability for decisions made in reliance thereupon. Readers should obtain professional advice before acting on anything described herein. Use of this website is governed by our Terms of Use.
