Alberta's Wills and Succession Act sets its own signing rules: a formal will needs two witnesses present at the same time, and a holograph will needs no witnesses at all.
Applies in: Alberta
Alberta wills are governed by the Wills and Succession Act, and the Act gives you two home-grown forms. A formal will under section 15 is a writing you sign, or acknowledge your signature on, in the presence of two witnesses who are both present at the same time, with each witness then signing in your presence. A holograph will under section 16 is a writing wholly in your own handwriting, signed by you, with no witness and no other formality. Pick one form and follow its rules exactly. This guide covers the signing process only. It gives no advice on what your will should say.
Section 13 of the Act sets the floor: an individual who is 18 years of age or older may make, alter or revoke a will if the individual has the mental capacity to do so. A person under 18 may make a will only if they have capacity and fall inside one of the exceptions the Act lists, such as being or having been married or in an adult interdependent relationship, being a member of the Canadian Forces placed on active service, or being authorized by a court order under section 36.
Section 14 then sets three requirements for any valid Alberta will. It must be made in writing. It must carry your signature in a way that makes it apparent on the face of the document that you intended, by signing, to give effect to the writing as your will. And, subject to a court order under section 37, it must be made in accordance with section 15, 16 or 17.
Formal will (section 15). This is the typed or printed will most people sign at a lawyer's office or at home with two witnesses in the room. The mechanics are in Step 3.
Holograph will (section 16). Section 16 reads: a will may be made by a writing that is wholly in the testator's own handwriting and signed by the testator without the presence or signature of a witness or any other formality. Wholly means wholly. A printed form with the blanks filled in by hand is not a holograph will, because the document is not entirely in your handwriting.
Military will (section 17). A member of the Canadian Forces on active service under the National Defence Act (Canada), or a member of another naval, land or air force on active service, may make a will by signing it, with no witness and no other formality.
Section 15 has two moving parts, and both have to happen:
One more signature rule sits in section 19. If you cannot sign yourself, another individual may sign on your behalf, at your direction and in your presence. That person is then barred from also acting as a witness to your signature under section 20(2).
Section 20 says a witness needs the mental capacity to act as one, and a will is not invalid just because a witness was a beneficiary. The cost of a beneficiary-witness lands somewhere else: section 21 makes a beneficial gift void when it is made to a person who acted as a witness to your signature, to the person who signed the will on your behalf, to an interpreter who provided translation services for the making of the will, or to the spouse or adult interdependent partner of any of those people. The gift fails; the rest of the will does not.
Two exceptions matter. A gift to a witness is not void if your signature was witnessed by at least two other individuals, and the court can validate a gift to a witness by order under section 40 where it is satisfied you intended the gift and no improper or undue influence was exercised. Neither exception is a plan. Pick two adult witnesses who take nothing under the will and are not married to anyone who does.
Alberta allows remote witnessing, but ties it to a lawyer. Under section 19.1, people are deemed to be in each other's presence for sections 15 and 19 while connected by an electronic method of communication in which they can see, hear and communicate with each other in real time. That deemed presence applies only if a lawyer who is an active member under the Legal Profession Act is providing you with legal advice and services respecting the making, signing and witnessing of the will. Where a will is signed this way, everyone can sign complete, identical copies in counterpart, and together those copies constitute the will. A video signing arranged without the lawyer does not get the benefit of section 19.1.
Section 19(2) says a will is not invalid because your signature is not placed at the end, if it appears you intended the signature to give effect to the will — but section 19(3) presumes you did not intend to give effect to anything written below your signature, and section 19(4) says your signature gives no effect to anything added after the will was made. Sign at the end, and do not write on the will afterwards.
Changes follow section 22: an alteration is valid only if it is made the same way the will itself was made — a formal will's alteration under section 15, a holograph will's alteration under section 16 — or the court validates it under section 38. Crossing out a clause and initialling the change is not enough on a formal will.
Revocation is closed list under section 23: another will, a writing declaring an intention to revoke that is itself made the way a will is made, or burning, tearing or otherwise destroying the will with the intention of revoking it (or having someone else do that in your presence, at your direction, with that intention). Marriage does not revoke an Alberta will, as the FAQ above sets out.
The Wills and Succession Act sets the signing rules but does not set a fee for making a will, a government filing fee, or a registry where a will must be deposited, so this guide states none. The Act also does not publish a standard will form or a self-help kit for Alberta. Section 37's court validation for a non-compliant writing requires clear and convincing evidence of testamentary intention; the Act does not state what that application costs or how long it takes, so this guide gives neither figure.
18. Section 13 of the Wills and Succession Act says an individual who is 18 years of age or older may make, alter or revoke a will if they have the mental capacity to do so. A person under 18 can make a will only in narrow cases the Act lists, including being or having been married or in an adult interdependent relationship, being a member of the Canadian Forces on active service, or being authorized by a court order under section 36.
For a formal will, yes: two of them, both present at the same time when you sign or acknowledge your signature, and each witness then signs in your presence. For a holograph will, no: section 16 lets you make a will by a writing that is wholly in your own handwriting and signed by you, with no witness and no other formality.
They can sign as a witness, but section 21 of the Act voids a beneficial gift made to a person who acted as a witness, to the person who signed the will on your behalf, to an interpreter who translated during the making of the will, or to the spouse or adult interdependent partner of any of them. The rest of the will stands. Use two witnesses who receive nothing under the will.
Yes, in one set-up only. Section 19.1 deems people to be in each other's presence while connected by an electronic method of communication in which they can see, hear and communicate with each other in real time, but it applies only when a lawyer who is an active member under the Legal Profession Act is providing you with legal advice and services about the making, signing and witnessing of the will. The signing can be done in counterpart on complete, identical copies.
No. Section 23(2) of the Act says no will, whenever made, is revoked by a marriage that occurs on or after February 1, 2012, or by entering into an adult interdependent partner agreement on or after that date. Divorce works the other way: under section 25, gifts and appointments in favour of a former spouse or former adult interdependent partner are treated as revoked unless the court finds a contrary intention in the will.
It may still be saved, but only by a court. Section 37 lets the court order that a writing is valid as a will, despite it not being made under section 15, 16 or 17, if the court is satisfied on clear and convincing evidence that the writing sets out your testamentary intentions and was intended by you to be your will. That is an application your estate has to make after your death, so signing correctly in the first place is the cheaper path.