How to Write a Will in New Brunswick

The short answer

Write it down, sign it at the end, and have two witnesses present at the same time who also sign in your presence — or write the whole will by hand and sign it. New Brunswick wills are governed by the Wills Act, chapter W-9. A will is valid only when it is in writing. This guide covers New Brunswick only: wills law is provincial, and a form that is valid in one province may not meet the requirements of another. It gives process steps only and no legal advice.

Who can make a will

A person may by will dispose of all real and personal property, whether acquired before or after making the will, to which they are entitled at law or in equity at the time of death.

A will made by a person under nineteen is not valid unless, at the time of making it, the person is or has been married, is a member of a component of the Canadian Forces that is a regular force or is on active service, or is a mariner or seaman. A person who made a will under one of those exceptions may revoke it while still under nineteen.

What goes in the will

The will states who receives your property and names the executor — the person who will carry out the will and apply for probate after your death. The Wills Act defines a will to include a testament, a codicil, an appointment by will or by writing in the nature of a will in exercise of a power, and any other testamentary disposition. A codicil is a later document that changes or adds to a will, and it must be made in the same way as a will.

Name an alternate executor if you can. If the executor named in the will is not the applicant for letters probate, the applicant must file an affidavit with the application giving the reasons, together with a certificate of death or incapacity and renunciations if necessary.

The formal will: writing, signature, and two witnesses

A formal will is not valid unless all three of these are met:

1. At its end, it is signed by the testator — the person making the will — or signed in their name by some other person in their presence and by their direction.
2. The testator makes or acknowledges the signature in the presence of two or more attesting witnesses present at the time.
3. Two or more of the attesting witnesses subscribe — sign — the will in the presence of the testator.

The signature must be placed at or after, following, under, beside, or opposite to the end of the will, so that it is apparent on the face of the will that the testator intended by the signature to give effect to the writing signed as their will. A signature does not give effect to a disposition or direction that is underneath the signature, that follows the signature, or that was inserted after the signature was made.

Two witness rules matter when you choose who signs. First, a person is not an incompetent witness only because they are an executor, so the executor can witness the will. Second, if a will is attested by a person to whom, or to whose then spouse, a beneficial gift is given, that gift is void as far as it concerns the witness, their spouse, or a person claiming under them — but the witness is still a competent witness to prove the will. Use witnesses who do not benefit from the will, and do not use a witness who is married to a beneficiary.

A will made in accordance with the Act is valid without other publication: no registration or public filing is needed to make it valid.

Witnessing by video: the remote route

The Wills Act allows the witnessing requirements to be met by an electronic means of communication in which all persons can see, hear, and communicate with one another in real time, to the same extent as if they were communicating in person in the same location. This covers the requirement that another person sign in the testator's name in the testator's presence, and the requirements that the witnesses be present and subscribe the will in the testator's presence — but only if at least one witness is a lawyer who is a practising member of the Law Society of New Brunswick. A will signed and witnessed this way may be signed in counterpart, with the counterparts together constituting the will, and it must include a statement that it was signed and witnessed in accordance with this section.

The holograph will: wholly handwritten

A testator may make a valid will wholly by their own handwriting and signature, without formality, and without the presence, attestation, or signature of a witness. That is the whole rule: the will must be completely in the testator's handwriting and signed. A typed document, even partly typed, is not a holograph will.

A holograph will is the emergency form, not the plan, unless a lawyer advises otherwise. Handwriting, clarity, and proof of the maker's handwriting can become issues later. At probate, a holograph will must be proved by an affidavit of execution in Form 2K, or in such other form as the Court directs, stating that the will, including the signature, is wholly in the handwriting of the testator.

One more form exists for a narrow group. A member of the Canadian Forces on active service, a member of any other naval, land, or air force on active service, or a mariner or seaman at sea or in the course of a voyage may make a will by a writing signed by them, or by some other person in their presence and by their direction, without any further formality or any requirement of a witness.

Changing or revoking a will

A will or part of a will is revoked only by another will made in accordance with the Act, by a writing declaring an intention to revoke and made in accordance with the Act's provisions for making a will, or by burning, tearing, or otherwise destroying it by the testator, or by some person in their presence and by their direction, with the intention of revoking it.

An alteration made in a will after it has been made has no effect unless it is made in accordance with the Act's provisions for making a will — except that it can invalidate words or meanings it renders no longer apparent. An alteration is validly made when the testator's signature, and the witnesses' subscription to the testator's signature, are made in the margin or another part of the will opposite or near the alteration, or at the foot or end of, or opposite to, a memorandum referring to the alteration. A will that has been revoked is revived only by a will or codicil made in accordance with the Act that shows an intention to give effect to the revoked will or part.

Marriage changes the picture. A person who has made a will and subsequently marries and dies is deemed to have died intestate if they die while married, or while any issue of a marriage after the will is still alive. This does not apply where the will declares it is made in contemplation of the marriage. A beneficiary under the will who would take no part of the estate on intestacy may apply to the Court of King's Bench within four months after the death for effect to be given to the gift, and the Court may order it if it can be done without undue detriment to a person who would otherwise take part of the estate on intestacy.

The executor: what probate filing involves

After the death, the executor named in the will applies for letters probate — the Court's official recognition of the executor's authority over the estate. The application goes to the probate office in the judicial district where the deceased lived at the time of death, or where property of the deceased is located. The application for letters probate is in Form 2A or 2B. If there is a will but no executor able or willing to act, the application is for letters of administration with will annexed, in Form 2C or 2D. If there is no will, the application is for letters of administration, in Form 2E or 2F.

No letters probate of a will, or letters of administration with will annexed, are granted until seven days have passed since the death. No letters of administration are granted until fourteen days have passed since the death of the intestate.

The executor files the original will, a copy of the death certificate, and a detailed inventory, which may be a separately sworn stand-alone document or a detailed breakdown in the application. The will and every codicil must be identified by the signature of the applicant on the will. The due execution of the will must be proved by an affidavit of one of the subscribing witnesses in Form 2I or 2J. That affidavit must not be sworn before another witness to the will. If the will is not dated, or is dated imperfectly, one of the attesting witnesses must furnish evidence of the date of execution. If the named executor is not the applicant, the applicant files an affidavit giving the reasons, with a certificate of death or incapacity and renunciations if necessary. If the deceased was divorced, the Court requires a copy of the divorce judgment or certificate.

The order of the Court granting letters probate is in Form 2G, and the letters themselves are in Form 2H. A formal Record on Application is required only in the judicial districts of Moncton, Bathurst, and Edmundston.

The fees are set out in the Court's general checklist for probate applications, revised June 2026. All fees are paid by the party on whose behalf the proceedings are taken at the time the proceedings are taken, and letters are not issued until the fees are paid. The fee is $200 for an estate that does not exceed $20,000; $200 plus $5 per $1,000 or part of $1,000 over $20,000 for an estate over $20,000 but not over $100,000; and $600 plus $15 per $1,000 or part of $1,000 over $100,000 for an estate over $100,000.

If the application is for letters of administration and the applicant lives outside New Brunswick, a bond is generally attached, subject to the discretion of the judge. The Court's checklist states that the bond requirement is within the discretion of the judge, and that an applicant who finds it unduly onerous can consider requesting interim letters under section 52 of the Probate Court Act with a case management conference.

Figures the official pages do not state

The pages do not state what a lawyer charges to prepare a will, what a will kit costs, or how long a probate application takes, so this guide gives no figures for those. They do not state where a will should be stored, whether New Brunswick has a wills registry, or when probate is needed for a particular estate — the Court's checklist is for basic applications and states that requirements are subject to the Court's discretion. Confirm the probate requirements for a specific estate with the probate office in the judicial district concerned, or with a lawyer, before filing.

Related guides

• How to Make a Will in Canada
• How to Write a Will in Ontario
• How to Start Making a Power of Attorney in Canada
• How to Order a Death Certificate in Canada

Sources

• Government of New Brunswick, Wills Act, chapter W-9 — the will in writing, the formal will requirements in section 4, remote witnessing in section 4.1, the forces and mariner exception in section 5, the holograph will in section 6, signature position in section 7, the under-nineteen rule in section 8, the witness-beneficiary rule in section 12, the executor as witness in section 14, revocation in section 15, the effect of subsequent marriage in section 15.1, alterations in section 18, and revival in section 19.
• Court of King's Bench of New Brunswick, General Check List for Probate Applications — the probate application forms 2A and 2B, the seven-day and fourteen-day waiting periods, the fee scale, the affidavit of a subscribing witness in Form 2I or 2J, the Form 2K affidavit for a holograph will, the judicial district filing rule, the Record on Application in Moncton, Bathurst, and Edmundston, and the bond rule for administrators living outside New Brunswick.