How to Write a Will in Prince Edward Island

The short answer

A Prince Edward Island will is made in writing, signed by you, and witnessed by two adults who are present at the same time. You must be at least 18 years old. The will rules sit in Part III of the Probate Act, R.S.P.E.I. 1988, c. P-21, which the province's statutes list shows as the statute in force. Prince Edward Island has no separate Wills Act in force: a new Wills Act (Bill 31, 2025) was introduced in the Legislative Assembly, but it comes into force only on a date fixed by proclamation, and no proclamation date could be verified on an opened page. The formal steps in this guide are the ones both texts state the same way, so they hold whether your will is made in accordance with Part III or with the new Act once it is in force.

This guide is process only. It states the steps the statute sets out. It gives no legal advice, and it does not advise you on what to leave to whom. If your estate is large, blended, or contested, or if you hold property outside the province, speak to a lawyer before you sign.

The formal steps

The formal route is the same one the rest of the guide walks through:

1. List what you own and who should get it. Write down your property, accounts, and debts, and decide who inherits each item. A will can dispose of all property you are entitled to at law or in equity at the time of your death, including property acquired after the will is made.
2. Name an executor and a backup. The executor is the person who will carry out the will: apply for probate, pay debts, and distribute what is left. Name a backup executor as well, in case your first choice has died or cannot act by the time the will is needed. Tell both people where the signed original is kept.
3. Put the will in writing. The will must be in writing. It can be typed or printed. It must contain your signature, or the signature of another person who signed on your behalf at your direction and in your presence.
4. Sign it in front of two witnesses. Your signature must be made or acknowledged by you in the presence of two or more witnesses who are present at the same time. At least two of the witnesses, in the presence of you and of each other, must then attest and sign the will, or acknowledge their signatures on it. If another person signs on your behalf, that signature must also be made or acknowledged in the presence of two or more witnesses present at the same time, and the witnesses must sign in the presence of that person, you, and each other.
5. Store the original safely. Keep the signed original where your executor can find it. A will that cannot be found cannot be probated.

Choosing witnesses

A person may sign as a witness if the person has the mental capacity to do so and has reached the age of 18 years. The person who signs the will on your behalf is not eligible to witness your signature.

Two practical rules follow from the statute:

• Neither witness should be a beneficiary. A gift to a witness who signs the will is void as against that witness, that witness's spouse, and anyone claiming under either of them, unless the court orders otherwise. The safest witnesses are neutral adults — neighbours, work colleagues, a lawyer's staff — who have no inheritance interest in the will.
• Both witnesses must be present together when you sign. They cannot witness one after the other. If you sign first and acknowledge your signature later, the acknowledgement must still happen with both witnesses present at the same time.

An executor can act as a witness. Appointing a witness as your executor does not void anything. But the proof of the will still needs a witness who can swear to the signing, and a witness who is also the commissioner taking the affidavit of proof cannot do both: no proof of a will is accepted where the commissioner taking the affidavit of proof is a witness to the will.

Changing or revoking the will

A will, or part of a will, is revoked only in one of these ways: by another will made by you; by a written declaration that revokes all or part of a will, made with the same signing and witnessing steps as a will; or by you, or a person in your presence and at your direction, burning, tearing, or destroying all or part of it with the intention of revoking it. A will is not revoked by presuming your intention from a change in circumstances.

An alteration made on a will is valid only if it is made with the same signing and witnessing steps as a will. Do not alter the signed original by hand. For many changes, a new will is easiest; for one small change, a codicil executed the same way as the will is the usual route.

A revoked will, or part of one, can be revived only by making a new will, whether by signing it again or otherwise, with the same steps and in a manner that shows an intention to give effect to the revoked will or part.

Where the will is probated

When the will-maker dies, the executor applies to the Estates Section of the Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island for letters probate. The application is made by petition, and the petition must set out the date of death, the marital status of the deceased at the time of death, whether any marriage was dissolved or annulled, and the name, age, and address of every child of the deceased. Petitions are in set forms: a Petition for Probate is Form 65A, a Petition for Administration with will annexed is Form 65B, and a Petition for Administration is Form 65C, under Rule 65 of the Supreme Court Rules.

The personal representative must file an inventory of the estate as required by section 48 of the Probate Act, in Form 65E. All petitions, inventories, and accounts presented for filing must be verified by affidavit. The registrar does not draw up petitions, inventories, or other papers: the applicant must furnish them.

Two timing rules in the same Rule are worth knowing:

• An executor who will not act can be cited. If an executor fails to bring in a will for probate, any interested person may cite the executor to accept or refuse the probate and execution of the will. No such citation issues until 30 days have passed from the testator's death.
• A caveat can be filed. A caveat under section 39 of the Probate Act is filed on Form 65EE. A person who files a caveat must, within 30 days of filing it or a renewal of it, deliver a notice on Form 65II to the executor, administrator, or party acting in place of the executor.

Post-1930 probate records are kept at the Estates Section, Sir Louis Henry Davies Law Courts, 42 Water Street, Charlottetown, PE, C1A 7N8 (Estates Deputy Registrar, 902-368-6004), as the Public Archives notes on its genealogy page.

What the opened pages do not state

The opened pages do not state a general handwritten will rule for a civilian will governed by Part III of the Probate Act, so this guide states none — use the formal route with two witnesses. They do not state whether marriage revokes a will governed by Part III, so this guide states no marriage rule: the new Wills Act (Bill 31, 2025) states that no will is revoked by the testator marrying, but that Act is not yet in force. No probate fee, filing fee, or processing time is stated in this guide, because no fee or timeline could be verified on an opened official page. No rule about registering, depositing, or storing a will with a court or registry is stated, because none could be verified on an opened page. No electronic will rule is stated. Confirm any fee or timeline with the Estates Section before you rely on a figure from another source.

Related guides:

• How to Make a Will in Canada — the national guide, which states no rule for Prince Edward Island.
• How to Write a Will in Nova Scotia — Nova Scotia's Wills Act route, with its own formal and holograph rules.
• How to Write a Will in New Brunswick — New Brunswick's Wills Act route, with its own formal and holograph rules.
• How to Write a Will in Ontario — Ontario's Succession Law Reform Act route.
• How to Apply for Probate in British Columbia — a probate application in another province, for comparison with Prince Edward Island's petition route.
• How to Order a Death Certificate in Canada — the death certificate the executor needs as proof of death.

Sources

• Government of Prince Edward Island, Statutes and Regulations — the Probate Act listed as a statute in force under Justice and Public Safety, and no Wills Act listed; the consolidated text of a statute is linked from its title on this page.
• Supreme Court of Prince Edward Island, Rule 65 — Estates of Deceased Persons — applications for letters probate by petition on Form 65A, the inventory under section 48 of the Probate Act on Form 65E, affidavit verification, the 30-day citation rule for an executor who will not act, and the caveat on Form 65EE.
• Government of Prince Edward Island, Genealogy at the Public Archives — post-1930 probate records kept at the Estates Section, Sir Louis Henry Davies Law Courts, 42 Water Street, Charlottetown, and the Estates Deputy Registrar phone number.