Writing a will in Yukon: the two-witness formal will, the holograph will with no witnesses, who can and cannot witness, and the age rule.
Applies in: Yukon
In Yukon, a will is valid when it is in writing, signed at the end, and witnessed by two people who are present together when you sign — or when it is a holograph will, written entirely in your own handwriting and signed, with no witnesses at all. The governing law is the Yukon Wills Act, and the age to make a will is 19.
This guide is process only. It walks Yukon's own execution and witness rules, as the Yukon government pages state them. It gives no legal advice, and it does not advise you on what to leave to whom, who should be executor, or whether your situation needs a lawyer. For a complex estate, property in more than one province or territory, a business, children from an earlier relationship, or any doubt about capacity or wording, see a lawyer before signing. This guide does not re-summarize the national will guide: every rule below is Yukon's own.
Anyone 19 years or older who is mentally capable can make a will in Yukon. In Yukon, adult means someone who is 19 years or older. Members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who are under the age of 19 are an exception to the age rule, noted in the Uniform Law Conference of Canada workbook on renewal of the Uniform Wills Act.
A formal will must be in a written or printed document and dated, and signed at the end of the document. The signing rules, from the Yukon wills and estates page and the Yukon Public Legal Education Association wills book, are:
You can also have someone else sign your will for you if you are present. The Supreme Court of Yukon confirmed the formalities in Sheardown v Henke, 2024 YKSC 64: a formal will meets section 5 of the Wills Act when it is in writing, signed at the end by the testator, and duly witnessed.
Yukon recognises holograph wills. The Yukon wills and estates page states that a holograph will, written entirely by you and signed, is also valid. Section 5(2) of the Wills Act, as quoted by the Supreme Court of Yukon in Sheardown v Henke, provides that a holograph will, wholly in the handwriting of the testator and signed by the testator, may be validly made without any requirements as to the presence or attestation of any witness.
Three limits matter:
A holograph will is not a shortcut for a complex estate. Handwriting, clarity, and proof of handwriting can become issues later, so treat it as an emergency form, not a plan, unless a lawyer advises otherwise.
Do not use a beneficiary as a witness. Although it would not invalidate your entire will, if either of the witnesses to your signature is a beneficiary or the spouse of a beneficiary under the will, any gift you make to them or their spouse under the will is invalid. Use two witnesses who inherit nothing under the will, who are present at the same time, and who sign in your presence and in each other's presence.
There is no Yukon wills registry to file a will in. The Wills Act provides for the creation of one, but at the time the Yukon Public Legal Education Association wills book was published in July 2024, it had not been created. Keep the signed original where the executor can find it, tell the executor where it is, and tell the executor that the appointment has been made.
Two caveats from the Yukon pages: check whether a self-governing Yukon First Nation has its own wills and estates law for Settlement Land, and status Indians living on reserve should check with Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada or a lawyer. Those are caveats about which law applies, not execution rules.
No under-19 exception list is stated on the opened Yukon pages, beyond the Royal Canadian Mounted Police point from the Uniform Law Conference workbook. No date requirement is stated for a holograph will in section 5(2) as quoted, or on the Yukon page. No statement is made on the opened pages about whether marriage revokes a Yukon will, or about remote or video witnessing. No Yukon court-validation power is stated in this guide, because the 2020 amendments said to add validation and rectification powers could not be verified on an opened page.
Marriage no longer cancels a Yukon will. The Act to Amend the Wills Act 2020 came into force on May 1, 2021, and it repealed the provisions that automatically revoked a will when the testator married. The change is not retroactive in one important way: a will that was cancelled by a marriage before May 1, 2021 is not effective again just because the revocation rule was repealed.
The end of a relationship works the other way. Unless the will directs otherwise, gifts and appointments to a former spouse are revoked when the relationship ends, and the rest of the will is read as if the former spouse had died before the testator. This applies to married and common law spouses. A relationship counts as terminated where there is a judgment of divorce, where the marriage is declared invalid, or where, at the time the testator died, the couple had separated and had been living apart for 12 months or longer with no prospect of reconciling. It does not count as terminated if the couple had reconciled and were living as spouses again when the testator died. A testator who still wants a former spouse to benefit must put specific instructions in the will saying the gift applies even after a separation or divorce.
The 2020 amendments also gave the court power to fix a document that misses a formality. On application, the Supreme Court may order that a writing is valid as a will, or as a revocation, an alteration, or a revival of a will, even though it does not meet all the formal requirements of the Act, where clear and convincing evidence shows the order would reflect the testator's intentions. The court may also rectify a will that does not reflect the testator's intentions because of an accidental slip or omission, or a misunderstanding or failure to give effect to the testator's instructions by the person who prepared it. The deadline to apply for one of these orders is within six months of the grant of probate, and the court may allow an extension if appropriate.
Anyone 19 years or older who is mentally capable can make a will in Yukon. In Yukon, adult means someone who is 19 years or older. Members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police who are under 19 are an exception noted in the Uniform Law Conference workbook on wills renewal.
Two, and both must be in the room at the same time as you sign. Each witness must be at least 19 and mentally capable, and each signs the will while you and the other witness watch. Sign at the very end of the document: words after the signature will in most cases not count.
Yes. A holograph will, written entirely by you and signed, is valid in Yukon. Section 5(2) of the Wills Act says such a will may be validly made with no witness at all. A partly pre-printed form filled in by hand does not count, and neither does a will someone else handwrote that you merely signed. The court still needs proof the handwriting is yours, that you had capacity, and that you meant it as a final will.
Do not use a beneficiary as a witness. If either of the witnesses to your signature is a beneficiary or the spouse of a beneficiary under the will, any gift you make to them or their spouse under the will is invalid, although that does not invalidate the entire will. Use two witnesses who inherit nothing under the will.
Yes, if you are there when it happens. The Yukon wills page states this plainly. The same signing rules still apply: two witnesses in the room together, the will signed at the end, and both witnesses signing while you and each other watch.
No. The Wills Act allows a registry, but the Yukon Public Legal Education Association wills book, published in July 2024, says it had not been set up yet. Keep the signed original where the executor can find it, and tell the executor where it is.