3. Learn the rules of making a formal will

There is no government form you can use to make a formal will.

A formal will can be partly typed and partly handwritten, or fully typed or handwritten. What makes a document a formal will is that it follows the rules listed below.

Rules for a formal will

For a document to be a valid formal will, it must: be dated, be signed by you at the very end of the document in front of 2 adult witnesses, and be signed by each in front of you and the other witness. You must have the mental capacity to make a will. And no one can force you to make a will.

No gifts to witnesses

You should not leave any property to your witnesses or their spouse in your will. If you do, that gift is usually not valid. But the rest of the will can still be valid.

Affidavit of execution

One of the witnesses should also complete and sign Form 74D: Affidavit of Execution of Will or Codicil. This confirms that you signed the will in front of both witnesses who also signed the will.

The witness must swear or affirm that the information in this form is true in front of a Commissioner for Affidavits. A Commissioner of Affidavits is a lawyer, licensed paralegal, or notary public. They also sign the affidavit.

It usually costs between $10 and $50 to commission your affidavit. If your income is low, your local legal clinic might commission the affidavit for you for free.

The will itself does not need to be . Just the affidavit. Store the signed will with the commissioned affidavit.

Virtual witnessing

Usually, your witnesses are in the same room as you when you sign your will. But you can also sign your will in front of your witnesses online by videoconference, such as by FaceTime or Zoom.

There are more rules that you must follow if your witnesses watch you sign your will online. For example, the rules say:

one witness must be a lawyer or paralegal licensed by the Law Society of Ontario,
everyone must be able to see, hear, and speak to each other at the same time, and
everyone must have an identical paper copy of the document at the same time, and your will is made up of all these paper copies.

The law firm Hull & Hull has a checklist to help you follow the rules about signing a will by videoconference.