A will is a document whereby a person, referred to as a testator, expresses his/her wishes for how they want their property to be distributed after their death.

When Maple Leaf refers to wills and the methods of notarizing them, we are taking into account the legal customs and procedures of the province of Ontario. Will structures, witnessing and notarization requirements, legal consequences, etc. will vary from one place to another, even between provinces in the same country, and of course between country to country. As always, it is the client’s responsibility to determine the correct manner of drafting, executing and notarizing a will. If the client is unsure, it is best to seek advice from a lawyer.

The next sections discuss in detail how we approach wills.

Witnesses

Wills in Ontario have to be witnessed by at least two witnesses. It is best to find someone that knows the testator but does not stand to gain anything from the will. For example, a friend, a neighbour, a co-worker.

The following people cannot act as witnesses to the will:

• Beneficiaries to the will or their spouses
• Executors to the will
• The Notary that will be commissioning the affidavits to the will
• Our reception staff
• A person under 18 years of age
• A person whose property is under guardianship or has a guardian of the person
• A complete stranger that does not know the testator personally

Affidavits of Execution

It is highly recommended that wills contain affidavits of execution for each witness. In this context, an affidavit of execution is a statement from a witness, under oath, that they witnessed the testator sign the will. Affidavits of execution have to be commissioned by a notary public. This is what we do. Furthermore, the affidavit of execution should make reference to the Will as an exhibit to the affidavit of execution. That means the notary will need to stamp and sign the back of the will with an exhibit stamp.

You can bring your own affidavits of execution for us to commission. Or we can draft them for you. We charge 69.99 to draft an affidavit of execution.

Timing of Witnessing and Notarization

Given all of the above, you might wonder about the order in which all this must take place. Does everyone have to be in the same room at the same time? There are two ways to do this.

1. Everyone signs everything at the same time

That is, everyone (i.e. the testator, the witnesses, and the Notary) are in the same room at the same time. The testator would sign the will first. The witnesses would sign the will second. Then the witnesses would sign the affidavit of execution. Then the notary will commission the affidavit and stamp the will as an exhibit to those affidavits. This method is the quickest, most efficient, and most common.

2. Presign the will but not the affidavits

Technically, the notary does not need to witness the testator sign the will. The notary only needs to witness the witnesses sign the affidavits of execution. That means that the will can be signed in advance, not in the notary’s presence, and at some later point the witnesses can attend the notary’s office with the affidavit of execution and the original will. There is no legal obstacle to doing this, however, note that there is a logistical obstacle. That is, in most cases it is the testator that pays the notary’s fee, which means that the testator will need to attend the notary’s office. Furthermore, the notary will need to stamp the back of the original will with an exhibit stamp, which means that the original will has to be brought to the notary’s office. That’s why we recommend method 1 over method 2.

Initials

Often, in order to be valid, each page of a will has to be initialled by the testator and the witnesses. This can cause some confusion, however, because some people think that the notary also needs to initial the will, when in fact, that is not the case. An initial on a page indicates that the person initialling has reviewed the contents of the page. Most notaries, including all of our Notaries at Maple Leaf, do not review the contents of documents such as wills. Therefore, we cannot initial the pages. Our role is to commission affidavits of execution to a will and stamp the will with an exhibit stamp, as discussed above.

What to bring to our office

• The original will, completed, but not signed
• Witnesses
• Affidavits of execution if you have them; if you don’t, we can draft them. Do not pre-sign the affidavits of execution. The witnesses will need to sign in front of the notary.

What is it?
A Notary Public is a person authorized by the government to administer oaths and declarations. He/She verifies the identity of the signing parties and their signatures on the documents in question. The Notary witnesses all signatures, and signs and seals the document with an official seal of office. What is the difference between a notary public and lawyer?

In Broad Terms, An Ontario Notary Public Can Do The Following:

• Witness Someone Sign Something (E.g. An Affidavit Or A Letter).
• Make A Photocopy Of An Original Document And Certify That The Photocopy Is A True Copy Of The Original (E.g. A Diploma).This Is Referred To As A “Certified Copy” Or Sometimes “Notarized Copy”.
• Verify An Individual’s Identity (E.g. For The The Purpose Of Immigration Or Employment Documents).

Notaries Cannot Provide Legal Advice, Or Any Advice For That Matter That Can Be Construed As Legal Advice. We Can Notarize Your Documents On A Maple Leaf. We Make The Process Simple And Quick For You. Why Wait Around For Inconvenient Appointment Times? With Us, In Just Minutes, Your Forms Can Be Properly Notarized. No Appointment Is Necessary.