Do I Need a Lawyer to Make a Will in Canada?

No, you don’t need a lawyer to make a legally valid will in Ontario or Alberta.

Both provinces set out exactly what makes a will valid, and a lawyer’s involvement is not one of the requirements. In Ontario, the rules come from the Succession Law Reform Act, RSO 1990, c S.26, ss 4 and 6. In Alberta, they come from the Wills and Succession Act, SA 2010, c W-12.2, ss 15 and 16. Wills law is provincial, flowing from the provinces’ constitutional authority over “property and civil rights” (Constitution Act, 1867, s 92(13)), which is why Ontario and Alberta each have their own statute rather than one federal law governing wills generally.

What the statutes actually require

There are two ways to make a valid will in each province, and neither one calls for a lawyer.

If you meet one of these two sets of conditions, a court will not refuse to recognize your will simply because a lawyer wasn’t involved in drafting or signing it.

Why both provincial governments still recommend a lawyer anyway

“Not required” is not the same as “no risk.” Ontario’s own public legal education service notes that a holograph will costs nothing to make, but warns: “if it’s not done correctly, it may not be valid” (Steps to Justice). Ontario.ca describes a lawyer’s role as optional help: someone who “can answer your questions and tell you about tax and other things to consider,” and who “can also make sure your will meets legal requirements.” Alberta’s government guidance is similar in tone: “It is recommended that anyone interested in making a will consult with a lawyer, who can help prepare your will” (Alberta.ca). In both provinces, the government frames legal help as quality assurance, not a legal precondition.

A federal exception: wills under the Indian Act

Wills law is provincial for almost everyone in Canada, but there is one federal carve-out. Under the Indian Act, RSC 1985, c I-5, s 45(1)-(2), a status Indian can dispose of property by will, and the Minister may accept as a will “any written instrument signed by an Indian in which he indicates his wishes or intention with respect to the disposition of his property on his death.” No lawyer or particular formality is required to make this kind of will. Unlike an Ontario or Alberta will, however, it needs ministerial or court approval before it takes legal effect, which is a different process from simply signing in front of witnesses.

What you can do next

Within Ontario or Alberta, the options are:

1. Write a holograph will. Handwrite the entire document yourself and sign it. No witnesses, no cost, no lawyer, valid in both provinces under the sections cited above.
2. Write a formal (typed) will yourself and have it witnessed correctly. This requires your signature and two witnesses present together at the same time, who also sign. No lawyer is required by the statute, but the witnessing steps have to be followed exactly to meet SLRA s 4 or WSA s 15.
3. Have a lawyer draft or review the will. This is not mandated by either province’s wills legislation, but both governments present it as a way to confirm the document meets the legal requirements and to get advice on matters like tax, which the statutes themselves don’t cover.

Which of these fits depends on how straightforward the estate is and how much certainty you want that the document will hold up exactly as written, a judgment call the statutes leave to you.