Affidavit of Execution for a Will: Ontario, Alberta and BC Compared

At their parents' fiftieth anniversary dinner, three siblings discover they all signed new wills the same autumn: the eldest in Ottawa, the middle one in Calgary, the youngest in Victoria. Over dessert they compare notes. The Ottawa sister's witnesses had signed an extra sworn page. The Calgary brother remembers his witness mentioning a form with a code that started "GA." The Victoria sibling looks puzzled. Nobody asked her witnesses to swear anything at all.

All three were probably handled correctly. They simply ran into three different provincial approaches to the same idea: a witness giving sworn evidence about how a will was signed, so that a court can rely on it at probate. People across Canada call this an affidavit of execution, but only one of these three provinces uses that exact title. This guide walks through Ontario, Alberta and British Columbia in turn. For the basics of who can witness and how, see our guide to witnessing a will in Canada. For a shorter introduction to what an affidavit of execution is and why it helps, see our affidavit of execution explainer.

The affidavit proves the signing; it does not create the will #

It helps to separate two questions. The first is whether a will was validly made. In all three provinces, a typed or formal will generally needs two witnesses: Ontario's Succession Law Reform Act s. 4(2), Alberta's Wills and Succession Act s. 15, and BC's Wills, Estates and Succession Act s. 37(1) each set out a two-witness signing.^{[NaN][NaN][NaN]}

The second question arises later, usually when an executor asks the court to confirm their authority. The court was not in the room at the signing, so it needs evidence that the formalities were followed. A witness's sworn affidavit is the usual way to supply it.

An affidavit of execution is that second thing. It is proof offered at probate, not an ingredient of validity, and a will is generally not invalid simply because no affidavit was sworn.

Ontario: Form 74D and two related forms #

Ontario's Rules of Civil Procedure spell out what an application for a certificate of appointment of estate trustee includes. Where there is a will and it is not in holograph (handwritten) form, rule 74.04(1)(d)(i)(A) generally requires the original will to be attached as an exhibit to "an affidavit of execution (Form 74D)."^[NaN]

Two variations sit beside it in the same rule:

• Form 74E. If the will contains an alteration, erasure, obliteration or interlineation that has not been attested, an affidavit as to the condition of the will at the time it was signed is needed.^[NaN]
• Other evidence. If each witness has died or cannot be found, the application generally includes "such other evidence of due execution as the court may require."^[NaN]

A handwritten will takes a separate path, using Form 74F instead of 74D.^[NaN] The official titles in the Table of Forms are:

The rule does not say when a Form 74D must be sworn. What it settles is that the application generally needs one for a formal will. Our guide to the certificate of appointment in Ontario shows how these forms fit into the larger filing, and the Ontario wills page introduces what we offer there.

Alberta: the witness swears Form GA8 #

Alberta's Surrogate Rules frame the obligation around the witness. Rule 16(1) says a witness to a will must prove that the signing formalities were observed by providing an affidavit in Form GA8, with the original will as an exhibit.^[NaN] The form's title is "Affidavit of Witness to a Will."

The form's wording is specific. The witness states that the testator, the other witness and the deponent "were all present together" when the testator and the witnesses signed. The affidavit is sworn or affirmed before a commissioner for oaths.^[NaN]

Rule 16(2) adds a practical point that the Calgary brother's witness may have had in mind. An affidavit sworn by a witness at the time the will is signed is generally accepted as proof that the formalities were observed, unless there is an apparent change in the will that the witness has not satisfactorily explained in the affidavit.^[NaN]

Where the will is handwritten, or a witness cannot be found, rule 16(4) shifts the proof to handwriting. The evidence then comes on Form GA9, the Affidavit of Handwriting, sworn by someone who is not the applicant unless the court orders otherwise.^[NaN] Our Alberta executor guide places these affidavits in the grant application, and the Alberta wills page explains our service there.

British Columbia: a witness affidavit only in some cases #

The Victoria sibling's experience reflects how BC's rules are built. BC's probate forms list, in Appendix A.1 of the Supreme Court Civil Rules, contains no form titled "affidavit of execution."^[NaN]

Instead, rule 25-3(15) ties the need for a witness affidavit to the will's attestation clause, usually a short passage near the signatures recording how the will was signed. A subscribing witness's affidavit is required at probate when:

• the will has no attestation clause; or
• the will has an attestation clause, but the clause is not sufficient to show that the WESA signing requirements were met.^[NaN]

In either case, the applicant generally files an affidavit from at least one of the subscribing witnesses that those requirements were met, unless the will has already been proved in solemn form.^[NaN] The rule does not prescribe a particular form for that witness affidavit.

If a witness affidavit cannot be obtained, rule 25-3(16) sets out fallbacks: first an affidavit from another person who was present at the signing, and after that, affidavits addressing the handwriting of the signatures.^[NaN] The rest of that application is covered in our article on the BC grant of probate, and the British Columbia wills page explains how we work in the province.

The three provinces side by side #

Choosing witnesses with the future in mind #

Since the affidavit is about evidence, the most useful planning step is simple: pick witnesses who are likely to be reachable later and who will remember the occasion. A neighbour who has lived on your street for years may be easier to locate than a stranger at a busy office. Whether a witness swears at the signing or later depends on the province's rules and the circumstances, so it is worth asking whoever helps you sign.

Timing can help in Alberta in particular. Because rule 16(2) generally accepts an affidavit a witness swore at the time of signing, unless an unexplained change appears in the will, a GA8 sworn on the day avoids hunting for that witness later.^[NaN]

Keep the result safe as well. Store the signed original in a safe at home, place a copy in a bank safety deposit box, and let your executor know both locations.

Wrapping up the anniversary dinner #

The three siblings left the dinner with one shared lesson: the signing ceremony and the probate paperwork are separate steps, and each province handles the second one its own way. If you have not yet reached the first step, begin drafting your will with It's Simple Will and get your wishes on paper before you think about witnesses at all.