Handwritten Wills in Ontario: What Section 6 of the SLRA Allows

On a wet November afternoon in Peterborough, a retired bookkeeper of seventy-one slides a cream envelope across the table to her daughter. Inside are three pages in blue fountain pen, headed "My wishes," dated, and signed at the bottom. She wrote every word herself over a long weekend, and before she files the envelope away she wants a straight answer to a single question: does Ontario treat these pages as a real will?

Ontario is one of the provinces that gives handwritten wills a rule of their own. That rule is relaxed about ceremony and strict about authorship, and it leaves a few traps around signatures, later edits and what the family must file after a death. This guide follows the daughter's questions in the order she asked them. For the national picture, including how the other provinces differ, start with our overview of holograph wills in Canada.

The section that makes a handwritten will possible #

The Succession Law Reform Act (the SLRA) sets out how wills are made in Ontario. Section 6 allows a testator to make a valid will "wholly" by their own handwriting and signature. The same section adds that no formality is required, and that no witness has to be present, attest the will or sign it.^[NaN] Lawyers call this a holograph will.

Two words carry most of the weight. "Wholly" is the statute's own word for how the will is made: by the will-maker's handwriting. "Signature" means the pages have to be signed by the same person who wrote them. Notice what is missing from the list: no witnesses, and no other formality.

The SLRA also says, in section 3, that a will is valid only when it is in writing.^[NaN] A spoken wish, however clearly expressed to a daughter over tea, generally does not count.

Where the signature goes, and why the bottom of the page matters #

The Peterborough pages were signed at the foot of the last sheet, which is the right instinct. Section 7 of the SLRA deals with signature placement for a will "whether holograph or not." It accepts a signature placed at, after, under, beside or opposite the end of the will, so long as it is apparent the will-maker meant the signature to give effect to the writing.^[NaN]

Section 7(3) adds a limit that matters for anyone who keeps adding thoughts. A signature generally does not give effect to anything written underneath it or after it, or to anything inserted once the signature was made.^[NaN] A postscript squeezed in below the signature line, or a new paragraph added a month later, may simply carry no weight.

A practical habit follows from this. Finish the writing, read it through, and only then sign at the very end. If you later think of something to add, that is a change, and the next section explains how Ontario treats changes.

Age and the exceptions #

Writing by hand does not lower the age to make a will. Under section 8(1), a will made by someone under 18 is generally not valid unless, at the time, that person is or has been married, is contemplating marriage to a named person and says so in the will (in which case the will works only once that marriage happens), is a member of the Canadian Forces in the ways the section describes, or is a sailor at sea or on a voyage.^[NaN]

For most people reading this, the age rule is not an issue. It becomes relevant when a parent asks whether a seventeen-year-old heading off to university could jot down a few wishes by hand. In Ontario the answer usually turns on those listed exceptions, not on the form of the document.

Crossing out and adding in: changes after signing #

The daughter noticed that her mother had struck out a grandchild's middle name on page two and written it again above the line. That kind of edit is where handwritten wills most often get messy.

Section 18 of the SLRA says that a change made after the will was made generally has no effect unless it is made the way the Act requires for making the will. For a handwritten will, the statute treats the change as properly made when the will-maker's signature appears in the margin or somewhere near the change, or at the end of (or opposite) a written note in the will that refers to the change.^[NaN]

There is a twist. An edit that fails this test can still invalidate words it has made no longer apparent.^[NaN] Heavy scribbling over a clause can therefore remove the original words without putting anything valid in their place. If the edits are multiplying, that is usually a sign the document needs a careful rethink, ideally with a lawyer's help.

What the executor will need at probate #

A handwritten will can be perfectly sound and still need a little extra paperwork when the executor applies to the court. Ontario's Rules of Civil Procedure set out what goes with an application for a certificate of appointment of estate trustee. Where the will is in holograph form, rule 74.04(1)(d)(ii) generally requires the original to be attached as an exhibit to "an affidavit attesting that the handwriting and signature in the will or codicil are those of the deceased (Form 74F)." The form is titled "Affidavit Regarding a Holograph Will or Codicil."^[NaN]

A typed will signed in front of witnesses goes a different route. For a will not in holograph form, the rule calls for an affidavit of execution, Form 74D, titled "Affidavit of Execution of Will or Codicil."^[NaN] If you want to see how those forms fit into the wider court application, our guide to the certificate of appointment in Ontario walks through the process.

The useful takeaway for the Peterborough family is simple. A tidy, legible, consistently signed set of pages makes the eventual Form 74F affidavit far easier for whoever has to swear it.

If something was missed: section 21.1 #

Ontario courts now hold a curing power for some estates. For deaths on or after January 1, 2022, section 21.1 lets the Superior Court of Justice order that a document that was not properly executed is valid, if it sets out the deceased's testamentary intentions.^[NaN] The section is expressly subject to section 31 of the Electronic Commerce Act, 2000, so it does not reach electronic wills.^[NaN]

The key word is "may." Section 21.1 gives the court a discretion, not a duty, and it is best treated as a fallback a family might ask for, never as a plan. Our article on substantial compliance in Ontario looks at the provision in more depth.

Handwritten or witnessed: questions worth asking yourself #

Section 6 is a genuine option, and some people find it reassuring that Ontario allows it. Before relying on it, the daughter and her mother talked through a few practical questions:

• Can someone else read it? Clear handwriting helps the executor, the court and anyone swearing the Form 74F affidavit.
• Is the wording precise? A home-written will has no second pair of eyes checking that "my nieces" or "my savings" means what you intend.
• Will you keep editing it? Every change needs its own signature under section 18, and unsigned edits can do harm.
• Is the whole thing in your hand? The statute speaks of a will made "wholly" by your handwriting.

Many Ontarians end up choosing the witnessed route instead. The formal signing steps are laid out in our article on making a will in Ontario, and our Ontario wills page outlines what we offer people in the province.

Before the envelope goes back in the drawer #

Whatever form your will takes, the signed original deserves a secure home. We suggest keeping it in a safe at home, with a photocopy placed in a safety deposit box at your bank, and telling your executor where both are. A will that nobody can find helps no one.

If you would rather work through your wishes one question at a time and end with a typed document you sign with witnesses, you can begin your will with It's Simple Will and see how the conversation feels.