Notarial, Holograph or Before Witnesses: Québec's 3 Types of Wills

Three weeks after the funeral, the family finally finds the will: two handwritten pages, folded in an envelope, at the back of a dresser drawer. Everyone is relieved. Then they learn that before anyone can touch the bank account, the house or the car, that will has to be probated, that the process will take weeks, and that the bill will likely exceed $1,500.

Yet the handwritten will was perfectly valid. That is exactly what confuses families: in Québec, the validity of a will and the ease of carrying it out are two different things. The form you choose during your lifetime determines what your loved ones will have to do, pay and wait for after your death.

Three forms, and only three

Article 712 of the Civil Code of Québec is categorical: "A will may only be made in the notarial form, or in the holograph form, or in the form of a will made in the presence of witnesses." There is no fourth option. A video recording, an email, a note in a phone: none of these is a will in Québec.

Article 713 adds that the formalities specific to each form must be observed "on pain of nullity." The same article does, however, provide a useful safety net: a will that fails the requirements of one form may be valid as a will made in another form, if it meets that form's conditions. A failed notarial will can therefore survive as a will made in the presence of witnesses.

The difference that matters most in practice, though, is not in the drafting. It is in what happens at death.

The notarial will: the act that does not need to be probated

The notarial will is executed "en minute" before a notary, assisted by one witness or, in certain cases, two witnesses (article 716 of the Civil Code). The notary reads it to the testator, who then declares that the act contains their last wishes; everyone signs in the presence of the others (article 717).

This formality has one major consequence. The notarial will is an authentic act: it takes effect from the moment of death, with no prior court step. As Éducaloi puts it, the notarial will does not need to be probated after death, which spares the heirs both probate costs and long delays.

Two other advantages, less dramatic but real. First, the original cannot be lost: the notary keeps it and registers the will in the Register of Testamentary Dispositions of the Chambre des notaires du Québec. Second, the notarial will is harder to contest, because the notary has verified the testator's identity, their consent, and the validity conditions imposed by law.

Cost is the main obstacle. According to Éducaloi, a notary's professional fees for preparing a notarial will generally run to several hundred dollars — an amount you pay during your lifetime, out of your own pocket.

The will made in the presence of witnesses: flexible, but it must be probated

A will made in the presence of witnesses may be written by you or by a third party, by hand or on a computer (article 727 of the Civil Code). Before two witnesses of full age, you declare that the document you are presenting is your will — without having to disclose its contents — then you sign it, or acknowledge your signature. The witnesses sign immediately afterwards, in your presence.

One formality is often forgotten: where the will is written by a third party or by technical means, the testator and the witnesses must initial or sign each page that does not already bear their signature (article 728). Éducaloi also points out that the witnesses must be of full age and capable, and that they cannot be beneficiaries under the will.

This is the form taken by most templates sold in stores or online, and by most wills drafted by a lawyer. It is inexpensive, sometimes free. But it will have to be probated at death, even when a lawyer drafted it.

The holograph will: free, and the most fragile

Article 726 of the Civil Code fits in a single sentence: a holograph will "shall be written entirely by the testator and signed by him, otherwise than by technical means." No witnesses, no notary, no other formality. Written by hand, signed, and that is all.

Its simplicity is also its weakness. A holograph will can be lost, destroyed, damaged, or simply never found — no one holds an official copy. Written alone, it often contains ambiguous wording, forgets to name a liquidator — Québec's term for what the rest of Canada calls an executor — or makes no provision for an heir who dies before you. And it, too, will have to be probated.

Form	Cost during your lifetime	Probate at death	Safekeeping
Notarial	Notary's fees, generally several hundred dollars (Éducaloi)	Not required	Original kept by the notary and registered in the Chambre des notaires register
In the presence of witnesses	Nil if written alone; fees if prepared by a professional	Required	Your responsibility; registration possible in the Barreau register if a lawyer drafted it
Holograph	Nil	Required	Your responsibility

Probate: what it is, and what it is not

The proper term in Québec is "vérification." You sometimes see "homologation": that is French from France, and it does not refer to the same procedure. You also see "probate," borrowed from the law of the other provinces, which rests on a different logic and on estate fees calculated as a percentage of the assets. Québec does not work that way.

Article 772 of the Civil Code provides that a holograph will or a will made in the presence of witnesses is probated on the application of any interested person, in the manner prescribed in the Code of Civil Procedure, and that the known heirs and successors must be summoned to the probate.

According to Éducaloi, probate serves to establish proof of death, confirm the identity of the person who signed, notify potential heirs that the will exists, and confirm that it is indeed the last valid will. An important point: probate deals with conditions of form, not with content. A probated will can still be contested afterwards in court.

There are two routes. Before a notary, probate has the same effect as a court decision, but a notary cannot probate a contested will; Éducaloi indicates that the total bill generally comes to more than $1,500. Before the court, the application is filed online with the Superior Court of the deceased's judicial district; again according to Éducaloi, the total bill generally comes to more than $1,000, court costs and professional fees included. In both cases, expect several weeks.

And throughout that time, as Éducaloi puts it, the estate is "frozen." Accounts do not close, the house does not sell, the money is not distributed.

First you have to find the will

Before anything else, you need to know whether a will exists. That means a will search with the registers of the Chambre des notaires du Québec and the Barreau du Québec, now accessible through a single point of entry.

According to Éducaloi, this search costs roughly $30 to $40 depending on the type of service, web or paper. The search certificate is mailed within three weeks of the request being received if the death occurred less than two weeks earlier, and within two weeks if the death is older. Expedited processing is available for an additional fee.

Watch out for one detail that forces many families to start over: the attestation given by the funeral home is not enough. Éducaloi specifies that you must have the death certificate or the copy of the act of death issued by the Directeur de l'état civil.

What no will settles

Part of your patrimony does not follow your will, whatever form it takes. Article 2455 of the Civil Code is unequivocal: "The sum insured payable to a beneficiary does not form part of the succession of the insured."

In practical terms, life insurance with a named beneficiary is paid directly to that person. It does not wait for the will to be probated, it does not enter into the division of the estate, and in principle it is beyond the reach of the estate's creditors. It is often the only money readily available in the weeks following a death.

The reverse is also true. Article 2456 provides that insurance payable "to the succession," "to the heirs" or "to the assigns" forms part of the estate — and therefore falls back into the delays and the debts. The choice of words on the designation form has far greater consequences than most people imagine.

One last trap, specific to Québec. Under article 2449, the designation of the person to whom you are married or in a civil union, made in a document other than a will, is irrevocable unless otherwise stipulated. In other words, if you name your married spouse as beneficiary without specifying "revocable," you will not be able to change that designation without their consent.

Frequently asked questions

Is a will made online valid in Québec?

It can be, provided it meets the formalities of one of the three recognized forms. A printed document must be signed before two witnesses of full age, and each page must be initialled or signed. It will then have to be probated at death. A generic Canadian template does not necessarily take Québec's rules into account.

Can a holograph will be turned into a notarial will after death?

No. Éducaloi is clear on this: probate by a notary does not "turn" the will into a notarial will. It confirms its formal validity, nothing more.

Does the notarial will cost more in the end?

That depends on who pays. You pay the fees during your lifetime, generally several hundred dollars according to Éducaloi. Your heirs, for their part, avoid a probate that the same organization puts at more than $1,000 through the court and more than $1,500 through a notary, plus several weeks of delay.

Should you redo your will after a separation?

It is the right moment to review it, yes, and to review at the same time the beneficiary designations on your insurance contracts and registered plans. Those designations lead their own life, outside the will. A notary or a lawyer can tell you what applies to your situation.

Where should you keep your will?

The notarial will is kept by the notary. For the other two forms, the original belongs to you: keep it somewhere safe and known to your loved ones, and tell your intended liquidator where it is. A will made in the presence of witnesses and drafted by a lawyer can be registered in the Barreau du Québec register, which makes it much easier to locate.

Sources

• Civil Code of Québec, articles 712, 713, 716, 717, 726, 727, 728, 772, 2449, 2455 and 2456, version current to April 1, 2026: https://www.legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca/fr/document/lc/CCQ-1991 (accessed August 10, 2026)
• Éducaloi, "Les trois types de testaments": https://educaloi.qc.ca/capsules/les-trois-types-de-testaments/ (accessed August 10, 2026)
• Éducaloi, "Rendre officiel un testament non notarié : la vérification": https://educaloi.qc.ca/capsules/rendre-officiel-un-testament-non-notarie-la-verification/ (accessed August 10, 2026)
• Éducaloi, "Comment faire une recherche testamentaire ?": https://educaloi.qc.ca/capsules/comment-faire-recherche-testamentaire/ (accessed August 10, 2026)
• Chambre des notaires du Québec, Register of Testamentary Dispositions and Mandates: https://www.cnq.org/ (accessed August 10, 2026)

This text presents general information about Québec law. It is not legal advice or insurance advice. For your own situation, consult a notary or a lawyer.