Instructions for Signing Your Will

☐ I understand what the will says.
☐ The will says what I want it to and reflects my wishes.
☐ All names are spelled correctly.
☐ The pages are numbered correctly.

If anything in your will needs to be changed, you must make this change in the Wills App, then print a new copy. Do not cross things off or try to fix it by hand. You must have a clean copy of your will to sign. Everything in it must be correct and say what you want it to say before you sign it.

If there is something in the will that you do not understand have a lawyer look over your will before you sign it.

Your witnesses must be with you when you sign your will for it to be legally valid, in the same room, and for the whole time all 3 of you are initialling and signing the will. 

The witnesses must be at least 19 years old and must be mentally capable.
Your witnesses cannot be people who are named in your will as beneficiaries, and they cannot be married to someone who is a beneficiary in your will. 

If your executor is not a beneficiary and is not married to a beneficiary, then your executor may also act as a witness.

Your witnesses do not need to know what your will says. They just need to know who you are and that you're signing your will in their presence.

• Put your initials on the bottom right corner of each page.
• Fill in the date before you sign it.
• Sign your will at the end in the space provided.
• Your witnesses should also each put their initials on the bottom right corner of each page. 
• Your two witnesses must then also sign the will in front of you, and in front of each other. 

Tip: The witnesses don’t need to read your will. They need to watch you sign it, and sign and initial it themselves in front of you.  One or both witnesses will also need to sign an Affidavit of Execution in front of a lawyer or notary.  See "Get the Affidavit of Execution signed" below.

• pdf Affidavit—Version 1(67 KB)
• pdf Affidavit—Version 2(93 KB)

Arrange for one of your witnesses to swear the affidavit of execution in front of a lawyer or notary.  This should be done in person.  This can be done at any time after you and your witnesses sign your will. But it is best to do it right away, because witnesses might move away or die before you after the will is signed.

Lawyers and notaries will generally charge a fee for this service in the range of $40 to $75. You can call law firms near you to make an appointment for the witness and to find out the cost.  If you cannot pay a lawyer you can try Nova Scotia Legal Aid.

Once the affidavit of execution is complete, keep it with your will.  After you die, your executor will use the affidavit at Probate Court to show that the will was properly signed and witnessed. If no affidavit of execution has been done by the time you die, your executor must find one of your witnesses and have the witness swear an affidavit then. There will most likely be added costs, and this will take extra time.

Tip: If your will has been properly signed, dated, and witnessed, it is still valid even if you cannot arrange for one of your witnesses to do an affidavit of execution right away. 

• Keep your will and the affidavit of execution where they will not be damaged by things like pets, mold, a fire, or flooding. A safe place to store your will is a fire-proof metal box like a filing cabinet or cash box.
• Tell your executor exactly where your will is.  Only an original will is valid in Nova Scotia and in most other places, so it is very important for your executor to have the original will when you die.
• Keep an up-to-date, detailed record of your assets (including accounts, insurance policies, investments) and debts.  Keep this information with your will or where your executor can find it easily.
• Keep an up-to-date, detailed list with the contact information for all of the beneficiaries you have named in your will, especially if the primary or back-up executor you name does not know everyone personally.  Keep this information with your will or where your executor can find it easily.
• Look at your will every few years or any time you have a major event in your life, like a marriage, new common law relationship, separation, divorce, the birth of a child, a move outside Nova Scotia, or the death of a beneficiary. Make a new will if you need to change anything.
• If you have minor children, see a lawyer to make your Child Guardian Appointment, or use the free, basic Child Guardian Appointment form on the Legal Information Society's website at www.legalinfo.org/wills/child-guardianship to name a guardian(s) for your minor child or children. 
• Regularly review any property you own jointly with someone else, and assets with a named beneficiary, such as pension plans, life insurance, RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSA, to make sure they still do what you want them to.
• If you decide that you want to change your will, you can cancel (revoke) it by destroying it or by making a new will. If you make a new will, destroy the old one so there is no confusion about which version should be used.  See 'Cancelling your will' below for more information.
• Keep a current list of your personal electronic and digital assets. Examples are your email accounts, digital music and photographs, social media accounts. Tell your executor what you want to happen with those assets.