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Can I use one will for my whole family?

No. A will is personal to one testator. Spouses each need their own, though they are commonly drafted as mirror wills.

This is legal information only. For advice on your own circumstances, speak to a lawyer.

No. A will is personal to one testator. Spouses each need their own, though they are commonly drafted as mirror wills.

The Canadian position

Mirror wills are two substantially identical documents. They do not bind the survivor unless made mutual by a separate contract — and mutual wills create their own problems.

The Islamic position

Each person's estate is distributed by reference to their own surviving heirs, so a single joint document could not work in any case.

Note

This is legal information only. For advice on your own circumstances, speak to a lawyer.

Citations & sources

Every factual claim on this page traces to a source below. Details change — check the original source before relying on any figure, fee or legal position. Anything under “further reading” is related material, not a source for what is stated here.

Canadian legislation & government
  1. Succession Law Reform Act, RSO 1990, c S.26 — Government of Ontario
  2. Administering estates — Government of Ontario
  3. Grewal v. Litt, 2019 BCSC 1154 — CanLII
Further reading — Treadstone Law
  1. Mutual wills blended family ontario — Treadstone Law
  2. Mutual wills blended family ontario agreement — Treadstone Law
  3. Do both spouses need separate lawyers uncontested divorce — Treadstone Law
  4. Conflicting wills which one governs ontario — Treadstone Law
  5. Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law