A will written entirely in the testator's own handwriting and signed, with no witnesses.
In Islamic law
Islamic law does not prescribe a form for a wasiyyah — testimony was the classical mode. The concern is evidentiary, and it matches the Canadian one: an unwitnessed document is harder to prove.
In Canadian law
Valid in Ontario and most common-law provinces, but not in British Columbia, where witnessing requirements apply to all wills. Holograph wills are cheap and immediate but are disproportionately the ones that get lost, misread, or challenged.
We have not yet researched whether the four Sunni schools differ on this term, so we are not going to tell you either way. Where a specific case turns on it, ask a qualified scholar rather than relying on a general summary.
Canadian legal detail
Treadstone Law, an Ontario firm with a wills and estates practice, covers the Canadian side of this in more depth:
- Ontario valid will legal requirements
- Ontario will valid execution requirements
- Is ontario will valid if signed by one witness
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.
- Ontario valid will legal requirements — Treadstone Law
- Ontario will valid execution requirements — Treadstone Law
- Is ontario will valid if signed by one witness — Treadstone Law
- Witnessing requirements beneficiary designation forms ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law