A will nobody can find is, in practice, a will that does not exist. Here is how wills are located in Nova Scotia, and what the law expects of an executor who cannot find one.
Where to look in Nova Scotia
| Item | Nova Scotia |
|---|---|
| Governing statute | Probate Act and Intestate Succession Act |
| Court | Supreme Court of Nova Scotia (Probate Court) |
| Handwritten (holograph) wills | Valid. A will is valid if it is wholly in the testator's own handwriting and signed by the testator, with no witnesses required. Nova Scotia also has a curative provision (s. 8A) letting a court validate a will or writing that does not meet the formal requirements if it embodies genuine testamentary intent. |
| Probate cost | Among the highest in Canada. A $2 million estate attracts roughly $33,000 in probate fees — more than Ontario on the same estate. |
| Spouse’s share on intestacy | $50,000 flat, and NOT conditioned on whether the children are the spouse's own — that Alberta/BC-style distinction does not exist in Nova Scotia's Act. Where the intestate leaves a spouse and issue, the estate goes entirely to the spouse if its net value is $50,000 or less; above that, the spouse takes the first $50,000 (plus interest on it) and then shares the residue with the issue — one-half to the spouse with one child, one-third with more than one child, the rest divided per stirpes among the issue. Where there is a spouse and no issue, the spouse takes the whole estate. 'Spouse' includes a registered domestic partner under the Vital Statistics Act but not an unregistered common-law partner. |
| Will registry | No central government will registry. |
| Claims against the estate | Testators' Family Maintenance Act claims. "Dependant" is defined as the testator's widow, widower, or child — and "child" includes an adopted child and a child not yet born at the testator's death, with no age limit and no requirement that the child was actually being supported. A 2019 trial-level decision (Lawen Estate) held it unconstitutional to let an independent adult child claim, but the Court of Appeal reversed that in 2021 and the Supreme Court of Canada denied leave to appeal in 2022 — so the Act stands as written, and an independent adult child can bring a claim exactly like a minor or dependent child. |
A diligent search
- The deceased’s lawyer, and the firm’s successor if it has closed.
- Safety deposit boxes at every bank they used.
- Home safes, filing cabinets, and digital storage.
- Will registries — government where one exists, private otherwise.
- The provincial law society, which may hold records for a wound-up practice.
Where an original will was last known to be with the deceased and cannot be found, a court may presume it was destroyed deliberately — and administer the estate as an intestacy. Documenting the search is what rebuts that.
Why this is a religious question too
The hadith on wills speaks of the document being "kept ready with him" — findability is part of the obligation, not an administrative afterthought. Recording that a will exists, and where, is the gap the Islamic Will Registry exists to close.
Common questions
What if we cannot find the original?
A copy may be admissible, but where the original was last known to be with the deceased a court may presume it was destroyed deliberately and treat the estate as intestate.
Who is allowed to search for a will?
Typically the executor named in a will, or a family member applying to administer the estate.
Does registering a will make it valid?
No. A registry records that a will exists and where it is kept. Validity is a separate question governed by the province's formal requirements.
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.
- What to do when someone has died — Canada Revenue Agency
- Probate fees by province / territory — TaxTips.ca
- Surah an-Nisa 4:11–12, 4:176 — Quran.com
- Book of Wills (Wasaya) — Sahih al-Bukhari, Sunnah.com
- Religion by census metropolitan area, 2021 Census — Statistics Canada
- Can children of deceased child inherit per stirpes ontario — Treadstone Law
- Appeal probate decision ontario — Treadstone Law
- Holograph handwritten will ontario — Treadstone Law
- Intestacy spouse one child ontario — Treadstone Law
- Is ontario will valid if signed by one witness — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law