A will nobody can find is, in practice, a will that does not exist. Here is how wills are located in Ontario, and what the law expects of an executor who cannot find one.
Where to look in Ontario
| Item | Ontario |
|---|---|
| Governing statute | Succession Law Reform Act |
| Court | Superior Court of Justice |
| Handwritten (holograph) wills | Valid |
| Probate cost | Estate Administration Tax: nil on the first $50,000, then about $15 per $1,000 of value above that (roughly 1.5%). A Small Estate Certificate is available for estates of $150,000 or less. |
| Spouse’s share on intestacy | $350,000 for deaths on or after 1 March 2021 ($200,000 before that date). |
| Will registry | No central, searchable government registry of wills — the Government of Ontario’s own guidance points only to “private” will registries and to the court records of the courthouse nearest where the deceased lived. A living person may deposit a will with the Superior Court registrar for safekeeping (Estates Act, s. 2; $28), and after death anyone may inspect it on proof of death. But the public cannot search Ontario-wide: only the registrar can, and only when someone applies for probate, at which point the court must confirm no later will is on deposit anywhere in the Superior Court. That is the gap a registry fills. |
| Claims against the estate | Dependant support claims under Part V of the Succession Law Reform Act. Ontario does not have a BC-style wills variation regime for independent adult children. |
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
- Administering estates — Government of Ontario
- 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
- Holograph handwritten will ontario — Treadstone Law
- Do small estates need probate ontario — Treadstone Law
- Moral obligation adult children dependant support ontario — Treadstone Law
- Disabled adult child never lived with deceased dependant ontario — Treadstone Law
- Filing deadline deceased person ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law