A will nobody can find is, in practice, a will that does not exist. Here is how wills are located in Saskatchewan, and what the law expects of an executor who cannot find one.
Where to look in Saskatchewan
| Item | Saskatchewan |
|---|---|
| Governing statute | The Wills Act, 1996 and The Intestate Succession Act, 2019 |
| Court | Court of King's Bench for Saskatchewan |
| Handwritten (holograph) wills | Valid |
| Probate cost | About $7 per $1,000 of estate value (roughly 0.7%). |
| Spouse’s share on intestacy | Where all of the intestate’s descendants are also the spouse’s, the spouse takes the entire estate. Where any are not, the spouse takes the greater of $200,000 or one-half of the net estate, and then also takes half the residue if there is one child, or a third of the residue if there is more than one. |
| Will registry | No general government will registry. The “Wills and Estates Registry” at the Court of King’s Bench sounds like one but is a post-probate index of every estate application filed in Saskatchewan since 1905 — $20 to search. Two things it does surface: caveats, and any will a living person has deposited for safekeeping with a local registrar, which the Administration of Estates Act, s. 49 permits (each judicial centre chooses whether to accept deposits, so ask first). Separately, the Wills Act, 1996, s. 46 requires the minister to establish a registration system for international wills; we could not find any government page showing one is operating. |
| Claims against the estate | Dependants’ relief claims under The Dependants’ Relief Act, 1996. Saskatchewan’s definition of "dependant" is unusually wide: as well as a spouse, a two-year cohabiting partner and minor children, it reaches an adult child who alleges that "by reason of need or other circumstances" they ought to receive a greater share than the will gives them. |
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
- Wills and Estates — Court of King's Bench for Saskatchewan
- 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
- What is dependant definition ontario succession — Treadstone Law
- Can children of deceased child inherit per stirpes ontario — Treadstone Law
- Intestacy spouse one child ontario — Treadstone Law
- Filing deadline deceased person ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law