Is a Will Made in Another Country Valid in Ontario?

It's a common situation: someone made a will years ago in another country, then moved to Ontario — or a relative living overseas passed away, and their family in Ontario now needs to deal with a bank account, an investment, or other property here using a will that was never drawn up with Ontario in mind. The question that follows is always the same: is this foreign will valid in Ontario?

There's no single yes-or-no answer that applies to every document. What Ontario actually does is look closely at the specific will in front of it — how and where it was made, and what it's being used for — rather than treating "foreign" as automatically valid or automatically useless.

The Short Answer: It Depends on the Specific Will

Ontario does have a framework for considering whether a will executed outside the province can be relied on here, but exactly how that framework applies to your situation is genuinely fact-specific. This is one of those areas where a general article can tell you the right questions, but not the answer for your particular will — that's a job for an Ontario estates lawyer reviewing the actual document.

Questions an Ontario Lawyer Will Typically Ask First

Before saying anything about whether a specific foreign will works in Ontario, expect these questions:

• How and where was it signed? The circumstances of signing and witnessing matter, and they're assessed against the specific facts, not assumed from the country of origin alone.
• Where was the person living, or considered to be based, when they made it? This can affect which country's rules are relevant to how the will was made.
• Is it in a language other than English or French? If so, it will generally need a certified translation before an Ontario court or institution can rely on it — a separate process from the question of whether the will is valid in the first place.
• Does the document match a recognized will format in the country where it was made? A document that isn't treated as a valid will there raises different issues than one that clearly is.

What Ontario Institutions Will Likely Ask For

If you're trying to use a foreign will to deal with an Ontario asset — a bank account, a house, an investment — expect the institution or the court to want to see more than the will itself:

• A certified copy of the original will
• A certified translation, if the will isn't in English or French
• A death certificate
• Evidence about how and where the will was signed and witnessed
• In some cases, confirmation from the other country of the document's status as a valid will there

None of this means the will is being treated with suspicion — it's the normal documentation trail for any will being relied on outside the place it was made.

When a Foreign Will May Not Be Enough on Its Own

Sometimes a foreign will is accepted as evidence of the person's wishes, but the family still needs an Ontario court process — a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee — before an Ontario bank or the Ontario land registry will act on it. In other cases, particularly if the person is still living and has since put down real roots in Ontario, it's often simpler and safer to make a new, Ontario-specific will rather than rely on an older foreign document indefinitely.

Practical Steps If You're Relying on a Foreign Will in Ontario

1. Locate the original document, not just a copy, and keep it secure.
2. Have it reviewed by an Ontario estates lawyer before assuming it will work as-is for Ontario purposes.
3. Arrange a certified translation if the will isn't in English or French.
4. Ask specifically whether an Ontario probate application is needed to deal with the Ontario assets involved.
5. If the person who made the will is still alive, consider whether a new Ontario will would remove uncertainty going forward, rather than layering a new life in Ontario on top of an old document.

Frequently asked questions