Thank you for reaching out to Willful, and we’re so sorry for your loss. We’ll do what we can to help, but please note that we do not store executed wills on our platform. Please read through the information below, and then reach out with any questions.
Will storage on Willful:
Canadian law in every province except BC requires wills to be printed, signed, and stored on paper (BC residents can execute a will online). Willful provides our customers with PDF documents that they then print/sign/witness to make legally valid, and clear instructions on how to do that. While we make every effort to ensure that our customers take that final step, we cannot confirm whether your loved one went through the printing/signing process. Unless you find a paper copy of their will (or an executed digital copy in BC), it means that they may not have finished/executed their will, and the PDF on Willful’s platform is not a legally valid document. You will need to find the original copy of the will, which will be a paper copy (or a signed digital copy in BC) - if you cannot find that document, unfortunately we cannot assist as we don’t store any paper OR digitally executed copies of wills.
Note: if your loved one resided in Quebec, they may have purchased a Notarial Will via Willful. You can simply call the Chambres des Notaires, where the original will is registered, and get access to the original copy.
Will registry:
Willful provides every customer with free registration on the Canada Will Registry. This registry does not store executed wills, rather it is meant to help give you pieces of information that can help you find the paper copy of the will. The will registry is 100% optional, so if your loved one did complete their will on Willful, they may have registered their will on the registry by providing details on when it was executed; who the executor is; and where you can find the paper copy. You can pay to perform a search on the registry to get access to those details; if the will search comes up blank, it either means that your loved one did not finish their will, or they did not register it. In either case, you will still need to find the paper copy of the will.
Note: if your loved one lived in BC, they may have also paid to register the will on the Vital Statistics Agency will registry, so you can also check there. If your loved one resided in Quebec and created a notarial will via Willful, you can check with the Chambres des Notaires since it will be registered there.
User privacy
When loved ones reach out to ask about whether their relative had a Willful will, we have to be careful about releasing personal information, since our privacy policy is focused on protecting the privacy of our users. Since you are requesting that we release their private information, we will first need to confirm they have passed away, and confirm your relationship to the deceased. If you provide a death certificate and proof of your relationship to the deceased we are happy to confirm whether they did or did not have a Willful account. If they did not print/sign/witness the will on paper, the account itself is not going to provide the paper will though.
A few other suggestions that might be helpful in tracking down a relative’s will:
- If you are not positive they had a Willful account, reach out to other online will platforms and/or lawyers in your area to check if they created a will with them (lawyers do store original copies of wills)
- Search filing cabinets, safes, and any other locations in your loved one’s home/workplace
- Find out if your loved one had a safety deposit box where they may have stored their will
If we can do anything else to help during this difficult time please let us know, and again we are so sorry for your loss.