To settle a succession, you must first find out if the deceased left a will and if if the will you have found is the most recent one. You must submit a request for a will search in the registers of wills of the Barreau du Québec. You will need the original copy of the act of death or death certificate. It will enables you to obtain a search certificate required.
You must also submit a request for a will search with the Chambres des notaires.
When a person dies, it is necessary to verify in the Registers of wills and mandates of the Barreau du Québec whether he or she made a will, and if so, whether the will on hand is the most recent one.
The Barreau du Québec does not receive any wills or mandates nor does it keep them on file. It issues to the claimant, a search certificate giving confirmation as to whether a will or mandate actually has been recorded in the Registers of wills and mandates of the Barreau du Québec. And if that is the case, the contact information of the lawyer who has the document will be given. Then, the claimant must contact the lawyer to obtain a copy of the will.
At the same time, a will search must also be performed with the Chambre des notaires to verify whether the person had a will made by a notary.
Once that these two searches are completed, the most recent will can be identified.
NoteNotarial wills and wills filed with a lawyer are automatically registered in the Registers of wills and mandates of the Barreau du Québec. Holograph wills or wills made in the presence of witnesses are not registered in those registers unless the testator asks a lawyer to do so.
A non-notarial will must be probated following the testator’s death.
Will of a living person
No search may be performed for the will of a living person in the Registers of wills and mandates of the Barreau du Québec, even if that person is incapacitated or terminally ill.
Moreover, only the testator, or a person so authorized by the testator by a notarial act, may obtain a copy of a will. In such a case, persons seeking a copy of the will must contact the lawyer concerned or the Barreau, to get the the contact information of the lawyer who has the document.
