Form 74.08
Did a witness Affidavit of Execution accompany your Will? In our experience, it may not.
Big deal? – YES!
Proving a Will in Ontario requires an “Application for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee with a Will”. This Application is filed with the Ontario Superior Court; in prescribed form. One of the prescribed forms is Form 74.08 – Affidavit of Execution of Will or Codicil. This Affidavit must be signed by one of the individuals who witnessed the execution of the Will. The original Will must accompany the Affidavit as Exhibit “A” and the same Commissioner of Oaths who notarizes the Affidavit must sign the Exhibit “A” stamp on back of the original Will.
To obtain this Affidavit many years after a Will is executed can be problematic or impossible, leading to costly and time-consuming alternatives to prove the Will.
In Ontario, when you have your Will done be sure to ask your lawyer to include Form 74.08, in prescribed form, as part of the original Will package. Many years in the future it will save your Executor much hardship.