Wills Act, R.S.A. 2000, c. W-12

WILLS ACT

Chapter W‑12

Table of Contents

                1       Definitions

                2       Application of Act

Part 1
General

                3       Devises

                4       Will to be in writing

                5       Validity of will

                6       Military forces and mariners

                7       Holograph will

                8       Signature

                9       Wills of minors

              10       Appointment by will

              11       Publication

              12       Incompetent attesting will

              13       Devise to witness

              14       Attestation by creditor

              15       Executor as witness

              16       Revocation

              17       Revocation by marriage

           17.1       Revocation by entering into an adult
   interdependent partner agreement

              18       No revocation by presumption

              19       Alteration of will

              20       Revival of will

              21       Subsequent conveyance

              22       Will to speak from death

              23       Lapsed gifts

              24       Devises of land

              25       General disposition

              26       Gift of real property

              27       Gift to “heir”

              28       Words importing failure of issue

              29       Devise to trustee

              30       Option to purchase

              31       Devise to trustee

              32       Gift for charitable purpose

              33       Lapse of time in devise

        34,35       Lapse in gifts to children

              36       Gift to illegitimate children

              37       Disposition of mortgaged property

              38       Undisposed residue

Part 2
Conflict of Laws

              39       Wills of land and movables

              40       Law in force governs

              41       Change of domicile

              42       Law of domicile

              43       Law where land situated governs

Part 3
International Wills

              44       Definitions

              45       Application of Convention

              46       Uniform law in effect

              47       Validity under other laws

              48       Authorized persons

              49       Registration system

              50       Agreements re registration system

              51       Joint registration system

              52       Disclosure of information, etc.

              53       Use of registration system

              54       Regulations

                         Schedule

HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, enacts as follows:

Definitions

1   In this Act,

                                 (a)    “adult interdependent partner agreement” means an adult interdependent partner agreement as defined in the Adult Interdependent Relationships Act;

                                 (b)    “will” includes a testament, a codicil, an appointment by will or by writing in the nature of a will in exercise of a power and any other testamentary disposition.

RSA 2000 cW‑12 s1;2002 cA‑4.5 s80

Application of Act

2(1)  Unless otherwise expressly provided, Parts 1 and 2 apply only to wills made on or after July 1, 1960.

(2)  For the purposes of this section, a will that is re‑executed or is republished or revived by a codicil is deemed to be made at the time at which it is so re‑executed, republished or revived.

(3)  The Wills Act, RSA 1955 c369, continues in force, as if unrepealed, in respect of wills made before July 1, 1960.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s2

Part 1
General

Devises

3   A person may by will devise, bequeath or dispose of all real and personal property, whether acquired before or after making the person’s will, to which at the time of the person’s death the person is entitled either at law or in equity, including

                                 (a)    estates for another’s life, whether there is or is not a special occupant and whether they are corporeal or incorporeal hereditaments;

                                 (b)    contingent, executory or other future interest in real or personal property, whether the testator is or is not ascertained as the person or one of the persons in whom those interests may respectively become vested, and whether the testator is entitled to them under the instrument by which they were respectively created or under a disposition of them by deed or will;

                                 (c)    right of entry.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s3

Will to be in writing

4   A will is valid only when it is in writing.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s4

Validity of will

5   Subject to sections 6 and 7, a will is not valid unless

                                 (a)    it is signed at the end or foot of it by the testator or by some other person in the testator’s presence and by the testator’s direction,

                                 (b)    the testator makes or acknowledges the signature in the presence of 2 or more attesting witnesses present at the same time, and

                                 (c)    2 or more of the attesting witnesses subscribe the will in the presence of the testator.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s5

Military forces and mariners

6(1)  A member of the Canadian Forces while placed on active service pursuant to the National Defence Act (Canada), or a member of any other naval, land or air force while on active service, or a mariner or a seaman when at sea or in the course of a voyage, may make a will by a writing signed by that person or by some other person in that person’s presence and by that person’s direction without any further formality or any requirement of the presence of or attestation or signature by a witness.

(2)  For the purposes of this section, a certificate signed by or on behalf of an officer purporting to have custody of the records of the force in which a person was serving at the time the will was made setting out that the person was on active service at that time is sufficient proof of that fact.

(3)  For the purposes of this section, if a certificate under subsection (2) is not available, a member of a naval, land or air force is deemed to be on active service after the member has taken steps under the orders of a superior officer preparatory to serving with or being attached to or seconded to a component of such a force that has been placed on active service.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s6

Holograph will

7   A testator may make a valid will wholly by the testator’s own handwriting and signature, without formality, and without the presence, attestation or signature of a witness.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s7

Signature

8(1)  Insofar as the position of the signature is concerned, a will is valid if the signature of the testator, made either by the testator or the person signing for the testator, is placed at or after or following or under or beside or opposite to the end of the will so that it is apparent on the face of the will that the testator intended to give effect by the signature to the writing signed as the testator’s will.

(2)  A will is not rendered invalid by the circumstance that

                                 (a)    the signature does not follow or is not immediately after the foot or end of the will,

                                 (b)    a blank space intervenes between the concluding words of the will and the signature,

                                 (c)    the signature is placed among the words of a testimonium clause or of a clause of attestation or follows or is after or under a clause of attestation either with or without a blank space intervening, or follows or is after or under or beside the name of a subscribing witness,

                                 (d)    the signature is on a side or page or other portion of the paper or papers containing the will on which no clause or paragraph or disposing part of the will is written above the signature, or

                                 (e)    there appears to be sufficient space on or at the bottom of the preceding side or page or other portion of the same paper on which the will is written to contain the signature.

(3)  The generality of subsection (1) is not restricted by the enumeration of circumstances set out in subsection (2), but a signature in conformity with section 5, 6 or 7 or this section does not give effect to a disposition or direction that is underneath the signature or that follows the signature or to a disposition or direction inserted after the signature was made.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s8

Wills of minors

9(1)  A will made by a person who is under the age of 18 years is not valid unless at the time of making the will the person

                                 (a)    has or has had a spouse or adult interdependent partner,

                                 (b)    is a member of a component of the Canadian Forces

                                           (i)    that is referred to in the National Defence Act (Canada) as a regular force, or

                                          (ii)    while placed on active service under the National Defence Act (Canada),

                                     or

                                 (c)    is a mariner or seaman.

(2)  A certificate purporting to be signed by or on behalf of an officer having custody of the records of the force in which a person was serving at the time the will was made setting out that the person was at that time a member of a regular force or was on active service within subsection (1)(b) is sufficient proof of that fact.

(3)  Notwithstanding subsection (1), a person who

                                 (a)    is under the age of 18 years,

                                 (b)    has no spouse or adult interdependent partner, and

                                 (c)    has children,

may make a valid will to the extent that that person makes a bequest, devise or other disposition to or for the benefit of any or all of those children.

(4)  A person who has made a will under subsection (1) or (3) may, while under the age of 18 years, revoke the will.

RSA 2000 cW‑12 s9;2002 cA‑4.5 s80

Appointment by will

10   A will made in accordance with this Act is as to form a valid execution of a power of appointment by will, notwithstanding that it has been expressly required that a will in exercise of the power be made in some form other than that in which it is made.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s10

Publication

11   A will made in accordance with this Act is valid without other publication.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s11

Incompetent attesting will

12   If a person who attested a will was at the time of its execution or afterwards has become incompetent as a witness to prove its execution, the will is not on that account invalid.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s12

Devise to witness

13(1)  If a will is attested by a person to whom or to whose then spouse or adult interdependent partner a beneficial devise, bequest or other disposition or appointment of or affecting real or personal property, except charges and directions for payment of debt, is given or made in that will, the devise, bequest or other disposition or appointment is void so far only as it concerns the person so attesting, or the spouse or the adult interdependent partner or a person claiming under any of them, but the person so attesting is a competent witness to prove the execution of the will or its validity or invalidity.

(2)  If a will is attested by at least 2 persons who are not within subsection (1) or if no attestation is necessary, the devise, bequest or other disposition or appointment is not void under that subsection.

RSA 2000 cW‑12 s13;2002 cA‑4.5 s80

Attestation by creditor

14   If real or personal property is charged by a will with a debt and a creditor or the spouse or adult interdependent partner of a creditor whose debt is so charged attests a will, the person so attesting, notwithstanding that charge, is a competent witness to prove the execution of the will or its validity or invalidity.

RSA 2000 cW‑12 s14;2002 cA‑4.5 s80

Executor as witness

15   A person is not incompetent as a witness to prove the execution of a will or its validity or invalidity solely because the person is an executor.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s15

Revocation

16   A will or part of a will is revoked only by

                                 (a)    the marriage of the testator, subject to section 17,

                              (a.1)    the testator’s entering into an adult interdependent partner agreement, subject to section 17.1,

                                 (b)    another will made in accordance with this Act,

                                 (c)    a writing declaring an intention to revoke and made in accordance with the provisions of this Act governing the making of a will, or

                                 (d)    burning, tearing or otherwise destroying it by the testator or by some person in the testator’s presence and by the testator’s direction with the intention of revoking it.

RSA 2000 cW‑12 s16;2002 cA‑4.5 s80

Revocation by marriage

17   A will is revoked by the marriage of the testator except when

                                 (a)    there is a declaration in the will that it is made in contemplation of the marriage, or

                                 (b)    the will is made in exercise of a power of appointment of real or personal property that would not in default of the appointment pass to the heir, executor or administrator of the testator or to the persons entitled to the estate of the testator if the testator died intestate.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s17

Revocation by entering into an adult interdependent partner agreement

17.1   A will is revoked by the testator’s entering into an adult interdependent partner agreement except when

                                 (a)    there is a declaration in the will that it is made in contemplation of entering into an adult interdependent partner agreement, or

                                 (b)    the will is made in exercise of a power of appointment of real or personal property that would not in default of the appointment pass to the heir, executor or administrator of the testator or to the persons entitled to the estate of the testator if the testator died intestate.

2002 cA‑4.5 s80

No revocation by presumption

18   A will is not revoked by presumption of an intention to revoke it on the ground of a change in circumstances.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s18

Alteration of will

19(1)  Subject to subsection (2), unless an alteration that is made in a will after the will has been made is made in accordance with the provisions of this Act governing the making of a will, the alteration has no effect except to invalidate words or meanings that it renders no longer apparent.

(2)  An alteration that is made in a will after the will has been made is validly made when the signature of the testator and the subscription of witnesses to the signature of the testator to the alteration, or, in the case of a will that was made under section 6 or 7, the signature of the testator, are or is made

                                 (a)    in the margin or in some other part of the will opposite or near to the alteration, or

                                 (b)    at the foot or end of or opposite to a memorandum referring to the alteration and written in some part of the will.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s19

Revival of will

20(1)  A will or part of a will that has been in any manner revoked is revived only

                                 (a)    by re‑execution of it with the required formalities, if any, or

                                 (b)    by a codicil that has been made in accordance with this Act that shows an intention to give effect to the will or part that was revoked.

(2)  Except when a contrary intention is shown, if a will which has been partly revoked and afterward wholly revoked, is revived, the revival does not extend to the part that was revoked before the revocation of the whole.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s20

Subsequent conveyance

21(1)  A conveyance of or other act relating to real or personal property comprised in a devise or bequest or other disposition made or done after the making of a will does not prevent operation of the will with respect to any estate or interest in the property that the testator had power to dispose of by will at the time of the testator’s death.

(2)  Except when a contrary intention appears by the will, when a testator at the time of the testator’s death has a right or chose in action or equitable estate or interest that was created by

                                 (a)    a contract entered into after the making of the will and respecting real or personal property that was comprised in a devise or bequest,

                                 (b)    a conveyance made after the making of the will and relating to real or personal property that was comprised in a devise or bequest, or

                                 (c)    any other act done after the making of the will and relating to real or personal property that was comprised in a devise or bequest,

the devisee or donee of that real or personal property takes the right or chose in action or equitable estate or interest of the testator.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s21

Will to speak from death

22   Except when a contrary intention appears by the will, a will speaks and takes effect as if it had been made immediately before the death of the testator with respect to

                                 (a)    the real and personal property, and

                                 (b)    the right or chose in action or equitable estate or interest or the proceeds under section 21(2).

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s22

Lapsed gifts

23   Except when a contrary intention appears by the will, real or personal property or an interest in real or personal property that is comprised or intended to be comprised in a devise or bequest that fails or becomes void

                                 (a)    by reason of the death of the devisee or donee in the lifetime of the testator, or

                                 (b)    by reason of the devise or bequest being contrary to law or otherwise incapable of taking effect,

is included in the residuary devise or bequest, if any, contained in the will.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s23

Devises of land

24   Except when a contrary intention appears by the will, if a testator devises

                                 (a)    the testator’s land,

                                 (b)    the testator’s land in a place mentioned in the will, or in the occupation of a person mentioned in the will,

                                 (c)    land described in a general manner, or

                                 (d)    land described in a manner that would include a leasehold estate if the testator had no freehold estate that could be described in the manner used,

the devise includes the leasehold estates of the testator, or any of them to which the description extends, as well as freehold estates.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s24

General disposition

25(1)  Except when a contrary intention appears by the will, a general devise of

                                 (a)    the real property of the testator,

                                 (b)    the real property of the testator in a place mentioned in the will or in the occupation of a person mentioned in the will, or

                                 (c)    real property described in a general manner,

includes any real property, or any real property to which the description extends, that the testator has power to appoint in any manner the testator thinks proper and operates as an execution of the power.

(2)  Except when a contrary intention appears by the will, a bequest of

                                 (a)    the personal property of the testator, or

                                 (b)    personal property described in a general manner,

includes any personal property, or any personal property to which the description extends, that the testator has power to appoint in any manner the testator thinks proper and operates as an execution of the power.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s25

Gift of real property

26   Except when a contrary intention appears by the will, if real property is devised to a person without words of limitation, the devise passes the fee simple or the whole of any other estate that the testator had power to dispose of by will in the real property.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s26

Gift to “heir”

27   Except when a contrary intention appears by the will, if property is devised or bequeathed to the “heir” of the testator or of another person, the word “heir” means the person to whom the beneficial interest in the property would go under the law of Alberta if the testator or the other person died intestate.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s27

Words importing failure of issue

28(1)  Subject to subsection (2), in a devise or bequest of real or personal property

                                 (a)    the words

                                           (i)    “die without issue”,

                                          (ii)    “die without leaving issue”, or

                                         (iii)    “have no issue”,

                                     or

                                 (b)    other words importing either a want or failure of issue of a person in the person’s lifetime or at the time of the person’s death or an indefinite failure of the person’s issue,

mean a want or failure of issue in the lifetime or at the time of the death of that person, and do not mean an indefinite failure of that person’s issue unless a contrary intention appears by the will.

(2)  This section does not extend to cases where the import of the words defined in subsection (1) is

                                 (a)    “if no issue described in a preceding gift be born”, or

                                 (b)    “if there be no issue who live to attain the age or otherwise answer the description required for obtaining a vested estate by a preceding gift to that issue”.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s28

Devise to trustee

29   Except when there is devised to a trustee, expressly or by implication, an estate for a definite term of years absolute or determinable or an estate of freehold, a devise of real property to a trustee or executor passes the fee simple or the whole of any other estate or interest that the testator had power to dispose of by will in the real property.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s29

Option to purchase

30(1)  Except when a contrary intention appears by the will, if a will confers a power or imposes a duty to sell real property, the power is deemed to include the power to grant an option to purchase that property, if the period within which the option may be exercised is not longer than one year from the date on which the instrument granting the option is executed.

(2)  Notwithstanding section 2(1), this section applies to wills made before, on or after July 1, 1960.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s30

Devise to trustee

31   If real property is devised to a trustee without express limitation of the estate to be taken by the trustee and the beneficial interest in the real property or in the surplus rents and profits

                                 (a)    is not given to a person for life, or

                                 (b)    is given to a person for life but the purpose of the trust may continue beyond the person’s life,

the devise vests in the trustee the fee simple or the whole of any other legal estate that the testator had power to dispose of by will in the real property and not an estate determinable when the purposes of the trust are satisfied.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s31

Gift for charitable purpose

32(1)  If a testator leaves property in trust or by outright gift for a charitable purpose that is linked conjunctively or disjunctively in the will with a non‑charitable purpose and the non‑charitable purpose is void for uncertainty or for any other cause, the charitable trust or gift is valid and operates solely for the benefit of the charitable purpose.

(2)  If a testator leaves property in trust or by outright gift for a charitable purpose that is linked conjunctively or disjunctively in the will with a non‑charitable purpose, and the non‑charitable purpose is not void, the trust or gift is valid for both purposes and if the will has not divided the property among the charitable and non‑charitable purposes, the trustee or executor shall divide the property among the charitable and non‑charitable purposes according to the trustee’s or executor’s discretion.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s32

Lapse of time in devise

33   Except when a contrary intention appears by the will, if a person to whom real property is devised for what would have been, under the law of England, an estate tail or in quasi entail

                                 (a)    dies

                                           (i)    in the lifetime of the testator,

                                          (ii)    at the same time as the testator, or

                                         (iii)    in circumstances rendering it uncertain whether that person or the testator survived the other,

                                     and

                                 (b)    leaves issue who would inherit under the entail if that estate existed,

if any such issue are living at the time of the death of the testator, the devise does not lapse but takes effect as if the death of that person had happened immediately after the death of the testator.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s33

Lapse in gifts to children

34(1)  Except when a contrary intention appears by the will, if a person dies in the lifetime of a testator either before or after the testator makes the will and that person

                                 (a)    is a child or other issue or a brother or sister of the testator to whom, either as an individual or as a member of a class, is devised or bequeathed an estate or interest in real or personal property not determinable at or before that person’s death, and

                                 (b)    leaves issue, any of whom is living at the time of the death of the testator,

the devise or bequest does not lapse, but takes effect as if it had been made directly to the persons among whom and in the shares in which the estate of that person would have been divisible if that person had died intestate and without debts immediately after the death of the testator.

(2)  This section only applies with respect to a devise or bequest in a will made on or after July 1, 1960 and before June 1, 1968.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s34

Lapse in gifts to children

35(1)  Except when a contrary intention appears by the will, if a person dies in the lifetime of a testator either before or after the testator makes the will and that person

                                 (a)    is a child or other issue or a brother or sister of the testator to whom, either as an individual or as a member of a class, is devised or bequeathed an estate or interest in real or personal property not determinable at or before that person’s death, and

                                 (b)    leaves issue, any of whom is living at the time of the death of the testator,

the devise or bequest does not lapse, but takes effect as if it had been made directly to the persons among whom and in the shares in which the estate of that person would have been divisible if that person had died intestate and without debts immediately after the death of the testator, except that the surviving spouse or adult interdependent partner of that person is not entitled to receive a preferential share as provided under section 3 of the Intestate Succession Act.

(2)  This section only applies with respect to a devise or bequest in a will made on or after June 1, 1968.

RSA 2000 cW‑12 s35;2002 cA‑4.5 s80

Gift to illegitimate children

36   In the construction of a will, except when a contrary intention appears by the will, an illegitimate child shall be treated as if that child were the legitimate child of that child’s mother.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s36

Disposition of mortgaged property

37(1)  If a person dies possessed of, or entitled to, or under a general power of appointment by the person’s will disposes of, an interest in freehold or leasehold property that, at the time of the person’s death, is subject to a mortgage, and the deceased has not, by will, deed or other document, signified a contrary or other intention, the interest is, as between the different persons claiming through the deceased, primarily liable for the payment or satisfaction of the mortgage debt, and every part of the interest, according to its value, bears a proportionate part of the mortgage debt on the whole interest.

(2)  A testator does not signify a contrary or other intention within subsection (1) by

                                 (a)    a general direction for the payment of debts or of all the debts of the testator out of the testator’s personal estate or the testator’s residuary real or personal estate, or the testator’s residuary real estate, or

                                 (b)    a charge of debts on that estate,

unless the testator further signifies that intention by words expressly or by necessary implication referring to all or some part of the mortgage debt.

(3)  Nothing in this section affects a right of a person entitled to the mortgage debt to obtain payment or satisfaction either out of the other assets of the deceased or otherwise.

(4)  In this section, “mortgage” includes an equitable mortgage, and any charge whatsoever, whether equitable, statutory or of other nature, including a lien or claim on freehold or leasehold property for unpaid purchase money, and “mortgage debt” has a meaning similarly extended.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s37

Undisposed residue

38(1)  When a person dies on or after July 1, 1960, having by will appointed a person executor, the executor is a trustee of any residue not expressly disposed of, for the person or persons, if any, who would be entitled to that residue in the event of intestacy in respect to it, unless the person so appointed executor was intended by the will to take the residue beneficially.

(2)  Nothing in this section affects or prejudices a right to which the executor, if this Part had not been passed, would have been entitled, in cases where there is not a person who would be so entitled.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s38

Part 2
Conflict of Laws

Wills of land and movables

39(1)  In this Part,

                                 (a)    an interest in land includes a leasehold estate as well as a freehold estate in land, and any other estate or interest in land whether the estate or interest is real property or is personal property;

                                 (b)    an interest in movables includes an interest in a tangible or intangible thing other than land, and includes personal property other than an estate or interest in land.

(2)  Subject to this Part, the manner and formalities of making a will, and its intrinsic validity and effect, so far as it relates to an interest in land, are governed by the law of the place where the land is situated.

(3)  Subject to this Part, the manner and formalities of making a will, and its intrinsic validity and effect, so far as it relates to an interest in movables, are governed by the law of the place where the testator was domiciled at the time of the testator’s death.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s39

Law in force governs

40   As regards the manner and formalities of making a will, so far as it relates to an interest in movables, a will made either within or outside Alberta is valid and admissible to probate if it is made in accordance with the law in force at the time of its making in the place where

                                 (a)    the will was made,

                                 (b)    the testator was domiciled when the will was made, or

                                 (c)    the testator had the testator’s domicile of origin.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s40

Change of domicile

41   A change of domicile of the testator occurring after a will is made does not render it invalid as regards the manner and formalities of its making or alter its construction.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s41

Law of domicile

42   Nothing in this Part precludes resort to the law of the place where the testator was domiciled at the time of making a will in aid of its construction as regards an interest in land or an interest in movables.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s42

Law where land situated governs

43   When the value of a thing that is movable consists mainly or entirely in its use in connection with a particular parcel of land by the owner or occupier of the land, succession to an interest in the thing, under a will or on an intestacy, is governed by the law of the place where the land is situated.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s43

Part 3
International Wills

Definitions

44   In this Part,

                                 (a)    “Convention” means the Convention Providing a Uniform Law on the Form of an International Will, a copy of which is set out in the Schedule to this Act;

                                 (b)    “international will” means a will that has been made in accordance with the rules regarding an international will set out in the Annex to the Convention;

                                 (c)    “registrar” means the person responsible for the operation and management of the registration system;

                                 (d)    “registration system” means a system for the registration, or the registration and safekeeping, of international wills established under section 49 or pursuant to an agreement entered into under section 50.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s44

Application of Convention

45   On and after December 1, 1978, the Convention is in force in Alberta and applies to wills as the law of Alberta.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s45

Uniform law in effect

46   On and after December 1, 1978, the uniform law on the form of an international will set out in the Annex to the Convention is law in Alberta.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s46

Validity under other laws

47   Nothing in this Part detracts from or affects the validity of a will that is valid under the laws in force in Alberta other than this Part.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s47

Authorized persons

48   All active members of The Law Society of Alberta are designated as persons authorized to act in connection with international wills.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s48

Registration system

49   The Minister of Justice and Attorney General shall, in accordance with the regulations, establish a system of

                                 (a)    registration, or

                                 (b)    registration and safekeeping,

of international wills.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s49;1994 cG‑8.5 s89

Agreements re registration system

50   With the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General for and on behalf of Her Majesty in right of Alberta may enter into an agreement with the government of another province or territory or a Minister or official of the government of another province or territory relating to the establishment of a system of registration or registration and safekeeping of international wills for Alberta and that other province or territory, and for the joint operation of that system, or relating to the exchange of information contained in a system established under section 49 and a similar system established for that other province or territory.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s50;1994 cG‑8.5 s89

Joint registration system

51   If a registration system is established pursuant to an agreement entered into under section 50, the Minister of Justice and Attorney General is relieved of the Minister’s obligation under section 49.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s51;1994 cG‑8.5 s89

Disclosure of information, etc.

52(1)  Information contained in the registration system concerning the international will of a testator must not be released from the system except in accordance with an agreement made under section 50 or except to a person who satisfies the registrar that

                                 (a)    the person is the testator,

                                 (b)    the person is a person who is authorized by the testator to obtain that information, or

                                 (c)    the testator is dead and the person is a proper person to have access to the information.

(2)  When the registration system provides for the safekeeping of international wills, an international will of a testator deposited in the system must not be released except to a person who satisfies the registrar that

                                 (a)    the person is the testator,

                                 (b)    the person is a person who is authorized by the testator to obtain the will, or

                                 (c)    the testator is dead and the person is a proper person to have custody of the will for the purposes of the administration of the estate of the testator or the agent of such a person.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s52

Use of registration system

53(1)  If a member of The Law Society of Alberta has acted during any month in respect of one or more international wills in the member’s capacity as a person authorized to act in connection with international wills, the member shall, on or before the 10th day of the next month, file with the registrar, in a sealed envelope, a list on a form prescribed under the regulations, certified by the member or the member’s agent, setting out the name, address and description of the testator and the date of execution of each international will in respect of which the member so acted, and the registrar shall enter the information in the registration system.

(2)  The failure of a member of The Law Society of Alberta to comply with subsection (1) in respect of an international will does not affect the validity of the international will.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s53

Regulations

54   The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations respecting the operation, maintenance and use of the registration system, and without limiting the generality of the foregoing, may make regulations

                                 (a)    prescribing forms for use in the system, and

                                 (b)    prescribing fees for searches of the registration system.

RSA 1980 cW‑11 s54

Schedule   

Convention Providing a Uniform Law on the
Form of an International Will

The States signatory to the present Convention,

   DESIRING to provide to a greater extent for the respecting of last wills by establishing an additional form of will hereinafter to be called an “international will” which, if employed, would dispense to some extent with the search for the applicable law;

   HAVE RESOLVED to conclude a Convention for this purpose and have agreed upon the following provisions:

Article I

1   Each Contracting Party undertakes that not later than 6 months after the date of entry into force of this Convention in respect of that Party it shall introduce into its law the rules regarding an international will set out in the Annex to this Convention.

2   Each Contracting Party may introduce the provisions of the Annex into its law either by reproducing the actual text, or by translating it into its official language or languages.

3   Each Contracting Party may introduce into its law such further provisions as are necessary to give the provisions of the Annex full effect in its territory.

4   Each Contracting Party shall submit to the Depositary Government the text of the rules introduced into its national law in order to implement the provisions of this Convention.

Article II

1   Each Contracting Party shall implement the provisions of the Annex in its law, within the period provided for in the preceding article, by designating the persons who, in its territory, shall be authorized to act in connection with international wills.  It may also designate as a person authorized to act with regard to its nationals its diplomatic or consular agents abroad insofar as the local law does not prohibit it.

2   The Party shall notify such designation, as well as any modifications thereof, to the Depositary Government.

Article III

   The capacity of the authorized person to act in connection with an international will, if conferred in accordance with the law of a Contracting Party, shall be recognized in the territory of the other Contracting Parties.

Article IV

  The effectiveness of the certificate provided for in Article 10 of the Annex shall be recognized in the territories of all Contracting Parties.

Article V

1   The conditions requisite to acting as a witness of an international will shall be governed by the law under which the authorized person was designated.  The same rule shall apply as regards an interpreter who is called upon to act.

2   Nonetheless no one shall be disqualified to act as a witness of an international will solely because he is an alien.

Article VI

1   The signature of the testator, of the authorized person, and of the witnesses to an international will, whether on the will or on the certificate, shall be exempt from any legalization or like formality.

2   Nonetheless, the competent authorities of any Contracting Party may, if necessary, satisfy themselves as to the authenticity of the signature of the authorized person.

Article VII

   The safekeeping of an international will shall be governed by the law under which the authorized person was designated.

Article VIII

   No reservation shall be admitted to this Convention or to its Annex.

Article IX