Signing guide
How to sign your will in New Brunswick
- Witnesses
- 2, present together
- Minimum age
- 19
- Handwritten will
- Can be valid without witnesses
- Law
- Wills Act (SNB 2023, c. 21)
Step by step
- 1
Print the will and review it carefully.
- 2
Gather two adult witnesses who are NOT beneficiaries or spouses of beneficiaries.
- 3
Sign every page. Sign the signature block on the final page in the simultaneous presence of both witnesses.
- 4
Both witnesses sign in your presence and each other's presence.
- 5
Have one witness swear an Affidavit of Execution before a commissioner of oaths.
- 6
Store the original will safely and tell your executor where it is.
Before your witnesses sign
- Each witness is an adult of sound mind.
- No witness receives anything in the will, and no witness is married to someone who does.
- You and all witnesses are in the same room for the whole signing.
- Nobody changes, adds or removes pages after signing.
Good to know in New Brunswick
- Beneficiary designations on RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs, and life insurance pass OUTSIDE the estate.
- Joint tenancy with right of survivorship bypasses the estate.
Related documents in New Brunswick
- Power of attorney for property
- Enduring Power of Attorney
- Health care and personal decisions
- Medical Advance Directive / Personal Directive
- Organ donation registry
- NB Organ Donation (beathenumber1.ca)
- Government pension survivor benefit
- Canada Pension Plan, claimed from Service Canada
Beneficiaries named directly on RRSPs, TFSAs and life insurance receive those assets outside the will, so Faraid shares do not apply to them. Review those designations too.
Islamic note
This guide has not yet been reviewed by a lawyer in New Brunswick. It explains the usual formalities and is not legal advice. Printed from mWill, muslim-will.ca.