Notarial, holograph or before witnesses: does the form of will matter?
It matters for the estate and hardly at all for the contract. Quebec recognises a will received by a notary, one written entirely by hand, and one made before witnesses. Only the notarial form is authentic when made, so the other two must be verified after death.
What kind of answer this is
- Claim type: Requires another professional
- Jurisdiction: Quebec specific
Which form suits a particular family is advice a Quebec notary gives after seeing the whole picture. This page states that the choice exists and what it affects.
How it works
A notary receives the notarial will, retains it and enters it in a register, which is why it is authentic on the day it is signed and needs no verification afterwards. The handwritten form and the form made before witnesses are cheaper to make and are proved after death instead, which moves the cost and the delay from the person making the will to the family settling the estate.
The cost or the catch
The trap is assuming the choice reaches the insurance. It does not. An amount payable to a person named on the contract goes to them whatever form the will takes. Decide the will with a notary and the designation with the insurer, and have somebody read both together.
Where this answer may not apply
- A will made in another province and carried into Quebec raises questions of form that only a notary can answer.
- None of the three forms reaches an amount payable to a named beneficiary, because that amount is outside the succession.
- Verification is a step in the settlement, and it is not the same thing as the estate administration charge levied in other provinces.
- A will is only part of a plan and does not by itself deal with taxes, liquidity or a business interest.
What to verify in your own contract
- Which form your own will takes, and whether it was registered where the notarial and witnessed forms are recorded.
- Whether the will still names people who are alive and reachable today.
- Whether your beneficiary designations were reviewed at the same time as the will was signed.
- What your liquidator would need to produce, and whether they know where the documents are.
Continue to the full explanation
Prepare the questions for a CPA, a lawyer and an insurance professional.
Sources
- Civil Code of Quebec, LegisQuebec, verified 2026-08-30
- Chambre des notaires du Québec, published consumer information, verified 2026-08-30
Accountability and disclosure
- Written by
- José Salloum
- Professional capacity
- Financial security advisor, Canadian Wealth Creation Centre Inc., operating as IBC Financial
- Reviewed by
- Legal, creditor and estate tier, reviewed by qualified counsel before publication
- Jurisdiction
- Quebec specific
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30
- Version
- 1.0
- Compensation disclosure
- Canadian Wealth Creation Centre Inc., operating as IBC Financial, may receive insurer paid compensation if a policy is purchased. It takes the form of first year compensation followed by renewal compensation, and the amount varies by insurer, product, age, premium, contract design, riders and the arrangement with the managing general agency. No single figure would describe every contract honestly, and none is published here.
- Report a correction
- Info@ibcfinancial.com. Write without a policy number, medical information or account details.
Last reviewed 2026-08-30. By Jose Salloum, Financial Security Advisor.