3.8 How will my heirs know about my will?

If you have a holograph will or a will before witnesses, make sure you keep it in a safe place, like a safety deposit box, or with a lawyer. Before your death, make sure you tell someone you trust where to find your will.

After your death, your relatives can search this register to find out if you have registered a will. They can do this by:

  1. contacting a notary, who will do the search for them, or
  2. searching the register themselves. To do so, they must send
    • the original Act of Death plus a copy
    • payment by Visa or Mastercard, a money order or certified cheque for $46.02 (at the time of printing), made out to the Chambre des notaires du Québec, and
    • the completed application form (available by e-mail at registres@cdnq.org, or by calling 1-800-340-4496 or 1-514-879-2906)

to the following address:

A magnifying glass

A Canadian stamp


Registres des dispositions testamentaires et
des mandats de la Chambre des notaires du
Québec
Tour de la Bourse
800, Place-Victoria, niveau Promenade
C.P. 469,
Montréal, (Québec) H4Z 1L9


Your relatives will receive a search certificate that tells them whether a will is registered in your name. It will also tell them the name, address and phone number of the lawyer or notary who has the original will.