Gifts to witnesses/signees

If a person who witnesses a will or their spouse is given any property or benefit in the will, that portion of the will is considered invalid for them or anyone claiming under them.

However, the witness can still testify to the will's execution and validity or invalidity.

if someone signs the will for the testator (person making the will) and they or their spouse are given any property or benefit in the will, that portion is also considered invalid, but the will itself is still valid.

if the court determines that there was no improper influence, then the invalidity may be lifted.

An exception to this rule is if the will is attested by at least two people who are not within this section or if no attestation is required.

Executor/Creditor as witness

If a will charges property with a debt and a creditor or their spouse who is owed the debt attests to the will, they can still be a competent witness to prove the will's execution or its validity or invalidity.

A person is not considered incompetent as a witness to prove the execution, validity or invalidity of a will solely because they are named as an executor in the will.

Conveyance relating will

Any conveyance or act relating to property that is the subject of a will, made after the creation of the will, does not prevent the operation of the will with respect to any estate or interest in the property that the testator (the person who created the will) had the power to dispose of by will at the time of their death.

If the testator had a right, chose in action (a legal term for the right to take legal action to enforce a claim), equitable estate or interest in the property, or if they had a right to receive insurance proceeds or compensation related to the property, or if they had a mortgage, charge or other security interest in the property, then the person who receives the property as part of the will also receives these rights and interests, unless the will indicates otherwise.

Leaseholds

When a testator (person who made the will) devises their real property in a will, it includes any leasehold estates they have to which the description extends, as well as freehold estates, unless the will states otherwise.

If a testator has the power to appoint real or personal property in any manner they think is proper, a general devise or bequest of their real or personal property in a will operates as an execution of that power unless the will states otherwise.

if someone leaves in their will a gift of their personal property or a general description of personal property, this gift will also include any other personal property that they have the power to give away in any way they choose. This is called "appointing" the property, and it will be considered as part of the gift specified in the will, unless the will says otherwise.

Devise to trustee or executor

If a testator leaves a will that includes a devise of real property to a trustee or executor without specific limitations, then the trustee or executor will inherit the full estate or interest that the testator had the power to dispose of by will in the real property, such as the fee simple. However, this is only true if the devise does not include an estate for a definite term of years or a determinable or freehold estate.

Substitutional Gifts

if someone in the family of the person making a will dies before them, but has a surviving spouse or children, any gifts or property given to that person in the will does not just disappear. Instead, it will go to the surviving spouse or children in the same way that it would have gone to the deceased person if they had survived and inherited the property after the person making the will had died. This is true as long as there is no language in the will that says otherwise.

Mortgage

If the deceased did not indicate in their will or any other document who should pay off the mortgage, the people inheriting the property will be primarily responsible for paying off the debt. Each person who inherits a share of the property will be accountable for a portion of the mortgage debt, based on the value of their share.

If the deceased did leave behind a general direction to pay off debts or charge debts to their estate, this does not qualify as a contrary intention to paying off the mortgage debt.

Only if the deceased explicitly mentions the mortgage debt in their will can it be considered a contrary intention. In such a case, the responsibility for paying off the mortgage debt will be redefined.

this does not impact the right of the mortgage lender to seek payment or satisfaction from the deceased's other assets or from any other person who is obligated to pay off the mortgage.

Ont SLRA s.12, 13, 14, 20, 24, 25, 29, 31, 32