Find & Register Wills

FIND A WILL

The Toronto Lawyers’ Association has over 3,000 members and does not have the capacity to track the location of legal documents, such as wills, in Toronto. As such, we recommend anyone looking for a will visit the Canada Will Registry to conduct a Will Search.

You can fill in their short form to tell them who you are, whose will you're searching for, and how to reach you. Their system takes your search query and compares it against the wills in their database. Their FAQ explains how it works.

Anyone can search the (growing) database of 250,000 wills for $95 + HST (standard search). They can alternatively do a professional search for $170 + HST, which checks the registry and includes a public Knowledge of a Will notice.

Please visit the Law Society of Ontario’s Locating wills and documents webpage for more guidance on finding legal documents in Ontario.
 

REGISTER A WILL WITH THE CANADA WILL REGISTRY (For Legal Practitioners)

TLA is frequently asked to canvass its members about missing wills, but we know that you don’t want to be bombarded with one-off emails. NoticeConnect is the operator of the Canada Will Registry and has fully automated the process of providing you Will searches that are only relevant to you.

How it works:

1. Sign up for your free Canada Will Registry account and register all the Wills stored or produced by your law firm. The service is completely free.
2. Each time a practitioner throughout Canada searches for a Will, the Canada Will Registry looks for Wills that match or closely approximate the particulars of the Will being searched. If a similar Will is stored within your free Canada Will Registry Virtual Vault, you are sent a notification along with the particulars of the Will search so you can respond to the requesting party. Your law firm information and Will registration details are never shared with parties searching for a Will.

You are only sent notifications when someone searches for a Will that matches or closely approximates Wills you have registered with the Canada Will Registry, saving you a considerable amount of time over the previous process where you were sent all searches monthly. 

Here's how to get started:

1. Create your NoticeConnect account.
2. Complete your Account Details - make sure you select "I am a Law Firm/Estate Trustee". Click Save.
3. Click on the "Order Now" button in the Products For You box.
4. Select "Law Firm Will Registration" and follow the on-screen prompts to register your firm’s wills.
5. You can register your wills one at a time by filling in the registration form or you can do a bulk upload to register many wills at once.

If someone is searching for a will that you registered, you'll get a notification by email.

Here's how to check your notifications:

1. Log into your account.
2. Click on My Will Vault from the Products For You box on the right-hand side.
3. Click on the line that says, e.g., "You have 1 notification."
4. You'll be brought to the Notifications page. View your tickets, record notes, and mark them as closed after you've responded.

Remember to keep your free Canada Will Registry Virtual Vault current by registering each Will your law firm produces for clients.

Training Sessions Available

If you'd like to attend a training webinar to see how to register Wills, you can sign up for this from your account. Once you're logged in, click on "Register for Live Online Training".

If you need assistance at any time, please contact Customer Service at info@noticeconnect.com or 1 (866) 577-8509.