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Wills: Non-Compliance with Formalities


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Wills: Non-Compliance with Formalties

Final Report No. 84 (107 pages - 1.4MB) was published in June 2000. This report recommends that Alberta courts be given power to admit to probate a will or an alteration, revocation or revival of a will which does not comply with the formalities prescribed by the Wills Act. This power is generally referred to as a "dispensing power". The power could be exercised only if a court is satisfied by clear and convincing evidence that the testator intended to adopt the document as a will, alteration, revocation or revival. In extreme cases, a court could even admit to probate a document which, for inadvertence or other good reason, a testator fails to sign. The only formal requirement that could not be dispensed with in a proper case would be writing. Electronic records could not be admitted to probate.