COOPERATIVE MEMORIAL SOCIETY
  • Home
  • About
    • Mandate and Action Plan >
      • Request Presentation
    • Testimonials
    • History
    • We're a co-op >
      • Business Case: Funeral Co-op in Calgary
    • Governance >
      • Board of Directors >
        • Join Board
      • Bylaws
      • AGM Materials
      • Become a Volunteer
    • Memorial Societies & Funeral Co-ops
    • Legislation
  • Membership
    • Purchase Online
    • Purchase by Cheque
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Hard copy forms
    • Terms & Conditions and Privacy policy
  • Partners & Funeral Plans
  • Registry
    • About the Registry >
      • Troubleshooting Login >
        • Dealing with 3rd party cookies
    • Member Login
  • Plan Your Future
    • Must-Have Decisional Documents
    • Talk about Death
    • Plan now for unexpected health issues >
      • Personal Directive >
        • Being an Agent
      • The Adult Guardianship and Trusteeship Act in Alberta
      • Palliative & End-of-Life Care >
        • Hospice Care
        • Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID)
    • Body, Organ & Tissue Donation
    • Advanced Financial Planning >
      • Enduring Power of Attorney
    • Estate Planning >
      • Common Terms
      • Will >
        • Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Alberta
      • Selecting an Personal Representative (Executor)
      • Being the Executor >
        • Grant of Probate
        • Executor's Checklist
      • Dealing with your belongings
    • End-of-Life / Funeral Plans >
      • Family-Led Death Care
      • Funeral Home Death Care
      • Religious Traditions & Funerals
      • Body Disposition Options >
        • Cremation & Aquamation
        • Burial
        • Green Burials
      • Alberta Municipal Cemeteries
  • Dealing with a Death
    • Funeral homes with our plans
    • Steps to Take
    • After-death Documentation
    • Writing the Obituary
    • Death Benefits
    • Grief Support
    • Useful links
  • Contact us

Wills

A will is a legal document that allows you to:
  • direct how your property will be distributed after your death
  • name your executor(s) or personal representative(s) who will represent your estate after your death and carry out the wishes you have stated in your will
  • name a guardian for any children who are minors at the time of your death
A properly prepared will allows you to direct where your property will go after your death. A will can help relieve stress from your family and loved ones during a time of grief, and can ensure your last wishes are followed.

What happens if I do not have a will when I die?

In Alberta, if you die without a will (or there is estate property which is not disposed of in the will), your estate will fall into what is called intestacy, and you will be referred to as the intestate. The Wills and Succession Act decides out how a person's estate will be distributed if they die intestate. 
​

Types of Wills

There are different types of wills, each with certain formalities and requirements to make them valid.
A formal will:
  • is in writing, has your signature
  • is signed in the presence of 2 witnesses, who also sign the will in your presence
A holograph will:
  • is prepared entirely in your own handwriting and signed by you
    ​

Preparing a will

It is recommended that anyone interested in making a will consult a lawyer, who can help prepare your will. If you do not have a lawyer, you can contact the Law Society of Alberta’s Lawyer Referral service program at 1-800-661-1095.
​

Storing Your Will

The location of your original will is important. There is only one original will – the one that is signed by the willmaker and the witnesses. This original will should be safely guarded.  If the original cannot be found, the law will presume that the willmaker intended to revoke the will.  If an original will is destroyed in circumstances that clearly do not reflect the intention by the willmaker to revoke the will, a copy of the will may be admitted to Probate.
Here are some options for storing your will:
At Home, In a Safe
Some people prefer to keep their wills at home.  It is a no-cost option, and your original will is easily accessible in case you wish to change it in a rush. However, your will can be damaged or destroyed in a fire or flood, or accidentally or intentionally destroyed by someone other than you. Be sure your executor(s) know the location of your safe and the passcode. 
Safety Deposit Box
Most financial institutions have safety deposit boxes where you can keep your will. The benefit is that the original may only be retrieved by the Executor upon your death, protecting the original from alteration, destruction or removal. Safety deposit boxes have the added benefit of being housed in a more secure setting than your home and provide greater protection against destruction of the will in the event of a disaster. Keeping your will in a safety deposit box at your financial institution is preferable because your financial accounts are invariably examined upon your death in order to determine the extent of the Estate. During such preliminary investigations your will can be retrieved by your named Executor(s) in the will. 
At your Lawyer’s Office
Your lawyer may be able to store your will at their office. However, not all lawyers have the facilities to keep original wills. 
While storing your will at a law firm provides a degree of security, it may provide administrative problems for you and the law firm because:
  • the law firm may not survive you; or
  • the drafting solicitor may not survive you; or
  • the drafting solicitor may not be employed by the Firm at the time of your death; or
  • you may die without revealing to anyone that your lawyer's firm held a copy of the will.
All of these events could lead to your will being misplaced or unavailable upon your death, creating unnecessary administrative hassle for your Executor(s) and the Beneficiaries of your Estate, possibly even resulting in intestacy.​
​

More information

The Globe and Mail: How to create a legal will in Canada
​Government of Alberta: Wills in Alberta
Cooperative Memorial Society (CMS)
Suite 204A, 223-12th Ave. S.W. Calgary, Ab. T2R 0G9 Canada (Appointments required)
1-403-248-2044 
​Toll free: 1-800-566-9959
admin@calgarymemorial.com

​
​The Cooperative Memorial Society of Alberta would like to acknowledge that what we refer to as Alberta is the traditional ancestral territory of a diversity of Indigenous peoples and home to Treaty 6, 7, and 8. We honor the Blackfoot Confederacy – Kainai, Piikani, and Siksika, the Cree, Dene, Saulteaux, Nakota Sioux, Stoney Nakoda, the Tsuu T’ina Nation and the Métis People of Alberta. This includes the Métis Settlements and the Six Regions of the Métis Nation of Alberta within the historical Northwest Métis Homeland. We recognize and give thanks to the many First Nations, Métis and Inuit who have lived in and cared for these lands for generations, all who continue to grace these lands, and all future generations. We are grateful for the traditional Knowledge Keepers and Elders who are still with us today and those who have gone before us. We make this acknowledgement as an act of reconciliation and gratitude to those whose territory we reside on or are visiting.
  • Home
  • About
    • Mandate and Action Plan >
      • Request Presentation
    • Testimonials
    • History
    • We're a co-op >
      • Business Case: Funeral Co-op in Calgary
    • Governance >
      • Board of Directors >
        • Join Board
      • Bylaws
      • AGM Materials
      • Become a Volunteer
    • Memorial Societies & Funeral Co-ops
    • Legislation
  • Membership
    • Purchase Online
    • Purchase by Cheque
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Hard copy forms
    • Terms & Conditions and Privacy policy
  • Partners & Funeral Plans
  • Registry
    • About the Registry >
      • Troubleshooting Login >
        • Dealing with 3rd party cookies
    • Member Login
  • Plan Your Future
    • Must-Have Decisional Documents
    • Talk about Death
    • Plan now for unexpected health issues >
      • Personal Directive >
        • Being an Agent
      • The Adult Guardianship and Trusteeship Act in Alberta
      • Palliative & End-of-Life Care >
        • Hospice Care
        • Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID)
    • Body, Organ & Tissue Donation
    • Advanced Financial Planning >
      • Enduring Power of Attorney
    • Estate Planning >
      • Common Terms
      • Will >
        • Association des juristes d’expression française de l’Alberta
      • Selecting an Personal Representative (Executor)
      • Being the Executor >
        • Grant of Probate
        • Executor's Checklist
      • Dealing with your belongings
    • End-of-Life / Funeral Plans >
      • Family-Led Death Care
      • Funeral Home Death Care
      • Religious Traditions & Funerals
      • Body Disposition Options >
        • Cremation & Aquamation
        • Burial
        • Green Burials
      • Alberta Municipal Cemeteries
  • Dealing with a Death
    • Funeral homes with our plans
    • Steps to Take
    • After-death Documentation
    • Writing the Obituary
    • Death Benefits
    • Grief Support
    • Useful links
  • Contact us