Wills and mandates
Information on wills and mandates
Find answers to your questions before searching through our registers in a few easy steps.
Canada Post strike
Due to the Canada Post strike, we are unable to mail certificates of search for wills and protection mandates.
When the certificate of search for a will or protection mandate that you requested is ready, you will receive it by email. This document is generally accepted by financial institutions.
For any additional questions related to the Barreau du Québec search certificate, please contact Info-Barreau, Monday to Friday, from 8:15 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.:
514-954-3411 or toll-free at 1-844-954-3411
infobarreau@barreau.qc.ca
Significant Increase in Will Search Requests – Expected Processing Delays
In the context of the class action lawsuits against tobacco companies, several organizations, including the Chambre des notaires and the Barreau du Québec, are receiving an exceptional number of search requests seeking documents needed to process files. These unforeseen and numerous requests are placing increased pressure on registry services.
Although measures are in place to respond effectively, longer than normal delays are temporarily expected. We encourage you to take this situation into account when making your requests and to be patient. The organizations involved are actively working to reduce the impact and process requests as quickly as possible.
Please note that the search certificate from the Barreau du Québec will be sent to you by mail.
How do you determine whether a person close to you entrusted a will or mandate to a lawyer?
To find out whether someone close to you entrusted a will or mandate to a lawyer, you must request a search to the single Portal registry service for wills and protection mandates of the Barreau du Québec and the Chambre des notaires.
If you are acting as the liquidator of an estate, the Civil Code imposes a duty on you to determine whether the deceased person had a will.
Where is the original of the will or mandate given to a lawyer?
The Barreau does not receive or retain any of these documents, which are confidential by nature. This means that the document itself (the will or mandate) is not sent to the Barreau. The document is kept by the lawyer in his office. It is not necessary that the lawyer have prepared the document himself. The important thing is that the document was handed over to him for safekeeping in his office.
What information do lawyers provide to the Barreau?
The following information is provided to the Barreau and appears in the registers: the last name and first name of the testator (the person who made the will) or the mandator (the person who gave a mandate to another person), as the case may be, his occupation and address, the date of the document and the name and contact information of the lawyer who registered it. The registers also indicate whether the lawyer held onto the document or handed it over to another lawyer, to the testator or to the mandator.
What does the Barreau do with the information it receives?
Once the lawyer has registered the wills and protection mandates in his possession, the Barreau records the information in the Wills and Protection Mandates Registry of the Barreau du Québec. The testator, their attorney (the person holding a power of attorney to act on the testator’s behalf), their heirs after death, or the liquidator of the estate may then request a search for a will or a mandate.