Last updated: February 19, 2026

Affidavit of Execution of an Ontario Will: What a Notary Actually Does

Quick answer: An affidavit of execution is a sworn statement by a witness to an Ontario will, confirming they watched the testator sign and that everyone signed in each other's presence. Ontario's Superior Court of Justice generally requires it (Form 74.8) when an executor applies for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee — the court process most people call "probate." A notary public or commissioner for taking affidavits commissions the witness's sworn statement. The notary does not draft the affidavit, judge whether the will is valid, or run the probate file — that's a lawyer's job. In Ottawa, an affidavit appointment with us starts at $30 and usually takes 15–25 minutes.

If a parent or spouse has died and you're now staring at a will, a stack of court forms, and the words "affidavit of execution," you're in the right place. This is one of the more confusing pieces of an Ontario probate file because it sounds like the executor swears it, when in fact the witness to the will swears it. The terms also keep mutating: people call it the executor affidavit, the witness affidavit, the probate affidavit, or just "the 74.8."

This guide is written for executors, family members, and witnesses who have been asked to come into our Ottawa office to swear an affidavit of execution. It covers what the affidavit actually says, who is allowed to swear it, what a notary or commissioner does at the appointment, and what to bring. We'll also walk through five real-world Ottawa scenarios — the kind we see most weeks — and we'll be very clear about where the notary's job stops and the lawyer's job starts. We won't tell you whether a particular will is valid, whether your specific affidavit will be accepted by the court, or how to structure your probate application. Those are decisions for an Ontario lawyer who practices in estates.

What we will do is take the witness's sworn statement carefully, properly, and on the record — so the executor's lawyer has a clean piece of evidence to file with the application.

For background on the broader probate process and other estate documents, see our companion article on wills, estates and the notary's role. For the difference between affidavits and statutory declarations generally, see affidavit vs. statutory declaration.

Caption: An Ontario will, the witness's ID, and a notary seal — the three things an affidavit of execution appointment needs.

Key Takeaways

What an Affidavit of Execution Is For

The affidavit of execution exists to solve a single problem: how does the court know the will it's looking at was actually signed properly?

When someone dies in Ontario with a will, the executor (formally called the "estate trustee with a will") often needs to apply for a Certificate of Appointment of Estate Trustee at the Superior Court of Justice. That certificate is what financial institutions, the Land Titles office, and many third parties demand before they'll release the deceased's assets or transfer property. The application process is set out in Rule 74 of Ontario's Rules of Civil Procedure.

A typical Ontario will is signed by the testator (the person making the will) in the presence of two witnesses, and each witness signs in the presence of the testator and each other. That formality lives in section 4 of the Succession Law Reform Act. But the will itself, as a document filed with the court, doesn't prove those formalities were observed. It just shows three signatures on a page.

That's where the affidavit of execution comes in. It's a sworn statement from one of the witnesses — the deponent — confirming a few simple but important facts:

• They were present and saw the testator sign the will (or saw the testator acknowledge a signature already on the page).
• They saw the other witness sign too.
• The testator appeared to be of sound mind and was signing freely.
• They themselves are a witness, not a beneficiary.

In court forms, this lives in Form 74.8 — Affidavit of Execution of Will or Codicil. The exact form gets amended from time to time, so any executor preparing an application should download the current version from the Ontario Court Forms site rather than re-using a copy from a few years ago. The form is short — usually two or three pages — but it has to be sworn before a person authorized to take affidavits in Ontario, which means a notary public, a lawyer, or a commissioner for taking affidavits.

Why a separate affidavit instead of just the will?

A common reaction is: "the witnesses already signed the will, why do they need to swear another document?" The reason is that signatures on a will are not, on their own, evidence of how the document was signed. A signature on its own doesn't tell a judge whether the testator was conscious, whether the witnesses were both present, whether anyone was pressured. The affidavit is the evidence that fills those gaps.

Some Ontario lawyers have started using wills with a more detailed attestation clause — a paragraph written above the witness signatures that recites all the formalities. A well-drafted attestation clause helps, and in some cases the court may rely on it. But many wills, especially older ones or do-it-yourself wills, don't have one, or have one that's worded loosely. In those cases, a Form 74.8 affidavit is the simplest way to give the court what it needs.

Where it sits in the probate file

The executor's application package usually includes:

• The application for the Certificate of Appointment (Form 74A).
• The original will (and any codicils).
• The death certificate.
• A draft Certificate of Appointment.
• An estate information return for the Ministry of Finance, separate from the court file.
• The affidavit of execution — Form 74.8 — for the will and any codicils.

If the will has codicils, each codicil typically needs its own affidavit of execution from one of its witnesses. We sometimes see a single appointment where the same witness signs both an affidavit for the will and an affidavit for the codicil, because they witnessed both.

The notary's job in all of this is narrow: take the witness's sworn statement properly. The lawyer's job is everything else — choosing the right form, drafting it, and filing it with the court.

Who Swears the Affidavit

This is where most of the confusion happens, so it's worth slowing down.

The affidavit of execution is sworn by a witness to the will — not by the executor and not by a beneficiary. The witness is the person who watched the testator sign and then signed the will themselves. Most Ontario wills have two witnesses, and the affidavit only needs to be sworn by one of them. If both are alive and reachable, the executor's lawyer typically picks whichever witness is easiest to get to a notary.

That single sentence — "a witness, not the executor" — is the most common thing we end up explaining at the front desk. People walk in holding the will and the court forms and assume that because they're the executor, they swear the affidavit. They don't. The court wants a sworn statement from someone who actually saw the signing.

When the executor can swear it

There's one common exception: when the executor was also one of the witnesses to the will. In that case, the same person can be both executor and deponent on the affidavit of execution. It's not ideal as a drafting choice — most lawyers prefer the executor to be separate from the witnesses for clarity — but if it happened, it happened, and the executor signs the affidavit in their personal capacity as a witness.

Beneficiaries as witnesses

Section 12 of Ontario's Succession Law Reform Act addresses what happens when a beneficiary (or their spouse) signs a will as a witness. The default rule is that the gift to that beneficiary is void, even though the will itself can still be valid. There are exceptions and a court can order otherwise, but those are legal questions that go well beyond commissioning an affidavit.

For our purposes at the notary's desk: if you tell us you're a witness and a beneficiary in the will, we can still commission your affidavit of execution if the form is properly drafted. But that's an early signal that the executor should be working with a lawyer, because the gift to you may be in jeopardy. We'll commission the sworn statement; we won't tell you whether the gift survives. See our companion guide on notary vs. lawyer in Ontario for more on that line.

What the witness has to remember

A witness swearing an affidavit of execution needs to be able to truthfully state, from personal knowledge:

• Where and roughly when the will was signed.
• That the testator signed it (or acknowledged a signature on it) in front of them.
• That they and the other witness were both present together when the testator signed.
• That they signed as a witness in the testator's presence.
• That, to the best of their recollection, the testator was an adult of sound mind and was not being pressured.

If a witness genuinely can't remember the signing — for example, because the will is from twenty years ago and the testator was a casual acquaintance — that's a problem the lawyer needs to know about before the appointment. We can't take an affidavit where the deponent doesn't actually have personal knowledge of the facts being sworn. False statements in an affidavit are perjury under the Criminal Code.

Identification requirements

The witness needs to satisfy us about who they are, the same as in any affidavit appointment. We ask for one piece of government-issued photo identification — typically an Ontario driver's licence, a Canadian passport, or a permanent resident card. If the deponent's name on the will is different from their name on current ID (because of marriage, divorce, or a legal name change), bring documentation of the change too. We'll record the ID type and number in our log.

A note on remote witnesses

Some Ontario wills are signed under the audio-visual witnessing rules introduced during the pandemic and later made permanent. Witnesses who watched a signing over video can swear the affidavit of execution the same way as in-person witnesses, though the lawyer drafting the form should describe the audio-visual procedure. The notary's role doesn't change.

Caption: The affidavit of execution is sworn by a witness to the will — not by the executor or a beneficiary.

What a Notary or Commissioner Does

The legal name for what a notary does at this kind of appointment is commissioning the affidavit. In Ontario, both notaries public (under the Notaries Act) and commissioners for taking affidavits (under the Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act) are authorized to administer oaths and affirmations. For a Form 74.8 affidavit of execution, either is sufficient — the court doesn't require a notary specifically. We hold both authorities.

Here's what actually happens at the desk, step by step.

1. Identifying the deponent

We look at the witness's photo ID and confirm the name on it matches the name in the affidavit. If it doesn't, we pause and figure out the discrepancy before going further. We are not allowed to take the oath of someone whose identity we can't verify.

2. Reading and confirming the affidavit

We don't read the affidavit for the deponent — that's a common misconception. The deponent reads it themselves and confirms each paragraph is true to their personal knowledge. We do scan the form to make sure it has the standard structural elements an affidavit needs: a heading naming the court (Superior Court of Justice), a properly formed jurat at the end, numbered paragraphs in the first person, and any exhibits clearly marked. We're checking for completeness, not legal correctness.

If the affidavit is missing a piece — for example, the date of the will isn't filled in, or the form references "Exhibit A" but no exhibit is attached — we'll pause and ask the deponent or the executor to fix it before swearing. We don't draft replacements.

3. Administering the oath or affirmation

The deponent chooses. An oath is sworn — traditionally on a Bible or other sacred text — and is the religious form. An affirmation is a solemn promise without religious language. Both have identical legal weight in Ontario. We ask plainly which one they prefer and don't push either way.

The wording is roughly: "Do you solemnly swear that the contents of this affidavit, as signed by you, are true, so help you God?" or "Do you solemnly affirm that the contents of this affidavit, as signed by you, are true?" The deponent answers "I do" or equivalent.

4. Signing the affidavit

After answering, the deponent signs the affidavit in our presence. If there are multiple pages, they typically sign or initial each page. If exhibits are attached (for example, a copy of the will marked as Exhibit A), we stamp and sign each exhibit page so it's clearly identified.

5. Completing the jurat

The jurat is the bottom block — the part that says "Sworn (or Affirmed) before me at the City of Ottawa, in the Province of Ontario, this [date], before me" followed by our signature, name, and title. We complete the jurat ourselves: we sign, print our name, indicate our authority (Notary Public, Province of Ontario, or Commissioner for Taking Affidavits, Province of Ontario), and apply our seal. The date on the jurat is the date the affidavit is sworn — not the date the will was signed.

6. Recording the appointment

We log the appointment in our register: deponent name, ID type, date, document type. That register is part of the notary's professional record.

What we don't do

The most important part of this guide. The notary or commissioner does not:

• Decide whether the will is valid.
• Tell the executor whether their probate application will be accepted.
• Draft Form 74.8 or any other estate court form.
• Advise on whether a beneficiary-as-witness gift survives.
• Comment on whether a particular witness's memory is "good enough" for court.
• Substitute for an estate lawyer.

If you arrive without a drafted affidavit and you're hoping we'll fill it in, we'll have to send you back to the executor's lawyer or to the Ontario Court Forms website. We can commission what's drafted; we can't draft it for you.

Five Ottawa Estate Scenarios

These are composite versions of appointments we see most often. Names and details are fictionalized; the patterns are real.

1. Adult child in Westboro probating a parent's will

A daughter in Westboro is the executor of her late father's estate. Her father's will, drafted by an Ottawa lawyer in 2014, was witnessed by two of his neighbours. The estate lawyer prepares Form 74.8 and asks one of the witnesses — now in her seventies, still living on the same street — to come in and swear it. The witness brings her driver's licence and the original will. The appointment takes about twenty minutes. We commission the affidavit; the lawyer files the probate application a week later. The daughter never has to step foot in a courthouse for the affidavit piece. This is the textbook scenario.

2. Surviving spouse in the Glebe with an old will and a deceased witness

A widower in the Glebe is probating his late wife's 1998 will. The will lists two witnesses; one is dead, the other has moved out of the country and isn't reachable. He calls our office expecting to swear an affidavit, but he isn't a witness — and we can't take an affidavit of execution from him. What he actually needs, his lawyer explains, is a different sworn statement under Form 74.8.1 (Affidavit Attesting to the Handwriting and Signature of a Deceased or Unavailable Witness or Testator). Someone familiar with the testator's handwriting — often a long-time friend, a financial advisor, or the lawyer who drafted the will — swears that they recognize the testator's signature. We commission that affidavit instead. The legal strategy belongs to the lawyer; the form is what's different.

3. Executor in Kanata with a holograph will

A son in Kanata finds a handwritten will in his late mother's safe deposit box. There are no witnesses — it's a holograph will, valid in Ontario under section 6 of the Succession Law Reform Act if it's wholly in the testator's handwriting and signed by them. Because there are no witnesses, there's no Form 74.8 to swear. The executor's lawyer instead prepares a different affidavit: typically Form 74.8.1, sworn by someone who can confirm the handwriting is the deceased's (a sibling, a long-time friend, the family doctor). We commission the handwriting affidavit. The son also needs to bring originals of any older typed wills he found, since the lawyer will need to address whether the holograph revokes them.

4. Will signed at a hospital — nurse as witness

A will is signed in a Civic Campus hospital room, witnessed by the patient's son's friend and the on-duty nurse. The patient dies a few weeks later. The son, now executor, calls our office because the lawyer has asked the nurse to swear the affidavit of execution. The nurse comes in on her break with her hospital photo ID (which we recognize but pair with her driver's licence as the primary ID). She remembers the signing well. Two notes the lawyer flagged: the affidavit specifically describes the testator as "appearing to be of sound mind," and the lawyer included a paragraph confirming that the patient was alert and oriented. The nurse is comfortable swearing those statements from her own observation. We commission the affidavit. We don't form a view on capacity — that's the deponent's evidence.

5. Out-of-province witness commissioning remotely

The will was signed in Ottawa, but one of the witnesses has since moved to Calgary. Ontario law accepts affidavits sworn anywhere in Canada before someone authorized to administer oaths in that jurisdiction. The Calgary witness can swear before an Alberta notary public or commissioner. The Form 74.8 is the same; the jurat is just adapted to indicate it was sworn in Calgary, Alberta. The executor's lawyer in Ottawa coordinates with the Calgary notary. We get involved when the Ontario witness comes in to swear their version, or when the executor needs a few certified copies of the will to circulate. For witnesses outside Canada, the path is usually a Canadian consular officer or an apostille / authentication workflow. Again, your lawyer chooses.

These scenarios share one thing: in every case, the notary's job at the desk is small, narrow, and the same. The variation lives in the lawyer's analysis, not in the commissioning.

Caption: Five common Ottawa scenarios — same notary appointment, very different lawyer strategy in the background.

What If a Witness Cannot Be Found?

This is one of the most common questions we get from executors. Wills are often signed decades before they're needed, and witnesses move, age, lose memory, or die. The Ontario Rules of Civil Procedure anticipate this.

When the witness has died

If both witnesses are deceased, no Form 74.8 is possible. The executor's lawyer typically prepares Form 74.8.1 — Affidavit Attesting to the Handwriting and Signature of a Deceased or Unavailable Witness or Testator. The deponent is someone — often a friend, family member, financial advisor, or the lawyer who drafted the will — who is familiar with the witness's handwriting and the testator's, and is willing to swear that the signatures appear genuine.

Sometimes more than one Form 74.8.1 is filed: one for each missing witness, and one for the testator. The lawyer makes those calls.

When the witness can't be located

If a witness is alive but the executor can't find them, two paths are common: an affidavit of search (sworn by the executor or someone working on their behalf, describing the steps taken to locate the witness — calls, letters, online searches, contacting the lawyer who drafted the will), and then either (a) a Form 74.8.1 handwriting affidavit from someone else, or (b) the court being asked to accept the will under section 21.1 of the Succession Law Reform Act, which allows the court to validate documents that don't strictly comply with the formal signing rules. Section 21.1 requires a court order; the notary has no role in that step.

When a witness is alive but can't remember

This one is harder than it sounds. A witness who genuinely doesn't remember the signing can't honestly swear an affidavit of execution — the affidavit's content has to be from personal knowledge. If they say "I'm sure I signed it because that's my signature, but I don't remember the signing," that's likely not enough for a Form 74.8 in its standard form, and the lawyer may need to use a 74.8.1 handwriting path instead. We'll commission either form. We won't talk a witness into swearing something they don't remember.

When the testator's signature itself is in dispute

If a family member is challenging the will (claiming forgery, undue influence, or capacity issues), the affidavit-of-execution piece becomes only one small part of a much bigger contested-estate file. That's not a notary appointment situation; that's a litigation file led by an estates lawyer. We can still commission whatever sworn statements the lawyer drafts, but we'll be commissioning evidence in active litigation, and we encourage everyone involved to slow down and let counsel coordinate.

Practical takeaway

The notary's role doesn't change with any of these complications: identify the deponent, administer the oath, watch them sign, complete the jurat. The form changes (74.8 vs. 74.8.1 vs. an affidavit of search), the lawyer's strategy changes, the supporting evidence changes — but the commissioning step is the same. If your lawyer hands you a sworn statement and asks you to come in, we'll know what to do with it.

How the Appointment Works

For most people swearing a Form 74.8, the appointment is brief — quicker than getting a passport photo done. Here's the timeline.

Before you arrive

The executor (or their lawyer) drafts Form 74.8 with the witness's name, address, and the relevant facts about the will. The form is not signed before the appointment — affidavits have to be signed in front of the commissioner. The deponent should read it carefully at home and flag anything that doesn't match their memory. If something is wrong, it gets corrected before the appointment, not at the desk.

Booking

Call (613) 434-5555, email [email protected], or use our contact form. Tell us it's a Form 74.8 affidavit of execution so we can flag the typical 15–25 minute slot. If exhibits are attached or you have multiple affidavits to swear (will plus codicil, for example), let us know — we may book a longer block.

Walking in

Bring the unsigned Form 74.8, a piece of government-issued photo ID, and the will itself if your lawyer has asked the affidavit to attach a copy as an exhibit. The deponent must come in person. We can't take the affidavit by phone, and we can't accept a proxy.

At the desk

We'll go through five steps:

1. Identification. We check your photo ID and confirm the name on the affidavit.
2. Form review. We make sure the affidavit has a heading, numbered paragraphs, a jurat block, and that nothing is left blank in a way that would cause the court to reject it. We won't comment on the legal substance.
3. Oath or affirmation. You pick. We ask the prescribed question; you answer.
4. Signing. You sign the affidavit and any exhibits in our presence.
5. Commissioning. We complete the jurat, sign, date, and seal.

Walking out

You leave with the sworn original. Most people then drop it back to the executor's lawyer, who files it with the probate application. We don't file anything with the court on your behalf — that's the lawyer's job.

Timing notes

A single straightforward affidavit takes 15–25 minutes. Add 5–10 minutes if there are exhibits to mark and stamp. Add more if the form has issues that need calling the lawyer to clarify. Same-day appointments are usually possible during weekday business hours.

If you need certified copies of the will to circulate to family members or banks, ask when you book — we can do that in the same appointment.

What to Bring to Your Appointment

A short checklist makes the appointment easier for everyone. Most witnesses arrive with everything they need; we keep this list because the few items that get forgotten are usually the same ones.

1. The deponent in person. The witness has to come to the office. We can't take an affidavit by telephone, by email, or through a family member acting on the witness's behalf. If the witness can't travel — for example, they're in long-term care — let us know when you book and we can talk through options with the executor's lawyer. Sometimes a remote commissioning under Ontario's audio-visual rules is possible, though that's a separate appointment type with extra steps.

2. Government-issued photo ID. One piece is enough if it's a current Ontario driver's licence, a Canadian passport, an Ontario photo card, or a permanent resident card. Health cards alone are not sufficient because they're not designed for general identification. If the witness's name on the will differs from the name on current ID — typically because of marriage, divorce, or a legal name change — bring a marriage certificate, divorce order, or change of name certificate so we can connect the two.

3. The drafted Form 74.8, unsigned. The executor or their lawyer prepares the affidavit before the appointment. The witness should read it carefully at home and confirm every paragraph matches their actual memory. If something is wrong — a date, a place, a name — fix it with the lawyer before the appointment, not at our desk. We can't redraft the form, and a corrected affidavit usually needs to go back through the lawyer anyway. Bring all pages, not just the last one.

4. The original will (or a true copy). If the affidavit attaches the will as an exhibit (most do), we'll need to see and stamp the document being referenced. If the original is already with the court or with the executor's lawyer, a true copy with a covering note from the lawyer is usually fine — confirm with them in advance. For a holograph will, bring the original handwritten document.

5. Any codicils. A codicil is a short document that amends a will after the fact. Each codicil typically needs its own Form 74.8, sworn by one of the codicil's witnesses. If the same person witnessed both the will and a codicil, they can swear both affidavits in the same appointment.

6. Prior court orders or affidavits, if any. If a section 21.1 court order has already been made about the will, or if there's a prior affidavit of search for a missing witness, bring copies. We don't review them, but the executor's lawyer may want them on the file alongside the new affidavit.

7. Payment. We accept e-transfer, debit, and major credit cards. Affidavits start at $30; longer or multi-exhibit files cost more. We'll quote you when you book.

If anything on this list is missing, call us before you come in — sometimes a five-minute phone call saves a return trip. Booking is at (613) 434-5555 or through our contact page.

When to Call a Lawyer or Estate-Trustee Specialist

There's a clean line between what we do at the notary's desk and what an Ontario estates lawyer does, and most of the time the line is obvious. The cases below are the ones where executors most often realize, partway through, that they need a lawyer — not just a notary. We say so because watching someone try to DIY a contested probate is hard on everyone.

The will's validity is in question. If a family member is suggesting the will is forged, was signed under pressure, or was made when the testator no longer had capacity, that's a litigation question. The affidavit of execution is one piece of evidence in a much larger fight, and the strategy around what to swear, when, and by whom belongs to a lawyer. We'll commission whatever sworn statements counsel drafts; we won't form a view on validity.

A witness was also a beneficiary. As we noted earlier, section 12 of the Succession Law Reform Act voids a gift to a witness (or witness's spouse) by default, while leaving the will itself intact. Whether the gift survives, whether a court order under section 12(3) is needed, and how the executor explains the situation in the application — all lawyer questions. The affidavit of execution from that witness can still be commissioned; the consequences for the gift can't be answered at our desk.

The will is holograph. A handwritten will valid under section 6 of the SLRA needs a different affidavit and often raises tricky questions about whether it revokes earlier typed wills, whether the handwriting can be authenticated, and what assets are governed by it. Holograph estates more often than not benefit from a lawyer's review, even when the estate itself is modest.

Multiple jurisdictions. If the deceased held assets in another province or country, or if the will was signed outside Ontario, the probate file gets more complicated. There may be ancillary probate elsewhere, conflict-of-laws questions, or the need for an apostille or authentication on Ontario documents going abroad. We can certify and commission the Ontario pieces; an estates lawyer figures out where everything has to go.

Section 21.1 applications. If a will doesn't strictly comply with the formal signing rules, the court can validate it under section 21.1 of the SLRA — but only on application, with a court order. That's not a notary appointment; it's a court motion led by a lawyer.

Contested estates and missing originals. Will disputes, will challenges, lost or destroyed originals, and estates without a clear executor are all situations where the legal lift is large. The affidavit of execution piece becomes secondary to the real legal work.

For day-to-day executors with a clean will, two living witnesses, and a straightforward estate, a notary appointment plus a probate lawyer to file the application is usually all you need. The notary commissions the affidavit; the lawyer drives the probate. If you're not sure which side of the line you're on, our short article on notary vs. lawyer in Ontario helps locate it.

Caption: Where the notary's job ends and the lawyer's begins — most of the heavy lifting in a probate file lives outside the affidavit appointment.

Pricing and Booking

Affidavit appointments at Minute Notary are priced by length and complexity. The Form 74.8 affidavit of execution is usually a short, single-witness document, so most appointments fall into the standard tier.

Same-day appointments are usually possible during weekday business hours. Evenings and Saturday mornings can be booked ahead. We accept e-transfer, debit, and major credit cards. The Affidavits service page at /services/affidavits/ lists current pricing in full.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a lawyer to draft the affidavit, or can I download the form myself?

Form 74.8 is publicly available on the Ontario Court Forms website, and a careful executor can fill it in themselves. That said, the affidavit is one piece of a larger probate application, and the rest of the package — the application itself, the supporting affidavits, the estate information return — is rarely simple. Most executors who try to do the whole probate alone end up calling a lawyer eventually. The cost of a probate lawyer is usually small relative to the size of the estate. We commission affidavits drafted by lawyers and by self-represented executors equally; we just don't draft them ourselves.

Does the executor have to attend the affidavit appointment with the witness?

No. The witness is the deponent and is the only person who has to attend. The executor often books the appointment, brings the will, and sometimes drives the witness over, but they don't sign anything at the appointment. The exception is if the executor was also one of the witnesses to the will — then they're attending in their witness capacity, not their executor capacity, and they're the deponent.

What if the witness lives outside of Ottawa or outside of Ontario?

Affidavits sworn anywhere in Canada are accepted in Ontario probate applications, as long as they're sworn before someone authorized to administer oaths in that jurisdiction. A witness in Toronto can swear before any Ontario commissioner; a witness in Calgary swears before an Alberta notary; a witness in Vancouver swears before a BC commissioner. The Form 74.8 stays the same; the jurat names the city and province where it's sworn. For witnesses outside Canada, the path is usually a Canadian consular officer or, in some countries, a local notary plus an apostille or authentication. The executor's lawyer should choose.

Can I attach a photocopy of the will as the exhibit instead of the original?

Yes, in most cases. The exhibit attached to Form 74.8 is typically a copy of the will, not the original. We mark the copy as Exhibit A and stamp it. The original will is filed with the application separately. That said, lawyers sometimes prefer specific approaches — some attach the original and rely on a certified true copy for working files. Confirm with the executor's lawyer before the appointment so we attach the right document.

How is an affidavit of execution different from a regular affidavit or a statutory declaration?

An affidavit of execution is a regular affidavit — sworn under oath or affirmation, with criminal consequences for false statements — that happens to use a court-prescribed form (Form 74.8) and a court-specific purpose (proving how a will was signed). It is not a statutory declaration. Statutory declarations are for administrative matters that don't involve court proceedings. For more on the distinction, see affidavit vs. statutory declaration. Probate is a court proceeding, so the sworn statement that supports it is always an affidavit, not a declaration.

Final Recommendation

If you're an executor in Ottawa with a clean will, two living witnesses, and a probate lawyer already on the file, the affidavit of execution is the easy part. Pick the witness who's most accessible, ask the lawyer to send them the drafted Form 74.8, and book a 20-minute notary appointment. Bring photo ID and the unsigned form. Walk out with a sworn original. Drop it back to the lawyer. That's the whole thing.

If you're an executor without a lawyer yet — because the estate looked simple, or because you assumed you could handle the paperwork yourself — pause before you go further. The affidavit of execution is one form among many in a probate application, and the cost of a few hours with an estates lawyer is small compared to the cost of a rejected court filing or a contested estate. We're happy to commission what your lawyer drafts; we're not the right people to drive the probate.

If you're a witness who's been asked to come in and swear an affidavit, the appointment is straightforward. Read the form carefully at home, raise any factual concerns with the executor's lawyer in advance, and bring your ID. We'll handle the commissioning calmly and quickly. Losing someone is hard enough; the paperwork should not be the part that breaks you.

To book, call (613) 434-5555 or use our contact form. For background reading on the broader estate-document landscape, see wills, estates and the notary's role.

Book Your Appointment

Affidavit of execution appointments — from $30.

• Phone: (613) 434-5555
• Email: [email protected]
• Online: Contact form
• Service page: Affidavits at Minute Notary
• Hours: Monday–Friday 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM, Saturday 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM, Sunday closed
• Location: Ottawa, Ontario — same-day appointments usually available during business hours.

Bring the unsigned Form 74.8, government-issued photo ID, and the will (or a copy your lawyer has identified as the exhibit). The witness must attend in person. Most appointments are done in 15 to 25 minutes.

Sources

• Rules of Civil Procedure, Forms — Ontario Courts
• Succession Law Reform Act (Ontario)
• Notaries Act (Ontario)
• Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act (Ontario)
• Apply for probate of an estate — Ontario.ca