Simple Will (Alberta)by OLL
Simple Last Will and Testament for individuals in Alberta
This document comes from OLL's library of vetted legal templates
WILL OF [Testator Legal Name]
This template is for a single adult testator in Alberta making a simple will: outright gifts, one primary and one alternate executor, a residue clause, and — if applicable — the appointment of a guardian for minor children. Not suitable for use in Quebec.
Drafting notes appear in italics and are to be deleted before execution. Square brackets mark information to be filled in. Delete any inapplicable optional clauses and renumber before execution.
Before You Start — Guided Intake Screening
This is a guided template. Work through the screening questions below with the client before drafting. If any answer is "yes," this simple will is not the right instrument — say so plainly, do not adapt this template to try to cover it, and route the client to take independent legal advice instead.
Does the testator want to leave any gift in trust rather than outright (for example, staged distributions at set ages, a trust for a beneficiary with a disability, or a trust to manage funds for a minor beyond the bare holding arrangement at section 6)? → testamentary trust — out of scope.
Does the testator have a blended family (a current spouse or adult interdependent partner and children from a prior relationship, or a family situation where competing claims on the estate are likely)? → out of scope.
Does the testator own a business interest (a corporation, partnership interest, or sole proprietorship) that forms part of the estate? → out of scope — business succession needs its own drafting, and may also implicate buy-sell-succession.
Does the testator hold foreign assets (real property, accounts, or other significant assets outside Canada)? → out of scope — foreign assets can trigger a foreign jurisdiction's own succession law and tax rules.
Is the testator seeking to disinherit, or leave significantly less to, a spouse, adult interdependent partner, or dependant (including a minor or dependent child)? → do not proceed on this template alone; see the dependant's-support warning below and route to advice regardless of how the rest of the intake goes.
If none of the above apply, proceed. If any apply, stop the guided intake and do not generate this document — advise the client to consult a lawyer.
⚠️ This Will can still be challenged. A surviving spouse, adult interdependent partner, and in some circumstances a dependent child or other dependant, may be entitled to apply to a court for a share of, or support from, the estate regardless of what this Will says. Alberta's succession legislation addresses family maintenance and support claims of this kind. VERIFY the current statutory basis, the current test for who qualifies, and how it interacts with adult interdependent partner status, before this warning, or any statement of the rule, is treated as settled — the citation registry flags this as unconfirmed.
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Canada note
This version is drafted for Canada. Provinces differ on employment standards and Quebec applies civil law rather than common law. Tell GitLaw which province applies and it adjusts the draft.
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