Your personal and family paperwork, sorted

When you decide who inherits. A will lets you direct how your estate passes and appoint an executor (estate trustee). Under the provincial wills or succession act it must generally be in writing, signed by the testator and witnessed by two people who are not beneficiaries, or the gift to a witness fails.

When you must declare a fact. A statutory declaration or affidavit is a formal statement of truth used for change of particulars, proof of identity, a lost document and many official purposes, sworn or affirmed before a notary public, commissioner for oaths or lawyer.

When you plan for loss of capacity. A power of attorney for property and a power of attorney for personal care (or representation agreement) let you appoint someone to make financial and health decisions if you can no longer decide for yourself, with the safeguards the provincial statute requires.

When you give something away or change your name. A gift deed records a transfer made without consideration, and a change-of-name application (often supported by a statutory declaration) records a new name for use across your official records.

• Wills: with executor, gifts and the two-witness execution that provincial law requires.
• Statutory declarations and affidavits: for change of particulars, identity, lost documents and official use.
• Powers of attorney: for property and for personal care, plus limited or specific powers.
• Gift deeds: for personal property and supporting documents for gifts within the family.
• Name-change documents: statutory declarations and forms for updating official records.

Wills and succession are provincial. A formal will must usually be in writing, signed by the testator and attested by two witnesses present at the same time, and a witness (or that witness's spouse) cannot take a benefit, or the gift to them is void. Some provinces, such as British Columbia, now allow a court to validate a non-compliant document, and a few recognise holograph (handwritten) wills. Where a person dies without a valid will, the province's intestacy rules fix the order of distribution and the estate is administered under provincial probate procedures.

Capacity planning is also provincial and uses different names. Most provinces provide for a continuing or enduring power of attorney for property and a power of attorney for personal care, while British Columbia uses a representation agreement and Quebec a protection mandate. These documents must be made on the form and with the witnessing the provincial statute requires to be effective, and they are what avoid a costly court-ordered guardianship later.

Declarations turn on execution. A statutory declaration or affidavit must be sworn or affirmed before a notary public, a commissioner for oaths or a lawyer to carry weight. A name change is usually effected by a provincial change-of-name application supported by a statutory declaration, after which identity and official records are updated. Note that Canada has no estate or inheritance tax, although a deemed disposition on death can trigger capital gains tax in the estate, so passing on assets is mainly about valid documents and tax planning rather than a death duty.

• Drafted for the wills, succession and intestacy rules of the common-law provinces.
• Built with provincial powers of attorney and personal-care directives in mind.
• Reviewed by legal professionals, with the witnessing and form requirements built in.
• Ready to use as PDF and Word, so you can sign, witness or file without delay.
• Practical structure: guided fields for parties, assets, executors, attorneys and witnesses.