Searching for a Will

Written in 1945, Proved in 1965

The facts as presented:

A man was born in England in 1883, and he emigrated to Canada in 1903. A surname change complicated finding relevant records about the man, but it was soon discovered that he died in Ontario in 1965. The man's Ontario provincial death registry record was obtained, and it became known where his remains were buried. It was believed that this man left a Will naming 2 nieces, and it was also believed that the Will was contested by an unknown daughter who apparently inherited the Estate.

The challenge:

Could this Will be located, and could copies of it be obtained?

The results:

This project came along just as the extensive closures to combat transmission of COVID-19 came in to effect, so little could be done in the early days. The Court in the place where the man died opened briefly, in the early spring of 2021, and an enquiry communicated to the Estates Clerk at the Superior Court of Justice there soon produced all of the detail that was necessary to dig out the not-yet-microfilmed paper Estate File at the Archives of Ontario in Toronto. The local Court details were sent to the Archives of Ontario immediately, in order to have the request for reproduction placed as high in a queue as possible. When re-opening plans for the Archives were announced in late October, Archives staff were contacted again to verify that the copies were still wanted. A digital copy of the complete contents of the Estate File, which included a copy of the Will, was received in early November of 2021, and the copy set was immediately transmitted to the person who had made the original request. 

The response:

"Thank you very much for the will and probate for my gt. uncle ... It certainly has been a long wait, but well worth it".

- - - Project #200706    (completed 3 November 2021)