{"id":2065,"date":"2026-05-05T20:07:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T00:07:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/simpliciacremation.com\/?p=2065"},"modified":"2026-05-05T20:26:41","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T00:26:41","slug":"will-search-in-quebec-when-and-how-to-proceed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/simpliciacremation.com\/en\/will-search-in-quebec-when-and-how-to-proceed\/","title":{"rendered":"Will Search in Quebec: When and How to Proceed"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"2065\" class=\"elementor elementor-2065\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-3d52205a e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"3d52205a\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-20bb854e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"20bb854e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"flex max-w-full flex-col gap-4 grow\"><div class=\"min-h-8 text-message relative flex w-full flex-col items-end gap-2 text-start break-words whitespace-normal outline-none keyboard-focused:focus-ring [.text-message+&amp;]:mt-1\" dir=\"auto\" tabindex=\"0\" data-message-author-role=\"assistant\" data-message-id=\"41ac69e0-039d-4c09-8a44-7b5face6ecd8\" data-message-model-slug=\"gpt-5-3\" data-turn-start-message=\"true\"><div class=\"flex w-full flex-col gap-1 empty:hidden\"><div class=\"markdown prose dark:prose-invert w-full wrap-break-word light markdown-new-styling\"><p data-start=\"372\" data-end=\"552\">In Quebec, a will may be notarized, handwritten (holograph), or signed before witnesses. Since family members are not always aware of its existence, an official search is required.<\/p><p data-start=\"554\" data-end=\"577\">A will search helps to:<\/p><ul data-start=\"579\" data-end=\"780\"><li data-section-id=\"1tr8ono\" data-start=\"579\" data-end=\"612\">Confirm whether a will exists<\/li><li data-section-id=\"5ipl9m\" data-start=\"613\" data-end=\"675\">Identify the notary or lawyer responsible for the document<\/li><li data-section-id=\"f8muku\" data-start=\"676\" data-end=\"733\">Obtain the certificates required to settle the estate<\/li><li data-section-id=\"zh2qbb\" data-start=\"734\" data-end=\"780\">Ensure the deceased\u2019s wishes are respected<\/li><\/ul><h2 data-section-id=\"9oekhd\" data-start=\"787\" data-end=\"824\">When Should a Will Search Be Done?<\/h2><p data-start=\"826\" data-end=\"855\">The search must be completed:<\/p><ul data-start=\"857\" data-end=\"970\"><li data-section-id=\"12sveby\" data-start=\"857\" data-end=\"883\">After a person\u2019s death<\/li><li data-section-id=\"1sclt4r\" data-start=\"884\" data-end=\"924\">Before the liquidation of the estate<\/li><li data-section-id=\"154l4hd\" data-start=\"925\" data-end=\"970\">Before distributing assets or inheritance<\/li><\/ul><p data-start=\"972\" data-end=\"1055\">Even if the family believes no will exists, the search remains mandatory in Quebec.<\/p><h2 data-section-id=\"1d8mvet\" data-start=\"1062\" data-end=\"1103\">How Does a Will Search Work in Quebec?<\/h2><p data-start=\"1105\" data-end=\"1161\">The search is conducted through two official registries:<\/p><ul data-start=\"1163\" data-end=\"1227\"><li data-section-id=\"1e630hc\" data-start=\"1163\" data-end=\"1201\">The Chambre des notaires du Qu\u00e9bec<\/li><li data-section-id=\"1hhmhvf\" data-start=\"1202\" data-end=\"1227\">The Barreau du Qu\u00e9bec<\/li><\/ul><p data-start=\"1229\" data-end=\"1299\">A single request allows both registries to be searched simultaneously.<\/p><h2 data-section-id=\"j41j85\" data-start=\"1167\" data-end=\"1226\">The Steps<\/h2><ol data-start=\"1316\" data-end=\"1498\"><li data-section-id=\"1rjekb7\" data-start=\"1316\" data-end=\"1351\">Complete a will search request<\/li><li data-section-id=\"1ejj7av\" data-start=\"1352\" data-end=\"1413\">Provide the death certificate or official proof of death<\/li><li data-section-id=\"7wn45t\" data-start=\"1414\" data-end=\"1442\">Pay the applicable fees<\/li><li data-section-id=\"frb5zh\" data-start=\"1443\" data-end=\"1498\">Receive certificates confirming the search results<\/li><\/ol><h2 data-section-id=\"1lgaews\" data-start=\"1505\" data-end=\"1539\">Where Can You Submit a Request?<\/h2><p data-start=\"1541\" data-end=\"1605\">The request can be completed online through the official portal: <a class=\"decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/recherche-testament-mandat.org\/en\/\" target=\"_new\" rel=\"noopener\" data-start=\"1610\" data-end=\"1648\">https:\/\/recherche-testament-mandat.org<\/a><\/p><p data-start=\"1650\" data-end=\"1778\">You may also contact a notary or lawyer to complete the process on your behalf and assist you with estate settlement procedures.<\/p><h2 data-section-id=\"plf0uq\" data-start=\"1785\" data-end=\"1818\">What Happens After the Search?<\/h2><p data-start=\"1843\" data-end=\"1977\"><strong>If a Will Is Found<\/strong><\/p><p data-start=\"1843\" data-end=\"1977\">The contact information of the notary or lawyer holding the document will be provided so an official copy of the will can be obtained.<\/p><p data-start=\"2003\" data-end=\"2089\"><strong>If No Will is Found<\/strong><\/p><p data-start=\"2003\" data-end=\"2089\">The estate will be settled according to the rules set out in the Civil Code of Quebec.<\/p><p data-start=\"2096\" data-end=\"2228\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">A will search is an essential step to ensure the estate is handled legally and to help avoid administrative or family complications.<\/p><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A will search in Quebec is a mandatory step when settling an estate. It allows you to verify whether a will exists and identify the most recent official version left by the deceased. Without this process, it is not legally possible to fully proceed with the distribution of the estate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2060,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2065","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-non-classe"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/simpliciacremation.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2065","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/simpliciacremation.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/simpliciacremation.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simpliciacremation.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simpliciacremation.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2065"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/simpliciacremation.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2065\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2087,"href":"https:\/\/simpliciacremation.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2065\/revisions\/2087"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simpliciacremation.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2060"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/simpliciacremation.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2065"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simpliciacremation.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2065"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/simpliciacremation.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2065"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}