Find the answers to your questions before searching our registers in a few simple steps.
How do I know if a relative has given a will or mandate to a lawyer?
To find out whether a relative has entrusted a will or mandate to a lawyer, you must make a search request to the Registres des testaments et mandats of the Barreau du Québec.
However, if you wish to find out whether a relative has entrusted a will or mandate to a notary, you will have to carry out the same search with the Chambre des notaires du Québec.
You should search in both places to ensure that you have the deceased or incompetent person's last deed.
If you are acting as liquidator of an estate, you have a duty under theCivil Code to search for a will.
Where is the original will or mandate?
The Bar does not receive or keep any of these documents, which are confidential. This means that the document itself (will or mandate) is not transmitted to the Bar. It is the lawyers who keep them in their offices. It is not necessary for the lawyer to have drafted the document himself. The important thing is that it has been given to him so that he can keep it in his office.
What information is provided to the Bar by lawyers?
The information that is transmitted to the Bar and that appears in the registers is as follows: the surname and first name of the testator (the person who is the author of the will) or of the mandator (the person who gives a mandate to another), as the case may be, his or her occupation, his or her address, the date of the deed and the name and contact details of the lawyer who registered it. The records also indicate whether the lawyer retained it or gave it to another lawyer, the testator or the mandator.
What does the Bar do with the information received?
Once the lawyer has registered the mandates and wills in his possession, the Barreau du Québec keeps the information in the Registres des testaments et mandats du Barreau du Québec, where the testator, his proxy (the person who has power of attorney to act on behalf of the testator), his heirs after his death, or the liquidator of his estate may request a search for a will or mandate.
Thus, if you are looking for a will or mandate of protection and it was prepared by a lawyer or simply kept in his office, you can search the Registres des testaments et mandats du Barreau du Québec.
How much does a search cost?
It costs $17.25 (including taxes) to make an online request to search for a will in the registers of the Barreau du Québec and $23 (including taxes) to request a search by mail or in person for a will or mandate.
https://www.barreau.qc.ca/fr/testaments-mandats/information/