Deposit of Wills and Codicils for Safekeeping
 74.02 (1) A registrar shall not receive and keep a will or codicil under section 2 of the Estates Act unless the deposit is made by, (a) the testator; (b) a person authorized by the testator in writing; (c) a lawyer who held the will or codicil at the time of retirement from practice; (d) the estate trustee of a lawyer who held the will or codicil at the time of the lawyer’s death; (e) the representative of a trust corporation that held the will or codicil when it ceased to do business in Ontario; or (f) a person authorized by the court to deposit the will or codicil.  O. Reg. 484/94, s. 12; O. Reg. 575/07, s. 31. (2) An affidavit of execution of the will or codicil (Form 74D) may be deposited at the same time as the will or codicil.  O. Reg. 484/94, s. 12; O. Reg. 709/21, s. 3. (3) The registrar shall cause every will or codicil that is deposited for safekeeping to be enclosed in an envelope that is securely sealed in the presence of the depositor, and shall cause to be endorsed on the envelope the date of the deposit, the name and address of the depositor and of the testator and estate trustee or trustees named in the will, the date of birth of the testator and the date of the will or codicil.  O. Reg. 484/94, s. 12. (4) Revoked: O. Reg. 690/20, s. 1 (1). Access to Deposited Will or Codicil (5) No person, except the testator in person or a guardian of the testator’s property, or except by order of the court, shall remove, copy or inspect a will or codicil on deposit during the testator’s lifetime.  O. Reg. 484/94, s. 12; O. Reg. 69/95, s. 10. (6) After the death of the testator, any person may copy or inspect a will or codicil of the testator on deposit, on filing a written request stating the testator’s date of birth and proof of death.  O. Reg. 484/94, s. 12; O. Reg. 193/15, s. 8 (1). Request for Delivery of Will or Codicil to Estate Trustee, Person Named by Court (7) After the death of the testator, the registrar may, on the filing of the following documents, deliver the will or codicil of the testator that is on deposit to an estate trustee named in the will or to such other person as the court may direct: 1. A request for the delivery, stating the testator’s date of birth. 2. Proof of death. 3. If no order directing delivery of the will or codicil has been made, an authorization signed by every estate trustee named in the will specifying the estate trustee as the person to whom the will or codicil is to be delivered. 4. If an order directing delivery of the will or codicil has been made, a copy of the order. O. Reg. 203/17, s. 1. Request for Delivery of Will or Codicil to Estate Trustee’s Lawyer (7.1) After the death of the testator, the registrar may, on the filing of the following documents, deliver the will or codicil of the testator that is on deposit to the lawyer for an estate trustee named in the will: 1. A request for the delivery, stating the testator’s date of birth. 2. Proof of death. 3. Subject to subrule (7.2), an authorization, signed by every estate trustee named in the will, specifying the estate trustee’s lawyer as the person to whom the will or codicil is to be delivered. O. Reg. 203/17, s. 1. Same (7.2) The following documents may be filed instead of the authorization referred to in paragraph 3 of subrule (7.1): 1. An authorization signed by every estate trustee named in the will specifying the estate trustee as the person to whom the will or codicil is to be delivered. 2. An authorization signed by the estate trustee specifying his or her lawyer as the person to whom the will or codicil is to be delivered. O. Reg. 203/17, s. 1. Authorization (7.3) If an estate trustee is not available to provide his or her signature for the purposes of an authorization under subrule (7) or (7.1) or paragraph 1 of subrule (7.2), the requirement to provide an authorization signed by every estate trustee named in the will may be satisfied by filing an authorization signed by every available estate trustee, together with a written explanation satisfactory to the registrar as to the reason for each missing signature. O. Reg. 203/17, s. 1. Proof of Identification (7.4) The registrar may, before delivering a will or codicil to a person, require that the person provide such proof of identification as the registrar specifies. O. Reg. 203/17, s. 1. Duties of Registrar on Delivery of Will or Codicil (7.5) In delivering a will or codicil under subrule (7) or (7.1), the registrar shall retain, (a) a copy of the will and any codicil, certified to be a true copy by the registrar; (b) the receipt of the person to whom the will or codicil was delivered; (c) a copy of any authorizations filed under the subrule; and (d) a copy of any order directing the delivery of the will or codicil. O. Reg. 203/17, s. 1; O. Reg. 690/20, s. 1 (2). Archivist of Ontario (8) The registrar shall deposit with the Archivist of Ontario wills and codicils that have been held for safekeeping for 125 years or more.  O. Reg. 484/94, s. 12.