Samide v. Taylor, 2026 ONSC 3589
In Samide v. Taylor, 2026, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice considered an important question arising from Ontario’s new “substantial compliance” provisions in the Succession Law Reform Act (SLRA):
Can an unsigned electronic draft will, existing only on a computer, be validated by the court as a valid will?
The Court answered no.
Facts
Robert Samide died unexpectedly in July 2024 in a kayaking accident.
He had:
- a properly executed paper Will from 2013 leaving his estate equally to his three children; and
- two later draft wills dated March 4 and 5, 2024 stored on his computer.
The electronic drafts:
- were never printed,
- were never signed,
- were never witnessed,
- existed only in electronic form,
- significantly changed his estate plan by leaving most of his estate to his common-law spouse, Shantel Taylor, while making more limited gifts to his children.
Jessica Samide argued the electronic draft could not be validated.
Shantel Taylor argued that Ontario’s substantial compliance provisions permitted the Court to validate the electronic draft as Robert’s final Will.
The Legal Issue
The Court had to decide:
- Can an electronic-only draft will be validated under s.21.1 of the Succession Law Reform Act?
- If yes, did the document represent Robert’s fixed and final testamentary intentions?
Ontario’s New Validation Power
Since January 1, 2022, Ontario courts have had authority under s.21.1 SLRA to validate documents that do not comply with traditional execution formalities if the document records the deceased’s testamentary intentions.
However, s.21.1(2) expressly states that this validation power issubject to section 31 of the Electronic Commerce Act (ECA).
Court’s Analysis
Justice Rady carefully examined two conflicting Ontario decisions:
- Madhani v. Fast (2025), which held that electronic-only wills cannot be validated.
- Gebremariam v. Menghesha (2026), which reached the opposite conclusion.
Justice Rady preferred the reasoning in Madhani.
The Court concluded that:
- the Electronic Commerce Act generally recognizes electronic documents,
- but section 31 specifically excludes wills and codicils,
- because s.21.1 is expressly made subject to section 31, courts cannot rely upon the Electronic Commerce Act to validate an electronic-only will.
In the Court’s words, interpreting the legislation otherwise would render both s.21.1(2) SLRA and s.31 ECA meaningless.
Even If Electronic Wills Could Be Validated…
Justice Rady held that the electronic draft still failed for a second reason.
Although there was no dispute that Robert himself created the document, the evidence did not establish that it represented his fixed and final testamentary intention.
The Court noted:
- Robert had previously executed a formal Will and therefore understood the legal formalities.
- He revised the electronic draft, suggesting it remained a work in progress.
- Four months passed between creation of the draft and his death.
- During that period he never printed it.
- He never signed it.
- He never arranged for witnesses.
- Although he told family members he intended to make a new Will, that did not prove the draft represented his final testamentary intentions.
Court Decision
The Court held:
- the electronic draft Will could not be validated under s.21.1;
- alternatively, it did not represent Robert’s fixed and final testamentary intentions;
- therefore the properly executed 2013 paper Will remained valid and governed the estate.
Shantel Taylor’s application to validate the electronic document was dismissed, although her separate claim for dependant’s support remained outstanding.
Considerations
- Ontario’s substantial compliance provisions do not automatically validate electronic draft wills.
- Because s.21.1 SLRA is expressly subject to the Electronic Commerce Act, courts may refuse to validate wills existing only in electronic form.
- Even where authenticity is established, Courts require convincing evidence that a document reflects the deceased’s deliberate, fixed and final testamentary intentions.
- Drafts that remain unsigned, unwitnessed, and subject to further revision are unlikely to satisfy that test.
- This decision highlights that estate planning should not rely on unfinished electronic drafts. Until appellate guidance is provided, properly executed paper wills remain the safest course in Ontario.
Brian Madigan LL.B., Broker