Short answer. Yes, but only if its execution and validity are established, it is shown to have existed at the testator's death, or to have been fraudulently or accidentally destroyed without the testator's knowledge, and its provisions are clearly proved by at least two credible witnesses.
What the law says
No will shall be proved as a lost or destroyed will unless the execution and validity of the same be established, and the will is proved to have been in existence at the time of the death of the testator, or is shown to have been fraudulently or accidentally destroyed in the lifetime of the testator without his knowledge, nor unless its provisions are clearly and distinctly proved by at least two credible witnesses.
Rule 76, Section 6 — Proof of lost or destroyed will. Certificate thereupon. Read the full provision →
Losing the original doesn't defeat it
A missing original does not automatically doom a will. The rule allows a lost or destroyed will to be proved, but only under conditions stricter than an ordinary probate, since the court can no longer examine the physical document itself and must instead be satisfied on secondary evidence that a valid will genuinely existed. This heightened standard exists because a lost will is inherently easier to fabricate or misremember than one the court can physically inspect, so the law compensates for the missing document by demanding clearer, more convincing proof before honoring it.
Three things must be proven
The proponent must establish the will's execution and validity, show that the will existed at the time of the testator's death, or show that it was destroyed fraudulently or accidentally during the testator's lifetime without the testator's knowledge, and prove its provisions clearly and distinctly through at least two credible witnesses. Missing any one of these elements is fatal to the petition. Courts apply this checklist strictly precisely because the physical will is gone, and any gap in the proof is treated as a reason to deny probate rather than assume the missing element in the proponent's favor.
What happens once it's proved
Once a lost or destroyed will is successfully proved, its provisions must be distinctly stated and certified by the judge under the seal of the court, and that certificate is then filed and recorded the same way any other allowed will would be, giving the reconstructed provisions the same formal footing as a surviving original. From that point forward, the certified provisions function as the operative will for purposes of distributing the estate, so heirs and creditors can rely on the court's record even though the physical document the testator once signed no longer exists. Nothing further is required of the heirs; they need only present that judicial certification, not the missing paper itself, when dealing with the estate afterward.
Related provisions
- Rule 76, Section 6 — Proof of lost or destroyed will. Certificate thereupon
- Rule 76, Section 5 — Proof at hearing
- Rule 76, Section 7 — Proof when witnesses do not reside in province