Does separating or divorcing cancel gifts to my spouse in my existing will in Ontario?

Marriage no longer revokes a will in Ontario, but separation and divorce work differently — they do not cancel the whole will, but they do cancel what it gives your spouse. Under the Succession Law Reform Act, if you and your spouse divorce, any gift or appointment in your existing will in favour of that spouse is revoked. Whether a separation that has not yet ended in a divorce order carries the same consequence is unsettled enough that it is worth asking a lawyer rather than assuming either way. The will is then read as if your former spouse had predeceased you: their gift lapses to whoever is next in line for it, and if they were named executor, that appointment is void too.

This rule applies automatically — you do not need to update your will for it to take effect. But an automatic revocation is a blunt instrument. It removes the gift and the appointment without adding anyone back in. If your will named your spouse as sole executor and sole beneficiary, a separation can leave the will effectively silent on both points, pushing that part of your estate toward intestacy.

Because the automatic result rarely matches what you actually want after a separation, treat it as a signal to make a new will — one that reflects your current family and names an executor you actually want acting, rather than relying on what the statute leaves behind.