How can a will be revoked or cancelled in Ontario?

In Ontario, there are several ways a will can be revoked under the Succession Law Reform Act. The most common method is by making a new valid will that contains a revocation clause — standard will drafting practice is to include a statement at the beginning revoking all previous wills. A new valid will revokes the old one even without an explicit revocation clause if the two cannot be read together consistently.

A will can also be revoked by a deliberate act of destruction — burning, tearing, or otherwise destroying it with the clear intention of revoking it. The act of destruction must be intentional; accidentally destroying a will does not revoke it.

As noted earlier, marriage automatically revokes a will in Ontario unless the will was made in contemplation of that specific marriage. This is a critical rule for anyone who marries after making a will.

A will cannot be partially revoked by marking through provisions unless the alteration meets the requirements for a valid codicil — essentially a formal amendment to the will. Simply crossing out clauses or writing changes in the margins typically does not create a valid alteration and may cause confusion or even invalidate surrounding provisions.

If you want to change your will, the cleanest approach is to make an entirely new one with a proper revocation clause, rather than attempting to amend the existing document.