What Happens to Your Will When You Get Married or Divorced in Ontario

Getting married or ending a marriage are two of the biggest events in a person's life. They also have real legal consequences for your estate plan — and the rules in Ontario changed significantly on January 1, 2022. Many people are still operating on outdated information.

This article explains the effect of marriage or divorce on a will in Ontario, including the important 2022 legislative change, what happens when couples separate without formally divorcing, and why every major life event should trigger a will review.

The Old Rule: Marriage Automatically Revoked Your Will

For decades, Ontario law operated on a simple — and often surprising — principle: getting married automatically revoked any existing will. The moment you said "I do," your previous will became void. If you died without making a new one, you were treated as dying intestate (without a will), and Ontario's intestacy rules divided your estate — not your own wishes.

There was one exception to this old rule: a will made in contemplation of a specific marriage could survive the wedding. You had to include explicit language in the will stating that it was being made in contemplation of marriage to a named person. This was a specialized drafting technique, not something that applied unless it was deliberately built into the document.

The practical result was that couples who married after already having children from prior relationships — and who had existing wills — often unknowingly stripped those wills of legal effect the day they married.

The 2022 Change: Marriage No Longer Automatically Revokes a Will

This is the change that many Ontarians still haven't heard about.

The Accelerating Access to Justice Act, 2021 (S.O. 2021, c. 4, Schedule 9) amended the Succession Law Reform Act, and the repeal of the automatic-revocation-by-marriage rule came into force on January 1, 2022, fundamentally altering the old rule. As of that date — and as of writing; verify current law — marriage in Ontario no longer automatically revokes a will.

If you had a valid will before you married and you married on or after January 1, 2022, your will remains in force. Marriage alone does not void it.

This is a significant improvement for estate planning. It removes the trap that used to catch couples who forgot — or simply didn't know — that they needed to update their wills immediately after a wedding. It also removes the need for the "in contemplation of marriage" clause as a workaround, though that concept may still be relevant when interpreting older wills made before the 2022 change.

However — and this is critical — the 2022 change does not mean you should ignore your will after marriage. A will you made before your marriage almost certainly does not reflect your new circumstances. It may not name your spouse as a beneficiary at all. The law no longer revokes it automatically, but your spouse has no guaranteed inheritance rights under a will that predates the marriage unless you deliberately included them.

The practical takeaway from the 2022 change: your old will survives — but it probably does not say what you now intend. Review it.

What About Divorce?

The rules around divorce are different, and they remain in force under current Ontario law.

When a divorce is granted, any gifts in your will to your former spouse — and any appointment of your former spouse as executor or trustee — are automatically revoked by operation of law. The rest of the will continues to apply as if the former spouse had died before you.

This means the estate does not necessarily fall apart. Other beneficiaries you named still inherit their shares. But if your entire estate was left to your spouse, and no alternate beneficiaries were named, the result may closely resemble dying without a will.

Separation Is Not Divorce

This is one of the most important distinctions in Ontario estates law, and it catches people off guard.

Separation can now have the same effect as divorce — but only in defined circumstances, so never assume it applies to you. The same 2022 amendments added a rule that gifts to a spouse, and their appointment as executor or trustee, are revoked where the spouses were "separated" when the testator died, as the Succession Law Reform Act defines that term: broadly, there was a valid separation agreement, a court order or family arbitration award settling their affairs arising from the marriage breakdown, or they lived separate and apart because of the breakdown for three years immediately before the death — and they were still living separate and apart at the date of death. Transition rules limit when the separation rule applies, and the definition is technical, so whether it would catch your situation is a question for a lawyer, not an assumption.

If you are separated and your will still names your estranged spouse as the primary beneficiary, update your will now. Do not wait for the divorce to be finalized.

Common-Law Spouses: A Separate and Serious Problem

Many Ontarians assume that common-law partners have the same rights as married spouses when it comes to inheritance. They do not.

In Ontario, common-law spouses — regardless of how long the relationship has lasted — have no automatic right to inherit from each other under a will or under the intestacy rules. If your common-law partner dies without a will, you receive nothing automatically. You would need to bring a court application to assert a claim against the estate, which is expensive, uncertain, and painful.

If you are in a common-law relationship, a will is not just recommended — it is essential.

Blended Families: Plan With Care

The combination of remarriage, children from prior relationships, and existing wills creates some of the most complex estate planning situations Ontario lawyers see.

Consider a parent who made a will leaving everything to their children. They later remarry. Under the old law, that will was revoked by the marriage. Under the new 2022 rule, it survives — but it still leaves nothing to the new spouse. The new spouse may have legal claims against the estate depending on the circumstances, but the outcome is far less certain than a clearly drafted will that accounts for everyone.

Blended family situations almost always benefit from purpose-built estate planning, including tools like spousal trusts that can provide for a surviving spouse while protecting children's inheritances.

The Rule That Applies Every Time: Review After Every Major Life Event

Regardless of how the law changes, the principle that should guide your estate planning is simple:

• Got married? Review your will.
• Separated? Review your will immediately.
• Divorced? Review your will.
• Had a child? Review your will.
• Started a common-law relationship? Make a will if you don't have one.
• Acquired significant assets? Review your will.

A will is not a "set it and forget it" document. Life changes, and your estate plan should keep pace.

Frequently asked questions