Left Out of a Will in Ontario? What Your Options Are

Finding out you were left out of a will, especially a parent’s or close family member’s, is disorienting even when you suspected it might happen. Ontario law gives will-makers broad freedom to leave their property to whomever they choose, which means being excluded is not, by itself, unfair in a legal sense. But there are situations where the law gives an excluded person real options.

The right response depends on why you think you were left out, and what you actually want: an explanation, a share of the estate, or simply peace of mind that nothing improper happened.

Step One: Get the Facts Before You Decide Anything

Before considering any legal step, confirm what actually happened.

• [ ] Get an actual copy of the will, not a secondhand account of its contents
• [ ] Confirm whether this is the most recent will, or whether an earlier one existed
• [ ] Find out whether assets passed to you outside the will, through joint accounts or named beneficiary designations
• [ ] Ask when the will was made and whether the will-maker’s circumstances changed significantly afterward
• [ ] Note the date of death, since it starts the clock on some of the options below

Why People Get Left Out — Not Always a Legal Problem

There are many legitimate reasons a will-maker excludes someone: earlier financial support already given, estrangement, a genuine wish to leave everything to a spouse or another child, or simply personal preference. Ontario law generally respects a competent adult’s freedom to decide who inherits their property. Disagreeing with that decision is not, on its own, a legal ground to change it.

When the Law Gives You a Real Option

1. A dependant’s support claim

If you were financially dependent on the person who died, for example as their spouse, parent, child, or a sibling they were supporting, Ontario’s Succession Law Reform Act allows certain dependants to apply to court for support from the estate, regardless of what the will says. This is a claim for support, not necessarily a claim to overturn the will itself, and it runs on a tight timeline once the estate is opened, so speak with a lawyer promptly if this might apply to you.

2. A will challenge

If you have a genuine reason to believe the will itself is invalid, because the will-maker lacked the mental capacity to understand what they were signing, was pressured or unduly influenced by someone else, did not know or approve of the document’s contents, or the will was not properly signed and witnessed, you may have grounds to challenge the will’s validity. Simply disagreeing with how the estate was divided is not enough on its own.

3. A negotiated resolution

Many estate disputes are resolved without going to court at all. If family members are willing to talk, a lawyer can help negotiate a resolution that avoids the cost, delay, and family strain of formal litigation.

4. Accepting the outcome

Sometimes, after reviewing the facts, the honest answer is that the will reflects a valid, deliberate choice with no legal basis to challenge. That is a difficult thing to accept, but it is often the realistic conclusion, and knowing that clearly can bring its own kind of closure.

A Word on Timing

Several of the options above are time-sensitive. Ontario law sets limitation periods for bringing claims related to an estate, and courts have only limited discretion to extend them once they pass. Do not wait to get advice simply because the estate has not yet been fully administered; by the time it is, some options may already be closed off.

Frequently asked questions