Where should I keep my will, and when should I update it?

Where the original should live

A law firm's safe, a safety deposit box your executor can access, or a fireproof box at home are all common choices; what matters is that the signed original stays intact and that your executor knows where to find it. A photocopy is evidence of what the will said, but courts generally presume a will last known to be in the testator's possession, and not found after death, was destroyed with the intention of revoking it.

Tell your executor and your alternate where the original is kept, not just that one exists.

We can hold the signed original in our own safe, so your executor always knows exactly where to find it.

Marriage no longer changes anything automatically

Since January 2022, getting married no longer revokes an existing will in Ontario; the provision that once did this was repealed. An older will made before that date, if it predates a marriage that also happened before the repeal, may still have been affected under the old rule, which is one reason to check rather than assume.

Separation and divorce work differently: since 2022, they generally treat gifts and appointments to a former spouse in the will as if that spouse had predeceased you, rather than revoking the whole document, unless the will says otherwise.

Events that call for a review

• Marriage, separation, or divorce
• The birth or adoption of a child, or a child turning eighteen
• The death of an executor, guardian, or major beneficiary
• Buying or selling a significant asset, or starting or selling a business
• Moving to or from Ontario, or acquiring property in another province or country
• A falling-out, or a reconciliation, with someone named in the will

None of these require a brand-new will automatically; sometimes a codicil, a short signed and witnessed amendment, is enough for a small change.

A codicil versus a new will

A codicil amends specific provisions without replacing the whole document, and has to be signed and witnessed with the same formality as a will. It works well for a small, isolated change, such as swapping an executor or updating a specific gift.

Several changes, or anything touching how the whole estate is divided, is usually clearer as a new will that expressly revokes the old one, rather than a stack of codicils that later have to be read together.

Revoking an old will properly

A will is revoked only by a later will made the proper way, a signed and witnessed writing that declares the intention to revoke, or by burning, tearing or otherwise destroying it with that intention, by you or someone in your presence and at your direction. Simply writing a new one without an express revocation clause can leave both documents technically in play for anything the new one doesn't cover.

A well-drafted new will includes a clause revoking all earlier wills and codicils, closing that gap.