Your Will Still Says Their Name
Separation does not undo an estate plan. For most people it changes almost nothing, and the gap between separating and being protected can run for years.
Start My Enquiry →Separation does not undo an estate plan. For most people it changes almost nothing, and the gap between separating and being protected can run for years.
Start My Enquiry →Succession Law Reform Act | Three Year Rule | Designations | Six Month Election
Often yes, at least for a period. Since amendments to the Succession Law Reform Act took effect on 1 January 2022, gifts and appointments to a spouse in a will are revoked, and a separated spouse loses their entitlement on an intestacy, but only once the spouses are separated as the statute defines it. That means they have lived separate and apart because of the breakdown of the marriage for three years, or they have a valid separation agreement, a court order settling their affairs, or a family arbitration award, and they are living separate and apart at the date of death. A couple who separated last year with no agreement therefore remain each other heirs. Separately, beneficiary designations on pensions, registered accounts and life insurance are unaffected by any of this and must be changed directly.
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Ontario changed this area on 1 January 2022. Before then, only divorce affected a will. Separation, however long and however final, left the estate plan intact, and separated spouses inherited from each other regularly and to everyone surprise.
Under the current section 17 of the Succession Law Reform Act, where spouses are separated at the date of death, the will is read as if the spouse had died first. Gifts to them fail and their appointment as estate trustee is revoked. Section 43.1 removes the separated spouse entitlement on an intestacy in the same way.
The test for separated is specific. The spouses must have lived separate and apart because of the breakdown of the marriage for three years, or have a valid separation agreement, a court order dealing with their affairs, or a family arbitration award; and they must be living separate and apart at the date of death. Because the three year clock could only start running when the amendment came into force, that branch of the test first had practical effect from 1 January 2025.
Read the test the other way and the exposure is obvious. A couple who separated eighteen months ago, who have no agreement, no court order and no arbitration award, are not separated for these purposes. The will stands exactly as written. The estranged spouse inherits, and is very likely also named as estate trustee.
This is the period in which people are least likely to be thinking about wills and most likely to have a health event, because a separation in your late fifties is one of the more stressful things a person goes through.
The answer is simple and quick. Make a new will now. It does not have to be the final version that reflects a settlement you have not yet reached; it has to be a document that stops the wrong person inheriting while you negotiate. This is usually one appointment.
A pension survivor benefit, a registered retirement savings plan, a registered retirement income fund, a tax free savings account and a life insurance policy each pay according to the beneficiary designation on file with the plan, the institution or the insurer. Those assets pass outside the estate entirely.
Nothing in the Succession Law Reform Act amendments changes them. A new will does not change them. In most cases a separation agreement does not change them either, unless someone then goes to each institution and completes the paperwork. People commonly sign an agreement releasing all claims and then die with an ex spouse still named on a policy worth more than the house.
So the task is mechanical and it has to be done institution by institution: the pension plan, every registered account, every insurance policy, and any employer group benefits. Where support obligations are being secured by life insurance, the designation needs to reflect that arrangement rather than simply being changed.
A continuing power of attorney for property and a power of attorney for personal care naming your spouse remain fully effective after separation. Separation does not revoke them. If you lose capacity next month, the person you are separating from controls your finances and makes your health decisions.
Revoking them takes a short written document and new appointments. Doing so is not a hostile act and it is not evidence of anything. It is the same housekeeping as changing a will.
Choose the replacements deliberately. For someone with adult children this is often the moment to have a conversation about who is willing to act, and to name an alternate. An attorney who lives abroad or who cannot get to a bank branch is a theoretical protection.
Under section 6 of the Family Law Act, a surviving married spouse may elect to take under the will or on intestacy, or instead to receive an equalisation payment as though the marriage had ended by separation. That right belongs to the survivor, and it exists whether or not the couple were getting along.
The election is time limited. It must generally be made within six months of the death, and the estate is restrained from distributing during that period. A separated spouse who is still legally married may therefore be able to claim an equalisation payment against the estate even where the will leaves them nothing.
A properly drafted separation agreement addresses this directly, with mutual releases of all rights against each other estates, including the election, and including claims for dependant support. Until such an agreement exists, the right remains live, which is another reason for reaching an agreement rather than allowing a separation to drift.
Use our Child Support Calculator for an instant estimate based on Ontario law. Takes under a minute, and you can have a detailed breakdown emailed to you.
This is usually one appointment and it should not wait for your separation to be settled. Bring your current will, powers of attorney and a list of your registered accounts and policies.
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