Separation, Divorce and Your Will in Canada

A separated man in Ottawa assumes the worst is behind him — he has moved out, the lawyers are talking, the marriage is effectively over. What he has not done is change his will, which still leaves everything to the wife he is separating from and names her as his executor. If he died in this in-between period, the law's answer to "who inherits?" would depend on his province and on exactly how the rules treat separation versus divorce. In some provinces, until recently, she would have taken the lot.

This guide explains how relationship breakdown interacts with your will and your beneficiary designations across the common-law provinces — what the law revokes for you automatically, what it leaves untouched, and what you must do yourself. It is general information, not advice; the rules differ by province and are changing, so confirm yours with a lawyer.

Divorce — what the law does for you #

In most common-law provinces, a finalized divorce triggers a helpful default: gifts in your will to your former spouse, and their appointment as your executor, are revoked, and the will is read as if the former spouse had died before you — unless the will clearly expresses a contrary intention.^[1] The rest of your will generally survives. So a divorced person who never updated their will is, on this narrow point, partly protected by the statute.

That protection has historically had a large hole in it: it applied to divorce, not to separation.

Separation — the closing gap #

For years, the dangerous in-between was separation without divorce. Because a separated couple were still legally married, will gifts to the spouse generally were not revoked, and a separated spouse could inherit everything or take an intestate share despite a relationship that had ended in every practical sense.

That is changing. Ontario amended its Succession Law Reform Act, in force since January 1, 2022, so that separation — measured against defined criteria — now revokes gifts to and appointments of the separated spouse, and removes a separated spouse's entitlement on an intestacy, broadly aligning separation with divorce.^[2] Because one of those criteria is living separate and apart for three years, the first revocations resting purely on the passage of time only matured on January 1, 2025 — a date sometimes cited as when the change "took effect," though the amendment itself has applied since 2022. British Columbia reaches a similar place by a different route: spouses are treated as ceasing to be spouses once they have lived separate and apart for at least two years with an intention to live separate and apart permanently, which triggers revocation of a gift to that spouse.^[3] Other provinces have their own rules and their own timing.

The practical lesson is not to rely on any of this. The criteria, the dates, and the triggers vary, and a few months in the wrong gap can hand your estate to the person you are leaving. Update your will instead of trusting the default.

The beneficiary-designation trap #

Here is the mistake that survives even careful divorces. Beneficiary designations on RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs, pensions, and life insurance are frequently not revoked automatically by divorce or separation the way will gifts are. A registered plan or a policy still naming a former spouse can pay that former spouse directly, outside the will and outside the revocation rules. People update their wills and forget their designations, and the insurance pays the ex. Change every designation yourself when a relationship ends — see how to update beneficiary designations.

What a separation agreement does — and doesn't #

A separation agreement resolves matters between you and your former partner — property, support, parenting. It does not rewrite your will, and assuming it does is a common and costly error. What an agreement can do for your estate is include a mutual release of claims against each other's estates, and impose obligations such as maintaining life insurance to secure support or to benefit children. Those clauses are valuable, but they work alongside an updated will, not instead of one.

Your action list on separation #

• Make a new will that reflects your new intentions and names a new executor.
• Change every beneficiary designation on registered plans and insurance.
• Replace your powers of attorney for property and personal care — your former spouse is very likely named.
• Review the separation agreement for estate obligations such as insurance and releases.
• Get legal advice about potential support or property claims against your estate.

What we focus on at It's Simple Will #

The Will Creator makes it quick to put a new, accurate will in place during a separation, so you are not depending on a patchwork of provincial defaults to protect you in the gap. Relationship breakdown is exactly the moment a stale will does the most damage. For the property side of the same event, see inheritance and divorce in Canada.

Related guides #

• Inheritance and divorce in Canada
• Marriage contracts and wills
• How to update beneficiary designations
• Naming your spouse as sole beneficiary
• How to write a will in Canada