Estate Planning Changes to Expect After You Remarry in Ontario

Second marriages often involve blended families, adult children from prior relationships, jointly owned property, and competing moral expectations. Estate plans that worked well after a first marriage or divorce may no longer align with legal reality after remarriage.

Since 2022, Ontario law has changed in a way that increases personal responsibility around estate planning. These changes reduce automatic legal consequences but raise the risk of outdated documents producing unintended results. It’s highly recommended to review estate plans before you remarry.

How Remarriage Affects Wills in Ontario

Before 2022

• Marriage automatically revoked an existing will unless it was made in contemplation of that specific marriage.
• Revocation meant the will became legally invalid, even if it clearly reflected the person’s intentions.
• If no new will existed after remarriage, the estate was distributed under Ontario intestacy rules.
• Intestacy often resulted in the surviving spouse receiving a preferential share and a significant portion of the estate.
• Children from previous relationships frequently received less than expected, particularly in smaller estates.
• Many estates entered litigation because families discovered, after death, that no valid will existed.

The rule aimed to protect new spouses but often produced unintended and harsh outcomes in second marriage, which led to a major change in 2022. 

After 2022

• Marriage no longer revokes an existing will in Ontario.
• A will made before remarriage remains legally valid unless it is formally changed or revoked.
• The law now prioritizes testamentary autonomy over automatic spousal protection.
• This change removes the assumption that remarriage resets an estate plan.
  
• Outdated wills can now remain in force, even if they fail to reflect a new marriage or blended family.
• Individuals who remarry must actively update their estate documents to reflect new intentions.
• The legal risk has shifted from automatic revocation to unintended consequences caused by inaction.
• Blended families face greater exposure when old wills continue to operate without review.

What Happens If You Remarry and Make No Changes To Your  Will? 

If you remarry in Ontario and do nothing, your estate plan may still be legally valid but practically dangerous. Since 2022, a pre marriage will remains in force unless changed. That means your estate may still reflect a life that no longer exists.

Your new spouse may not be adequately provided for under the will. At the same time, children from a previous relationship may inherit more or less than you intended, which could trigger litigation.

If the will does not reflect current circumstances, a surviving spouse may elect under the Family Law Act instead of the will. This election can override testamentary intentions and reshape the estate distribution entirely.

Beneficiary designations on registered plans or insurance policies may still name a former spouse. Joint ownership arrangements may pass assets outside the estate, regardless of what the will says.

Do Blended Families Face Higher Estate Risk?

Second marriages introduce overlapping legal and emotional interests that estate law must reconcile. A new spouse has statutory rights. Children from a prior relationship often carry strong expectations. Stepchildren, however, have no automatic inheritance rights under Ontario law.

These competing interests create structural risk. A will that prioritizes a spouse may unintentionally disinherit children. A will that prioritizes children may expose the estate to spousal claims. 

Blended families also face higher scrutiny around dependant support claims. Adult children with ongoing needs and surviving spouses can both qualify as dependants. 

Spousal Rights and the Election Against the Will

In Ontario, remarriage creates automatic spousal rights that can override a will. A surviving spouse has the right to elect between what the will provides and an equalization of net family property under the Family Law Act. This election exists regardless of the will’s language.

If the will predates the remarriage or provides less than what the spouse would receive through equalization, the spouse may choose the statutory option. Once made, this election reshapes the estate distribution and can significantly reduce what beneficiaries under the will receive.

The election must be exercised within strict timelines, and it often surprises families who assume the will controls the outcome. Children from previous relationships frequently encounter this issue when a surviving spouse asserts statutory rights.

This is not a loophole, but a deliberate protection built into Ontario law. Any estate plan created before remarriage must account for this election, or it risks being partially undone after death.

Your Estate Planning Counsel in Ontario

Ontario law now places greater responsibility on individuals to ensure their wills, beneficiary designations, and ownership structures align with their current family reality. 

Our family lawyers at Noori Law can help you review your will and prevent disputes, protect intended beneficiaries, and reduce the risk of litigation. Working with experienced estate planning counsel ensures your intentions translate into outcomes that withstand legal scrutiny and changing family dynamics. Please request a consultation today.