It used to in most provinces. Several have abolished the rule — Ontario did so in 2022 — so the answer now depends on the province and the date of the will.
The Canadian position
Because the rule changed recently and not everywhere, an older will made before a marriage needs checking rather than assuming.
Divorce commonly revokes gifts to a former spouse and their appointment as executor.
The Islamic position
Marriage changes who the fixed heirs are, so the will needs revisiting regardless of what the revocation rule says.
A husband takes one half where his wife left no child and one quarter where she did; a wife takes one quarter where her husband left no child and one eighth where he did. Ibn Qudama records this as the consensus of the scholars, and adds that co-widows share the one fraction between them however many there are.
All four Sunni schools researched and sourced. Reviewed 2026-08-19. Full positions, evidence and sources — What a husband and a wife inherit.
Related madhhab issue: Making a wasiyyah — form, capacity and revocation.
What to do about it
- Review your will after any marriage or divorce.
- Check whether your province's revocation rule applied when the will was made.
- Redraft rather than assume.
This is legal information only. For advice on your own circumstances, speak to a lawyer.
Citations & sources
Every factual claim on this page traces to a source below. Details change — check the original source before relying on any figure, fee or legal position. Anything under “further reading” is related material, not a source for what is stated here.
- Succession Law Reform Act, RSO 1990, c S.26 — Government of Ontario
- Administering estates — Government of Ontario
- Canadian Legal Information Institute — CanLII
- Marriage revokes will ontario — Treadstone Law
- Ontario will marriage divorce effect revocation — Treadstone Law
- Does marriage revoke a will ontario — Treadstone Law
- Does divorce revoke a will in ontario — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law