In most provinces divorce revokes gifts to the former spouse and their appointment as executor, treating them as having predeceased you. Separation without divorce often changes nothing.
The Canadian position
The rules vary by province and by whether you are divorced or merely separated. In Ontario a separated married spouse loses intestate inheritance rights in defined circumstances.
The Islamic position
A revocable divorce's waiting period can affect inheritance rights religiously. The civil and religious positions do not automatically align, so both need checking.
A revocable divorce does not cut off inheritance while the ‘idda runs, and an irrevocable divorce pronounced in health ends it — both are common ground. The schools divide, four ways, on the talaq al-firar: the divorce a dying man pronounces to cut his wife out. They divide not on whether she is protected but on how long the protection lasts — to the end of the ‘idda (Hanafi), until she remarries (the Hanbali mashhur), for ever, even through later marriages (Maliki), or not at all (Shafi’i, settled position).
All four Sunni schools researched and sourced. Reviewed 2026-09-01. Full positions, evidence and sources — Does a divorced spouse inherit?.
Making an Islamic will in Canada — province by province, and what makes one valid where you live →
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
- Family Law Act, RSO 1990, c F.3 — Government of Ontario
- Separated spouse intestacy rights ontario — Treadstone Law
- Step child inheritance rights without will ontario — Treadstone Law
- Stepchildren inheritance rights ontario no will — Treadstone Law
- Matrimonial home rights when separated — Treadstone Law
- Wills & estates practice — Treadstone Law