I Wrote a Will Years Ago. Does It Still Count?

Module 1Age alone does not invalidate a will

A validly executed will does not expire. A will signed in 2009 is as effective in 2026 as the day it was signed, provided nothing has revoked it and the original can be produced.

What changes is whether it still says what you would want it to say.

Module 2The four events that change the answer

• Marriage. It used to revoke a will 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. An older will made before a marriage needs checking, not assuming.
• Divorce. Commonly revokes gifts to a former spouse and their appointment as executor, treating them as having predeceased you. Separation without divorce often changes nothing at all.
• Births and deaths. Faraid shares are conditional on who survives. A child born after the will was written, or an heir who has since died, changes the calculation.
• Moving province. Administration follows the province you die in. Moving to British Columbia matters especially, because the grounds for challenging a will are far wider there.

Module 3The quieter failures

These do not revoke a will. They just make it distribute something other than what you intended.

• A specific gift of an asset you no longer own simply fails — the beneficiary receives nothing in its place.
• A beneficiary who died before you may cause the gift to lapse, depending on provincial anti-lapse rules.
• Beneficiary designations made after the will can redirect the largest assets entirely.
• Property put into joint names since signing now passes by survivorship, outside the will.

Module 4What to do about it

1. Locate the original and confirm it is the most recent version.
2. Read the distribution clauses — do they still reflect your family and your intended shares?
3. Check every beneficiary designation against the will.
4. Check how property is held on title.
5. If anything is out of date, make a fresh will rather than a codicil, and destroy the old original.
6. Record where the new original is kept.

Common questions

Can I just add a page to my existing will?

A codicil must be executed with the same formality as a will. Most lawyers now redraft instead, because a codicil separated from its parent document causes exactly the problems it was meant to avoid.

Does moving to another province invalidate my will?

Generally no — a will valid where made is usually recognised elsewhere. But the intestacy rules, probate cost and grounds for challenge all change, so have it reviewed.

What if I cannot find the original?

A copy may be admissible with supporting evidence, but where the original was last known to be in your possession a court may presume you destroyed it deliberately.