10/27/2025
It's almost time...November is Make a Will Month in Ontario!
When you have a Will you can control who receives your assets after you die. Did you know...
i. People assume that without a Will, their spouse will receive all of their assets if they pass away. This is not necessarily true. If you own assets jointly with the right of survivorship, those assets flow to the survivor, however, assets in your own name are dealt with differently.
ii. The Succession Law Reform Act (in Ontario) (the “SLRA”) determines what happens to your assets if you do not have a Will. Under the SLRA, if you and your spouse are not married, your spouse will not have any automatic entitlement to receive any of your assets after your death.
iii. A married spouse does not necessarily receive everything under the SLRA, either. If you have children, your married spouse would receive the “preferential share” (the first $350,000), following which, they share the remainder with your children.
iv. If children are under the age of 18, the Office of the Children’s Lawyer needs to become involved. In a Will, you can decide what age (over 18) you would like your children to have full control of their inheritance, but without a Will, they will receive their inheritance as soon as they turn 18.
v. Having a properly prepared Will can change all of this.
