Your will is a legal document that outlines some overarching decisions related to your assets and your dependents. Your will outlines who will take care of minor children, pets, or other dependents if you were to pass away; and it outlines who will receive your assets when you’re gone. You may make changes to your will many times over your lifetime, or you may never need to update it. In general, you may want to update your will if:
- You move to a new province - each province has different legislation covering wills and estates (and Willful documents adhere to provincial legislation)
- You have a child (or have more children) - unless you’ve accounted for unborn children in your will, you will likely want to add a child as a beneficiary, and if it’s your first child, add a guardian for their care
- You get married - in most provinces, unless your will has a “contemplation of marriage” clause, getting married invalidates your will - so you need to update it to reflect that you’re married
- You get a new pet, or need to remove a pet
- You get divorced - while almost all provinces have laws that state an ex-spouse cannot receive a gift in your will or act as your executor, removing them as a beneficiary or executor is best practice
- You purchase an asset that you want to leave as a specific gift to someone
- You sell an asset that is listed as a specific gift in your will, and you need to remove it
- Someone named in your will either passes away, or is no longer able to take on the role anymore - for example your executor passes away, or the guardian you named for your children moves to Australia and isn’t a fit in that role anymore
For more information, please read Codicils, Amendments, And Executing A New Will: How To Update And Change A Will?