Estate Planning Mistakes Ontario Families Make And How to Avoid Them
Quick Answer
Quick answer
The most common estate planning mistakes in Ontario come from assuming the law updates a plan automatically when life changes. Marriage has not revoked a will in Ontario since January 1, 2022, but marriages before that date generally did, so an older will may already have been cancelled without anyone noticing. A separated spouse is now treated as having died first for both wills and intestacy, while a common-law partner inherits nothing automatically no matter how long the couple lived together. Beneficiary designations on RRSPs, TFSAs, and life insurance override a will entirely, and adding an adult child to a house title to avoid probate can create tax, creditor, and ownership problems that cost more than the probate it was meant to save.
Why Good Estate Plans Fail Quietly
Most estate plans in Ontario are sound the day they are signed. They stop matching the family later, and nothing announces the change.
A will drafted before a second marriage. A beneficiary form completed at a bank years ago. A house put into joint names to simplify things for the children. Each decision made sense at the time. The gap surfaces after a death, when the people left behind find the plan no longer says what everyone assumed.
Ontario law has moved too. Amendments to the Succession Law Reform Act took effect on January 1, 2022 and changed how marriage, separation, and imperfect documents are treated.
The seven mistakes below cover marriage, separation, common-law assumptions, joint ownership, beneficiary designations, incapacity, and executor choice. Most can be corrected while you are still here to do it.
Quick Start: Find Your Situation
Estate planning gaps cluster around life events. Find the situation that matches you and start there.
You married before January 2022
Mistakes 1 and 5. An older will may already have been revoked, and forms signed then may name someone you no longer intend.
You are separated but not divorced
Mistakes 2 and 5. Your beneficiary forms may still name your spouse even though the intestacy rules do not.
You live common-law
Mistakes 3 and 5. There is no automatic inheritance.
You have adult children
Mistakes 4 and 7. Joint ownership and executor choice are where conflict begins.
You own a home and little else
Mistakes 4 and 6. Probate cost drives the joint-title temptation, and no power of attorney leaves a family stuck.
The 7 Estate Planning Mistakes Ontario Families Make
Each mistake below covers the situation, what Ontario law does with it, and how to correct it. None of them require starting over, and most can be fixed with one document or phone call.
Mistake 1
Assuming your marriage updated your will
If you married on or after January 1, 2022, an earlier will typically still stands. If you married before that date and the will did not say it was made in contemplation of that marriage, it may have been revoked at the wedding, leaving an intestacy, meaning no valid will. See what happens if you die without a will in Ontario.
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Did your marriage revoke your will?
The answer depends on when you married and on what the will itself said. Marriages before January 1, 2022 followed the older rule.
Did you marry on or after January 1, 2022?
Yes
Your existing will was not revoked by the marriage.
No — before that date
Did the will say it was made in contemplation of that marriage?
Yes
The will may have survived the marriage.
No, or not sure
The will may have been revoked at the time of the marriage. Have it reviewed.
Whichever path applies, a will is worth reviewing after any change in marital status.
Mistake 2
Leaving a separated spouse in your plan
Separation has to be established, not intended. It counts where you lived apart for three years immediately before the death, or where there is a valid separation agreement, a court order settling your affairs, or a family arbitration award. These sections do not reach beneficiary forms, so a registered plan may still name that spouse. Read more about separation in Ontario.
Mistake 3
Believing a common-law partner inherits automatically
A surviving partner who was being supported may apply to the court for dependant support. That is a claim to be brought and proved, not an inheritance that arrives on its own. Stepchildren are in a similar position and typically inherit only if named. Where expectations and documents differ, the result is often estate disputes and will challenges.
Mistake 4
Adding an adult child to your title or bank account
In Pecore v. Pecore, the Supreme Court of Canada held that such a transfer is presumed held in trust for the parent’s estate unless a gift was intended. Joint ownership may also expose the asset to that child’s creditors and trigger tax. See how probate works in Ontario and capital gains on a cottage or second property, and speak with an accountant.
Mistake 5
Letting beneficiary designations drift out of date
RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs, pensions, and life insurance all work this way. A form naming a former spouse can stay in force for decades. Ask every institution in writing for the designation currently on file rather than assuming you know. Online accounts and stored files may raise separate questions. Those are covered in our blog on digital assets and online accounts.
Mistake 6
Planning for death but not for incapacity
Ontario recognises two: a continuing power of attorney for property, and a power of attorney for personal care. Without them, a relative may have to apply to court to be appointed as guardian, which typically takes months and often costs considerably more than the documents would have. Our guide to power of attorney for property explains what the role covers.
Mistake 7
Choosing an executor for the wrong reasons
An estate trustee locates assets, pays debts, files tax returns, and files an Estate Information Return within 180 days of the certificate being issued. Co-executors who disagree can stall an estate for years. Ask the person first, and name an alternate. Qasim Ali, Principal Lawyer at Nihang Law, typically reviews executor choice with clients before a will is signed.
What Your Will Controls — And What It Doesn’t
Joint tenancy is co-ownership in which the surviving owner automatically takes the whole. Three of the mistakes above involve assets a will was never going to reach.
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What your will controls, and what passes outside it
A will governs your estate. It does not govern assets that pass by survivorship or by a beneficiary designation.
Governed by your will
- ▪Property held in your sole name
- ▪Personal effects and household items
- ▪Bank and investment accounts with no beneficiary named
- ▪Business interests held personally
- ▪Anything not otherwise directed
Who ends up deciding
Your will, carried out by the estate trustee you appointed.
Passes outside your will
- ▪Property held in joint tenancy with right of survivorship
- ▪RRSP, RRIF, or TFSA with a named beneficiary
- ▪Life insurance with a named beneficiary
- ▪Pension survivor benefits
- ▪Assets already held in trust
Who ends up deciding
The form on file with the institution, or the surviving owner. Your will does not reach these.
Assets that do pass through the estate may attract Estate Administration Tax under the Estate Administration Tax Act, 1998. Ontario charges nothing on the first $50,000, then $15 for every $1,000 above it. Therefore, a $500,000 estate typically attracts $6,750.
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Estate administration tax by estate value in Ontario
Ontario charges nothing on the first $50,000, then $15 for every $1,000 above it. Only assets that pass through the estate are counted.
$0
on the first $50,000 of estate value
$15
for every $1,000 above $50,000, or part thereof
$6,750
the tax on a $500,000 estate
How To Review Your Estate Plan In Six Steps
A review does not mean starting again. Most people find one or two gaps and close them in one appointment.
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A six-step estate plan review
Most people find one or two gaps and close them in a single appointment. No timeline is attached, because every file moves at its own pace.
Locate every document
The signed original will, both powers of attorney, and any marriage, cohabitation or separation agreement.
Check the dates against your life
Compare each document against your marriages, separations, divorces, births, and property purchases.
Request your beneficiary designations
Ask each bank, insurer, and pension administrator in writing for the form currently on file.
List your assets by how each one passes
Sole name, joint with right of survivorship, or governed by a designation.
Confirm your people are still willing and able
Speak to your estate trustee and your attorney for property, and name an alternate for each.
Book a review
Bring the documents and the confirmations so a lawyer can tell you whether anything needs to change.
Questions Ontario Families Ask Us
Does getting married cancel my will in Ontario?
Not if you married on or after January 1, 2022. Sections 15(a) and 16 of the Succession Law Reform Act were repealed from that date. The change is not retroactive, so an earlier marriage generally did revoke a will made before it.
I’m separated but not divorced. Can my spouse still inherit from me?
Usually not, for deaths on or after January 1, 2022. A separated spouse is treated as having died before you, for both your will and the intestacy rules. Separation must be established through three years living apart, a separation agreement, a court order, or an arbitration award.
My partner and I aren’t married. Does he automatically inherit if I die?
No. Ontario’s intestacy rules apply to married spouses, so a common-law partner has no automatic entitlement however long you lived together. A financially dependent partner may apply to the court for dependant support, but that is a claim to be brought and proved.
Should I put my daughter’s name on my house to avoid probate?
It may not achieve what you expect. A transfer to an adult child is presumed held in trust for your estate unless a gift was intended, and joint ownership can expose the property to their creditors and trigger tax. Take legal and accounting advice first.
My RRSP still lists my ex-wife. Does my will override that?
Generally no. A valid beneficiary designation governs the plan and passes outside your will, so updating the will does not change the form. The same applies to TFSAs, RRIFs, pensions, and insurance. Ask each institution in writing and update it directly.
How much does probate cost in Ontario?
Ontario charges no Estate Administration Tax on the first $50,000 of estate value, then $15 for every $1,000 above it. So, a $500,000 estate typically attracts $6,750. Estates of $150,000 or less may qualify for a simplified small estate procedure.
Can I just write my own will by hand?
A will written entirely in your own handwriting and signed by you can be valid in Ontario. The common problems are unclear wording, no direction for what is left over, and signing errors. Courts may, in limited circumstances, validate a document not executed correctly, but the outcome is uncertain.
Where To Start
Almost every mistake here comes from a plan that was correct once and never revisited. Ontario law changed in 2022, families change more often, and documents do not update themselves. Checking the date on your will and requesting your beneficiary designations costs nothing.
Nihang Law helps families across Toronto, Scarborough and the wider GTA with wills, powers of attorney and estate administration, including Islamic and faith-based wills.
Review your estate plan with a lawyer
If anything here sounded familiar, a short review may be all you need. See our wills and estates services.
Speak with our team
About the author
Qasim Ali
Principal Lawyer · Nihang Law Professional Corporation · Toronto & Scarborough, Ontario · Law Society of Ontario
Qasim Ali is the Principal Lawyer at Nihang Law Professional Corporation, serving clients across Toronto, Scarborough, and the broader Greater Toronto Area. He provides full-service legal representation across immigration, real estate, family law, criminal law, civil litigation, employment law, wills and estates, and business law.
Nihang Law is particularly recognized for its depth in immigration and real estate law — a combination that serves newcomers and growing families navigating both legal systems simultaneously.
Learn more about Qasim Ali →Sources & references
- Succession Law Reform Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. S.26 — www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90s26
- Substitute Decisions Act, 1992, S.O. 1992, c. 30 — www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/92s30
- Estate Administration Tax — Government of Ontario — www.ontario.ca/page/estate-administration-tax
- Apply for probate of an estate — Government of Ontario — www.ontario.ca/page/apply-probate-estate
- Pecore v. Pecore, 2007 SCC 17 (CanLII) — www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/2007/2007scc17/2007scc17.html
- Wills and powers of attorney — Steps to Justice, Community Legal Education Ontario — stepstojustice.ca/legal-topic/wills-and-powers-of-attorney/
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