Legal Impact of Divorce on Will and Estate Planning
To schedule an appointment, contact our law firm at 403-400-4092 or Chris@NeufeldLegal.com
Under the Wills and Succession Act (Alberta), a finalized divorce has a significant and automatic effect on your will (although this isn't necessarily one's only estate planning document of concern, which require immediate attention). The Wills and Succession Act (Alberta) effectively revokes any provisions in the will that benefit your ex-spouse.
The legal effect of the Wills and Succession Act (Alberta) is to treat your ex-spouse as if they had predeceased you. This means:
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Beneficiary Gifts are Revoked: Any gift, inheritance, or share of your estate that was left to your ex-spouse is automatically cancelled.
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Appointments are Revoked: Any role your ex-spouse was assigned in the will, such as personal representative (executor), trustee, or guardian of your minor children, is also automatically revoked.
This rule applies unless your will explicitly states that the gifts or appointments to your ex-spouse should remain valid despite the divorce, with other legal exceptions possible (i.e., under the federal Divorce Act).
However, it is critically important to understand that the "deemed predeceased" rule under the Wills and Succession Act (Alberta) does not apply to other estate planning documents. This is a critical point that can lead to serious unintended consequences if not properly addressed.
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Beneficiary Designations: Documents like life insurance policies, Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSP), Registered Retirement Income Funds (RRIF), Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSA), Life Income Funds (LIF) and pension plans have their own beneficiary designations that are separate from your will. A divorce does not automatically change these. If your ex-spouse is named as the beneficiary on these accounts, they will still receive the funds upon your death, regardless of the will. You must contact the financial institution to change these designations directly.
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Power of Attorney and Personal Directive: A divorce does not automatically revoke the appointments under one's powers of attorney / personal directives. If your ex-spouse is named as your attorney or agent in these legal documents, they will retain that authority. You must formally revoke these legal documents and create new ones.
Because divorce has such a drastic, yet incomplete, effect on your estate plan, it is essential to create a new will and update all other estate planning documents as soon as the divorce is finalized (although in most circumstances, once you are separated from your spouse, you would be well advised to begin addressing changes that need to be made to your estate plan). This is critical to ensuring that your assets are distributed according to your current wishes and to prevent your ex-spouse from having any legal claim or decision-making power over you or your estate.
Contact our law firm today to learn how our legal team can help you with addressing your personal legal situation as it relates to your will and other estate planning arrangements, although you should not be waiting until your divorce has been finalized. Contact our law firm at 403-400-4092 or via email at Chris@NeufeldLegal.com to schedule a confidential initial consultation.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This website is designed for general informational purposes. The site is not designed to answer specific questions about your individual situation or entitlement. Do not rely upon the information provided on this website as legal advice in respect of your individual situation nor use it as substitute for individual legal advice. If you want specific legal advice, you need to engage a lawyer under established legal engagement procedures that have been specifically agreed to by that lawyer.
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