Changing or Cancelling a Will: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 03:14, 7 March 2019

This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by Stephen Hsia in January 2019.

You can change your will after you’ve prepared it

You should consider updating your will whenever your circumstances or wishes change. You can prepare a new will at any time. Or you can change the existing one by signing a separate document, called a codicil.

To be legal, the codicil has to meet the same requirements as a will. For example, it must be in writing, dated, and signed by you and two witnesses. You don’t have to use the same two witnesses you used for your will. The codicil must refer to the will (and previous codicils) it’s amending.

You can cancel your will

You can revoke, that is cancel, your will. You could simply destroy the original will, with the intention of cancelling it. However, it is better to make a written declaration revoking your will. This document must be signed the same way you signed your will — by you with two witnesses looking on, and signing it themselves.

A new will normally cancels any previous will. Even so, it’s common practice to include a revocation clause at the beginning of a will:

“I hereby revoke all my prior wills and codicils.”

Getting married or divorced

Neither marriage nor divorce of the will-maker cancels a will. The exception is if you married before March 31, 2014 (after which, there was a change in the law), and made a will before you got married. The law says your will would have been cancelled when you got married, unless the will said it was made in contemplation of your marriage.

If you had a spouse at the time you made your will, and later separated from your spouse, your will is treated as if your spouse died before you. That is, any gift you left them will not be effective. As well, if you named your ex-spouse as your executor, the appointment would no longer be effective.

Preparing Your Will © People's Law School is, except for the images, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence.

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-{{REVIEWEDPLS | reviewer = [[People's Law School]] |date= 2014}}
+{{REVIEWEDPLS | reviewer = [[Stephen Hsia|Stephen Hsia]]|date= January 2019}}{{Preparing Your Will TOC}}
-{{Writing Your Will TOC}}
+== You can change your will after you’ve prepared it ==
+You should consider updating your will whenever your circumstances or wishes change. You can prepare a new will at any time. Or you can change the existing one by signing a separate document, called a '''codicil'''.
-=== Where should I keep my will? ===
+To be legal, the codicil has to meet the same requirements as a will. For example, it must be in writing, dated, and signed by you and two witnesses. You don’t have to use the same two witnesses you used for your will. The codicil must refer to the will (and previous codicils) it’s amending.
-You need to keep the original of your will in a safe place that is fireproof, waterproof, and tamper-proof. There is a presumption that a lost will has been destroyed and revoked, so take care in storing the will.
- {{PLSTipsbox
+== You can cancel your will ==
-| text = Tell your executor where you have stored your will. The executor needs to know where it is, so that he or she can easily find it after your death.
+You can revoke, that is cancel, your will. You could simply destroy the original will, with the intention of cancelling it. However, it is better to make a written declaration revoking your will. This document must be signed the same way you signed your will — by you with two witnesses looking on, and signing it themselves.
-}}
-=== How do I register my will? ===
+A new will normally cancels any previous will. Even so, it’s common practice to include a '''revocation clause''' at the beginning of a will:
-You can register your will with the provincial government’s [http://www.vs.gov.bc.ca Wills Registry]. The law does not require this step, but it’s a good idea because it lets others know where you have stored the original copy of your will.
+:''“I hereby revoke all my prior wills and codicils.”''
-To register your will, you (or your lawyer or notary public) need to file a Wills Notice with the Wills Registry maintained by the provincial government’s Vital Statistics Agency. The Wills Notice is a form that you fill out to say that you have made a will and the location of the will. You do not provide a copy of the will to the Wills Registry, just the Wills Notice.
+== Getting married or divorced ==
+Neither marriage nor divorce of the will-maker cancels a will. The exception is if you married before March 31, 2014 (after which, there was a change in the law), and made a will before you got married. The law says your will would have been cancelled when you got married, unless the will said it was made in contemplation of your marriage.
- {{PLSTipsbox
+If you had a spouse at the time you made your will, and later separated from your spouse, your will is treated as if your spouse died before you. That is, any gift you left them will not be effective. As well, if you named your ex-spouse as your executor, the appointment would no longer be effective.
-| text = For the Wills Notice form and filing instructions, see:<br/>
-Vital Statistics Agency<br/>
-Victoria: 1-250-952-2681<br/>
-Toll-free: 1-888-876-1633<br/>
-[http://www.vs.gov.bc.ca www.vs.gov.bc.ca]<br/>
-}}
-=== Can I change my will after I’ve made it? ===
-You can make a new will at any time. Or you can change the will you’ve made by signing a separate document, called a '''codicil'''.
-To be legal, the codicil has to meet the same requirements as the will. For example, it must be in writing, and be signed by you and two witnesses. You don’t have to use the same two witnesses you used for your will. The codicil must refer to the will it is amending.
-=== Can I cancel my will? ===
+{{Preparing Your Will Navbox}}
-Yes, you can cancel your will by:
-* destroying the original will (you must destroy it with the intention of revoking it), or
-* making a written declaration revoking your will, signed in the same way as a will (for example, signed by you and two witnesses).
-A new will normally cancels any previous will. Even so, it is common practice to clearly provide for this by including a '''revocation clause''' at the beginning of a will:
-: “I hereby revoke all my prior wills and codicils.”
-Neither marriage nor divorce of the will-maker cancels a will. The exception is if you married before March 31, 2014, and made a will prior to your marriage. Your will would have been automatically cancelled on your marriage, unless the will said that it was made in contemplation of your marriage.
-{{Writing Your Will Navbox}}
 {{Creative Commons for PLS
-|title = Writing Your Will
+|title = Preparing Your Will
 |author =
 }}
 __NOGLOSSARY__

Changing or Cancelling a Will: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 03:14, 7 March 2019

You can change your will after you’ve prepared it

You can cancel your will

Getting married or divorced

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