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What Happens to your Will if you get Married — Family Law / Estate Planning Law

Posted by wjadmin — filed in Wills and Estates Law
What Happens To Your Will If You Get Married/Divorced?
By Anthony Pranata, Barristers & Solicitors



October 15, 2013

This post will focus on two questions:

  1. What happens to my Will if I get married/enter into an adult interdependent partner relationship (ex. common law relationship)?
  1. What happens to my Will if I get divorced/terminate an AIP relationship?
Prior to February 2012, getting married or entering into an AIP relationship would have normally revoked your Will. This sometimes yielded undesirable results. For example, if you had a valid Will, then got married, and then passed away before making a new Will, you would have died without a Will.

Also prior to February 2012, getting divorced or terminating an AIP relationship had no effect on your Will. This also yielded undesirable results at times. For example, if you were married and you created a Will where you left everything to your spouse, then divorced, and then you passed away before changing your Will, you would have died leaving everything to your ex-spouse.

The answer to the above questions changed in February 2012 when the Alberta government consolidated several statutes and enacted the Wills and Succession Act of Alberta.
Under the Wills and Succession Act:

  1. Getting married/entering into an AIP relationship DOES NOT REVOKE your current Will.
  1. Getting divorced/terminating an AIP relationship DOES NOT REVOKE your current Will, but DOES REVOKE any gift or interest in property that you give to your ex-partner in your Will. The exception to this rule is if a court of law finds that you clearly intended to give that gift or interest in property to your ex-partner despite the divorce/termination of the AIP relationship.
For more information, please contact the law office of Aarbo Fuldauer LLP, Lawyers at:

Address:              3rd Floor, 1131 Kensington Road NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 3P4
Phone:                (403) 571-5120
Email:                    [email protected]

Anthony Pranata
Barrister & Solicitor

*The information contained in this blog is not legal advice. It should not be construed as legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. If you require legal assistance, please contact a lawye

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