Bill 245, the Accelerating Access to Justice Act, 2021, received Royal Assent in April 2021. Bill 245 contains many amendments which attempt to modernize the legal system and improve access to justice for people in Ontario.
Bill 245 includes, among other things, certain changes relating to wills and estates law:
- Virtual Signing:
Bill 245 allows for signings of Wills and Powers of Attorney documents to be done virtually, such as through Zoom, beyond the COVID-19 pandemic period. During COVID-19 this became commonplace based on a temporary direction from the government. Making this permanent would help to make estate planning more efficient and accessible. - Marriage and Wills:
Bill 245 removes the sections of the Succession Law Reform Act (“SLRA”) which revokes an existing will after marriage. Similar amendments have been made in other provinces. The theory is to protect people from “predatory marriages,” where an individual enters in a marriage to invalidate a vulnerable person’s will and gain access to their estate. - Separated Spouses:
Bill 245 amends the SLRA to treat separated spouses more like divorced spouses. On a date to be proclaimed, a gift for a spouse under a will, will be revoked, if the spouses are deemed to be separated at the time of the testator’s death. In addition, before Bill 245, if an individual died intestate, separated spouses could claim entitlement to a “preferential share” of the deceased’s estate. Bill 245 amends the SLRA and the Family Law Act to prohibit spouses from inheriting from a deceased’s estate on an intestacy, if the deceased and the spouse are separated at the time of the deceased’s death. - Court Authority to Validate Wills:
For a will to be valid in Ontario, it must be signed by the testator in front of two witnesses. Before Bill 245, if a will was not entirely compliant with formal requirements in the SLRA, it would be invalid. Bill 245 allows a court to validate an improperly executed will if it is satisfied, based on any evidence provided, that the will sets out the intentions of the deceased. This is similar to the law in other provinces.
This article is a general discussion of certain tax and accounting matters and should not be relied upon as tax or accounting advice. If you require tax or accounting advice, we would be pleased to discuss the issues in this article with you.
