Marriage (or 2-Year Cohabitation) No Longer Revokes a Will in Saskatchewan

Sean Rheubottom, B.A. LL.B., TEP

Until recently, for many years the law regarding Wills in Saskatchewan said that that when an individual (“testator”) makes a Will, and later gets remarried, that Will is revoked and a new Will must be made. Marriage revoked a Will unless the Will was worded so that it was expressly made specifically in contemplation of the marriage.

In Saskatchewan, a cohabiting couple is treated like a married couple after cohabiting continuously for 2 years. Accordingly, until recently, their Wills would also be automatically revoked by operation of law after 2 years of cohabitation. 

In these cases of automatic revocation by marriage or 2-years’ cohabitation, if the testator did not get around to making a new Will and then died without any Will, the new (current) spouse would be legally entitled to all or a portion of the estate under provincial intestacy laws.

As of March 16, 2020, the situation has changed in Saskatchewan. The Wills legislation has been changed so that marriage or 2-years’ cohabitation no longer revokes a Will.  Now, if an individual gets married, their Will is not revoked. They have to remember to update their Will.

In any event, if a newly married person forgets to update their Will and then dies leaving a Will that does not provide for the new spouse, the spouse has a right to hold up the administration of the estate and make a claim against the estate under Family Property or Dependants’ Relief legislation.

Note that if a testator made a Will and then married before March 16, 2020, the Will made before the marriage would still have been revoked by the marriage and is not brought back into effect by the new law. A new Will would have to be made in those circumstances.

Perhaps it is easiest to remember simply that if the marriage or cohabitation status of you or a loved one changes, a complete review of estate planning is in order.

© Heritage Private Wealth Law

General information only; not intended as legal or tax advice. Readers are encouraged to obtain legal and tax advice before acting in their specific circumstances.