There is no standalone “Wills Act” currently in force in Ontario. The law governing wills and estate succession in Ontario is now found in theSuccession Law Reform Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. S.26 (SLRA), which has largely replaced the old “Wills Act” for most practical purposes.
📜 What happened to the Wills Act in Ontario?
- Historically, Ontario did have a Wills Act (e.g., Wills Act, R.S.O. 1960, c. 433 and later versions), but those early statutes were replaced over time by broader succession legislation.
- Today, the Succession Law Reform Act (SLRA) serves as the primary statute governing Wills, Will execution requirements, probate, and intestate succession in Ontario. The SLRA was enacted in 1977 and consolidated the law relating to wills and succession, effectively absorbing and superseding older standalone wills statutes.
📘 What the Succession Law Reform Act does
Under the SLRA:
- It sets out the formal requirements for valid Wills (writing, signing, witnessing).
- It governs how estates are administered and how property is distributed if there is no valid Will (intestacy rules).
- It includes rules about holographic Wills (handwritten wills) and other types of testamentary documents.
- Recent amendments (e.g., via Bill 245) have modernized aspects such as remote witnessing and court validation of improperly executed Wills. Lerners Lawyers
🧾 Changes in the law (recent reforms)
Ontario has updated its wills/succession law in recent years through amendments to the SLRA (not through a separate Wills Act). Some key changes include:
- Virtual witnessing of Wills made permanent (subject to specific conditions).
- Courts can validate improperly executed Wills under certain conditions.
- Marriage no longer automatically revokes a Will executed before marriage (effective Jan. 1, 2022 for marriages after that date).
🔎 Summary
| Legislation | Status in Ontario |
| Wills Act | No longer the main statute; historically existed but now effectively replaced |
| Succession Law Reform Act (SLRA) | Current law governing wills and estate succession |
| Estates Act | Related governance (e.g., safekeeping of wills) but not the main Wills law |
So, you won’t find an active standalone “Wills Act” in the current Ontario statutes — instead, wills are regulated under the Succession Law Reform Act and related legislative provisions.
Brian Madigan LL.B., Broker