Alterations

Any alterations made to a will after it has been created will only be valid if they are made in accordance with the rules outlined in this section. If the alterations do not follow these rules, they will have no effect on the will, except to invalidate words or parts of the will that are affected by the change.

The alteration must be signed by the testator (the person who created the will) and witnessed by others who sign their names as well. If the will was created under section 5 or 6, only the signature of the testator is required. The alteration can be made in the margin or near the change, or it can be made at the end of or opposite to a memorandum that refers to the change and is written somewhere in the will.

Revocation

A will can only be revoked by:

1. Making another will that cancels the previous one.

2. Writing a document that clearly states the intention to cancel the previous will and is made according to the rules for making a will.

3. Physically destroying the will with the intention of revoking it, by burning, tearing, or any other means.

When someone makes a will, it can't be assumed that they wanted to change it later if their circumstances changed.

• if someone gets divorced or their marriage is declared null, and their will says something about their former spouse, that part of the will is cancelled and the former spouse is treated as if they had already passed away.

• The same thing applies if the person making the will and their spouse were separated for at least three years before the person making the will died, and they were still separated when the person making the will died.

Revival

a will or part of a will that has been revoked can only be revived in three ways:

• by creating a new will that follows the rules outlined in this section;

• by creating a codicil (an addition or supplement to a will) that follows the rules outlined in this section and shows an intention to give effect to the revoked part; or,

• by re-executing the will with the necessary formalities, if any.

if a will has been partly revoked and then later wholly revoked, the revival of the will only applies to the parts that were wholly revoked, and not the parts that were already revoked before the will was wholly revoked.

if a contrary intention is shown, then the revival can extend to the previously revoked parts.This passage is discussing the revival of a will or part of a will that has been revoked.

Ont SLRA s.15-19