Moving to a Different Province: Do You Need to Write a New Will?.

Relocating to a new country means adapting to its estate laws. Your old will may not be valid there. It might need significant updates, or even a complete rewrite to ensure its validity in your new home. But, what about when you move to a different province in Canada? Even though all provinces are subject to federal Canadian law, estate laws can vary greatly between provinces. If you are moving provinces or have since you last updated your will, it may be time for a new one.

Every province and territory in Canada has their own separate estate laws. If you prepare your will in Ontario, but later move to British Columbia, the will from Ontario is to be used in BC when you die (assuming a new one isn’t written). Even if your will was valid in Ontario, if your dispositions don’t comply with the Wills, Estates, and Succession Act (WESA), you risk having your will varied or even found invalid after your death. Often when this happens, the will-writer has no idea that their will is invalid in their new province.

What to Do When Moving Provinces

If you’re moving to a different province, you should have your will reviewed by an experienced estate lawyer. An estate lawyer can go through your will, identifying provisions that might have been valid in your old province of residence, but would be invalid in the new one. Keep in mind that it’s extremely unlikely that you will have to write an entirely new will. Usually, only a few changes will be required, if any. However, it is still essential to ensure that your existing will is valid in your new province of residence. Otherwise, your estate may not be distributed according to your wishes if estate litigation arises.

Another issue to consider after moving to a new province is who the executor of your will is. If your executor does not live near your residence, it can create difficulties for them during the process of administering your estate. If you moved to BC from Québec, it will be extremely difficult for an executor in Québec to administer your estate across the country in BC. This also means that it may take longer for the beneficiaries of your estate to receive their inheritance. Estate administration encompasses a handful of different tasks, some of which require the executor to be physically present. In general, it’s usually recommended that an estate’s executor is someone who lives in the same place as the will-writer. Because of this, you should always consider whether or not your executor should be changed when you move to a new province.

Moving, but Not Permanently

An important concept to understand in estate law is that of a domicile – the place where your permanent residence is. Your domicile determines which country’s or province’s estate laws will be applied to your will. Throughout this blog, when we mentioned “moving to another province” we were referring to someone who is moving, with the intention of making the new province their permanent residence. This means that the old province’s estate laws will be irrelevant to the administration of the individual’s estate. When you pass away, your domicile is where your will is to be executed.

For example, if someone moves to BC, with the intention of staying there for only 3 years before moving back to Alberta, they wouldn’t need to update their will. This individual’s domicile will always be Alberta, even if they are living outside of Alberta temporarily. Regardless of where they die, their will is to be executed in Alberta. For more information, read our blog post on domicile.

If you’re planning to move to another province, contact an experienced estate lawyer to review your pre-existing will. In some cases, nothing will need to be changed; however, you should always have a lawyer in your new province of residence review the documents to be sure that your estate will be distributed exactly as you’re intending. If your will is invalid and you die intestate, the courts will determine how your estate is to be distributed.

Have a question about this topic or a different legal topic? Contact us for a free consultation. Reach us via phone at 250-888-0002, or via email at info@leaguelaw.com.