Offices in Ottawa and Perth
(613) 722-1500

CONTACT US (613) 722-1500

Tell/Don’t Tell – Disclosing the Contents of Your Will

Tell/Don’t Tell – Disclosing the Contents of Your Will

By:

Posted May 17, 2022

I am often asked the question of whether the will-maker should disclose the contents of their will to their beneficiaries.  In some situations, the will-maker simply states that this is what they intend to do, without asking for any comment from me, going so far as to ask me to make copies for their beneficiaries.  So is that a problem?

With respect to disclosure to beneficiaries, my answer is that disclosure may or may not be a problem, depending on the personalities and circumstances involved.  Generally, I recommend against disclosure, for the following reasons:

If you later change your will to remove or reduce the amount going to a beneficiary who has seen a copy of the will you have just made, that beneficiary will end up as a disappointed beneficiary, and you may be risking legal action by that disappointed beneficiary challenging your will after you die – whether or not they have any legal basis for doing so – or at least bitter feelings that may be visited upon the other beneficiaries of the will.

In addition, if the will you have had prepared goes to a beneficiary who doesn’t like what they see, you may get pressure from that beneficiary to change your will so that the beneficiary receives what they expect to receive.  I have seen this occur on more occasions than I can count, and the exerted pressure can be quite unpleasant.  As presumptuous as this may seem, there are many children of will-makers who have expectations as to what they think is fair, and who feel it is their duty to “right the wrong” if they don’t like what they see.  As examples, a will could treat the will-maker’s children the same, even though one child has received considerably more in financial help from the parents while the parents were alive; a parent may give a property to a child that the parent feels deserves the property (a cottage to a child who has helped the most with construction, repair, and upkeep, for example), which the other children might feel unfairly disregards their affection for and connection with the property as a family asset, or otherwise disregards what they consider to be their moral right to equally inherit from their parents.

I have even seen a disappointed beneficiary become difficult and refuse to provide the help and support they had previously been giving to an ailing parent as punishment for being, from their perspective, “unfair”.

So why disclose?  Under some circumstances, the will maker is not concerned about either of the above possibilities, and wants, instead, to be able to explain to the beneficiaries, if asked, why the will reads as it does.  They wish to diffuse any bitterness and anger that might arise upon their death, resulting from how their estate has been distributed – a laudable goal, if it works.

As lawyers, we are always here, not just as drafters, but also as advisors, to discuss the pros and cons of many issues, including whether or not disclosure of the contents of your will prior to your death is advisable.   Don’t hesitate to run these issues by us – we are here to help.

This blog post was written by Ted Mann, a Partner in the Wills and EstatesReal EstateBusiness and Bankruptcy teams.   He can be reached at 613-369-0368 or at ted.mann@mannlawyers.com.

More Resources

Blog |
Environmental Law

By: 

Posted March 23, 2023

On Friday, March 10, 2023, the Ontario government released two proposals in respect of additional changes to the province’s Environmental Assessment Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.[...]
Blog |
Real Estate

By: 

Posted March 15, 2023

Clients often have a lot of questions about the purchase process, such as ‘when do I get my keys’ and ‘will we meet in person[...]
Blog |
Family Law

By: 

Posted March 13, 2023

Registering the birth of a new baby can be done online through the Service Ontario website. With the province’s ‘5-in-1 Newborn Bundle,’ you can register[...]
Blog |
Estate Litigation

By: 

Posted March 7, 2023

As is now clear, the traditional approach in estate litigation that “the costs of all parties are ordered payable out of the estate has been[...]
Blog |
Employment, Labour, and Human Rights

By: 

Posted February 21, 2023

The recent Ontario decision, Steele v. The Corporation of the City of Barrie, 2022 ONSC 7245 (“Steele”), has expanded on the case law centering on[...]
Blog |
Family Law

By: 

Posted February 14, 2023

The short answer is yes. The long answer is, it’s complicated. Children have a legal right to be heard and listened to according to the[...]

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

"*" indicates required fields

Name*
Consent*
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.