What the New Changes to New Brunswick’s Wills Act Will Mean for You

An upcoming amendment to the Wills Act in New Brunswick is bringing long‑awaited modernization to an important area of estate law. These changes are designed to make the law clearer, fairer, and easier for everyday New Brunswickers to understand. Below is a simple breakdown of what’s new and why it matters.

In short: judges will soon have more flexibility to understand your true intentions, common‑law partners have strengthened rights, gifts to former partners are automatically cancelled after a breakup, and several old rules that created confusion have been replaced with clearer, more practical standards.

Judges Can Now Better Interpret Your Intentions

One of the most significant updates will give judges more freedom to consider evidence about what you truly meant in your will. Today, judges can only look beyond the wording of the will if something appeared “ambiguous.” This standard often makes it challenging to resolve uncertainties or mistakes.

Under the upcoming rules, judges can now review:

• The ordinary meaning of your words—or any special meaning those words had to you.
• Your personal circumstances at the time you made the will.
• Any direct evidence showing what you intended.

This shift should help the court better discern intentions from the start, helping prevent wrongful outcomes caused by technical errors or unclear wording.

Breakups Now Automatically Change Your Will

Previously, only divorce affected gifts to a former spouse. Common‑law partners were not included in these rules. Under the modernized Wills Act, if your relationship ends—whether through divorce, annulment, separation, or a common‑law breakup—any gift left to your former partner is automatically revoked. The same applies if they were named as your executor.

This change reflects how many New Brunswickers live today and ensures that long-term, unmarried partnerships are treated consistently with marriages.

Importantly: if you want your former partner to remain included, your will or a legal agreement must clearly state this.

Clearer Rules When a Beneficiary Passes Before You

The new law will also clarify what happens when someone named in your will dies before you—a situation that used to create confusion. Unless your will says otherwise, gifts will follow a consistent order:

• First: The gift goes to the backup beneficiary you named.
• If no backup: If the deceased person was your child, grandchild, or descendant, their share passes down to their own children.
• If neither applies: If your backup beneficiary is also deceased and was a blood relative, their children may inherit the gift.
• If no eligible relatives: The gift goes to whoever inherits the rest of your estate.
• If no one remains: The gift will be distributed under New Brunswick’s intestacy rules (rules used when someone dies without a will).

These clearer guidelines should help prevent disputes and unexpected outcomes.

Witnesses Can Now Receive Gifts—Sometimes

Traditionally, if someone witnessed your will, they were not allowed to receive a gift in it. The new legislation softens that rule. In certain cases, a witness may still receive a gift if the court is satisfied that:

• You had the mental capacity to make the decision.
• You were not pressured or influenced improperly.

This flexibility will help uphold your true intentions while still protecting against undue influence.

Lower Age Requirement and Modernized Rules

The amendments will also introduce several practical changes meant to better reflect modern life in New Brunswick.

• You can now make a will at 16 (previously 19).
• Getting married no longer cancels your existing will. Under old law, marriage typically revoked a will unless it was drafted in contemplation of the marriage.
• Liberalized rules for inter vivos (while alive) gifts: If you give a child a gift during your lifetime, the law no longer assumes that it reduces their inheritance unless your will specifically says so.
• Equal rights for all children: Children born outside of marriage now have the same legal standing as those born within marriage.
• Clearer debt rules: If a gift has a debt attached—like a house with a mortgage—it follows the same rule as other property. If you want the estate to pay the debt instead of the beneficiary, your will must say so.

Common‑Law Partners Receive Stronger Recognition

A major theme throughout the amendments is equality between married spouses and common‑law partners. From estate rights to the automatic revocation of gifts after a breakup, the law will treat both relationships consistently.

This change will have a significant impact on many New Brunswick families, recognizing the wide range of long-term relationships that exist today.

Streamlined Rules for Gifts That Cannot Take Effect

Under the old law, a patchwork of outdated rules made it confusing to determine what happens when a gift in a will cannot take effect. The new Act will introduce a single, simplified rule that applies in all such situations unless the will provides otherwise.

This consistency should bring greater predictability and fewer disputes.

Why These Changes Matter

Justice Minister and Attorney General Robert McKee emphasized that these changes are expected to make the law “clearer, fairer and easier to understand.” They reflect contemporary family structures, improve clarity, and reduce the risk of unintended outcomes.

Most importantly, these updates ensure your wishes are better recognized—and that your loved ones receive the protection you intended. The government’s message is clear: every eligible New Brunswicker should make a will or review their existing one to ensure it still reflects their intentions.

A modern will provides peace of mind, avoids unnecessary conflict, and makes life easier for your family during an already difficult time. With the updated Wills Act, New Brunswickers will be able to plan their estates with greater confidence and clarity.