Question: Can a parent exclude or ‘cut’ a child out of his or her Will?
Answer: Generally, in Ontario, a person who is mentally capable of making a will is free to leave his or her estate to whomever they wish. A parent could exclude a child from his or her will; however, if the parent had a legal obligation to support the child at the time the parent died, the parent’s estate could be subject to a claim to continue that support. If a child is not named as a beneficiary of a parent’s estate and if the child believes they are entitled to support, an application could be made to court asking for support from the estate. Whether or not the application would succeed would depend upon many factors and the result could not be guaranteed.
A child who has been excluded as a beneficiary could challenge the will in court if there is evidence that the parent was influenced by someone to leave the child out or if the parent lacked testamentary capacity at the time of signing the will.
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Blog posts pre-dated December 1, 2015 were originally published under Neff Law Office Professional Corporation.
