A will can feel finished once it is signed. Filed away. Handled. One less thing sitting on the mental list.
But life rarely stays the same long enough for that to be true forever.
Updating your will is not only about changing names on a document. It is about making sure the plan still matches your family, your assets, your relationships, and the people you trust. A will that made sense five or ten years ago may no longer reflect the life you have now.
That gap can become expensive. Not always in an obvious way. Sometimes the cost shows up as conflict between family members. Sometimes it appears as delays, confusion, added legal work, tax issues, or an executor left trying to make sense of outdated instructions.
In Alberta, a will can name a personal representative to carry out your wishes after death, as explained by Alberta.ca’s wills information. That role can carry real responsibility, which is why the will itself needs to be clear, current, and aligned with your circumstances.
This article is general information only. It is not legal advice. If your life has changed since your will was prepared, speaking with a lawyer can help you decide what should be reviewed.
Most People Know a Will Matters. Fewer Keep It Current.
Canadians generally know estate planning is important. The gap is follow-through.
A 2026 CIBC poll found that 94% of Canadians believe everyone should have a will, but only 52% say they actually have one. The same poll found that only 29% report having an estate plan. That matters because a will is only one part of a larger plan.
An earlier Angus Reid Institute survey found that half of Canadians did not have a will, and another 13% had one that was out of date. That “out of date” group is easy to overlook. They did the responsible thing at one point, but the document may no longer solve the problem they think it solves.
This is where the real risk sits.
An outdated will can give a false sense of security. It may still exist. It may still look official. It may still be stored safely. But if the people, property, or family situation has changed, the document may create more questions than answers.
When to Update Your Will
A good rule of thumb is simple: review your will after any major life change.
That does not always mean the will needs to be rewritten. It does mean the document should be checked against your current life.
Common reasons to review a will include:
- Marriage or a new long-term relationship
- Separation or divorce
- Birth or adoption of a child
- A child becoming an adult
- Buying or selling a home
- Starting or selling a business
- A major change in finances
- Moving to or from Alberta
- A beneficiary passing away
- A personal representative becoming unable or unsuitable to act
- Family conflict or estrangement
- A change in who you trust to make decisions
- New grandchildren or blended family changes
The phrase when to update your will often leads people to look for a checklist. The better question is more personal: has anything changed that would make your old instructions unclear, unfair, difficult, or incomplete?
If the answer is yes, it is worth getting advice.
The Cost of an Outdated Will Is Often Paid by the People Left Behind
A will does not usually cause problems for the person who made it. The impact is felt by the people left to deal with it.
An outdated will can place your personal representative in a difficult position. They may have to deal with beneficiaries who expected something different, property that is no longer owned, assets that were never added to the plan, or family members who disagree about what you “would have wanted.”
That kind of uncertainty can slow everything down.
Kurie Moore LLP recently covered related estate administration risks in Common Mistakes Executors Make During Estate Administration in Alberta. One of the key takeaways is that executors can face pressure from every direction. A current, clear will can reduce some of that pressure before it begins.
The goal is not to control every future detail. That is impossible. The goal is to remove avoidable uncertainty.
Homeowners Should Pay Special Attention
For many families, the home is the largest asset in the estate. It is also one of the easiest places for an old will to create problems.
A will prepared before a home purchase may not reflect the current value of the estate. A will prepared before a second marriage may not reflect the relationship between a spouse, adult children, stepchildren, and property. A will prepared before a family loan or informal promise may leave room for disagreement later.
This is why updating your will is closely tied to real life, not just paperwork.
If you own a home in Sherwood Park or elsewhere in Alberta, your will should be reviewed alongside the broader estate plan. Kurie Moore LLP discussed this in Estate Planning for Sherwood Park Homeowners: What Gets Missed, including the way property, beneficiary designations, incapacity planning, and family communication can all affect the final outcome.
A will review gives you a chance to ask a simple but important question: if something happened now, would this plan still make sense?
Separation Can Change the Estate Planning Conversation
Family changes often carry legal consequences that people do not connect right away.
A separation, for example, can affect more than parenting arrangements or property division. It can also raise questions about estate planning, decision-making, beneficiaries, and who should be trusted to act on your behalf.
A person going through separation may still have an old will naming a former partner as personal representative. They may also have older documents connected to financial or personal decision-making. That can create discomfort, confusion, and conflict if the documents no longer reflect the relationship.
Kurie Moore LLP’s blog on moving out during separation speaks to the importance of getting legal advice before making major life decisions during separation. Estate planning deserves the same level of care.
Major family change is one of the clearest signs that a will review should not be pushed aside.
A Will Is Not the Whole Plan
A will deals with what happens after death. It does not cover every situation where legal planning matters.
Alberta.ca’s advance planning information notes that adults should have a will, an enduring power of attorney for financial matters, and a personal directive for personal decisions if they cannot make those decisions themselves.
That matters because estate planning is not only about who receives property later. It is also about who can help if you lose capacity during your lifetime.
If your will has not been reviewed in years, your personal directive or enduring power of attorney may also need attention. The people you trusted years ago may no longer be the right people. Your family structure may have changed. Your health, assets, or relationships may be different.
A strong estate plan should work as a set of connected documents, not separate papers created once and forgotten.
The Hidden Risk: Old Choices Can Become New Conflict
Most outdated wills fail quietly at first.
The names are old. The asset list is incomplete. The chosen personal representative has moved away, passed away, lost capacity, or become disconnected from the family. The beneficiaries no longer reflect the person’s intentions. The family assumes the document is fine because it exists.
Then a death occurs, and everyone is forced to deal with the gap.
That is when small issues can become expensive. A vague gift can lead to disagreement. An outdated appointment can delay administration. A missing backup plan can create stress. A family member who expected to be included may challenge decisions or question the executor.
Not every disagreement becomes litigation. Many do not. But even private family conflict has a cost: time, legal fees, strained relationships, and added stress during grief.
That is the real reason to review a will. It is not about chasing perfection. It is about reducing the burden on the people who will be left to carry out the plan.
Legal Issues Rarely Stay in One Box
A will review is often triggered by a bigger life event.
Sometimes it is a separation. Sometimes it is a home purchase. Sometimes it is the death of a parent, a new marriage, a new child, a business change, or a family member facing a serious legal issue.
Even criminal matters can create urgent pressure for a family. Kurie Moore LLP’s article on assault charges in Alberta is a reminder that legal problems can affect more than the person directly involved. Families often make important decisions under stress.
Estate planning works best before that pressure arrives.
A current will gives your family a clearer starting point. It helps reduce the number of decisions people have to make without you. It also helps ensure that the people appointed to act are still the people you trust.
A Practical Review Is Not About Starting Over
Many people delay a will review because they assume it means starting from scratch.
That is not always the case.
Sometimes the existing will may still work well. Sometimes only certain parts need attention. Sometimes the issue is not the will itself, but related documents, beneficiary designations, property ownership, or the people named to act.
A lawyer can help identify what needs review and what may still be appropriate.
A good review may consider:
- Who is named as personal representative
- Who is named as alternate personal representative
- How beneficiaries are described
- How major assets are dealt with
- How blended family issues are handled
- How minor children or dependent adults are considered
- How personal belongings may be addressed
- How the will fits with other estate planning documents
The value is not only in changing the document. The value is in knowing the plan still works for your life now.
A Will Should Match the Life You Have Now
Updating your will is easy to postpone because it rarely feels urgent. But delay can leave your family with uncertainty, conflict, and added cost later.
The best time to review your will is after a major life change, or after enough time has passed that your old instructions may no longer reflect your current reality.
If you are asking when to update your will, that question alone may be a sign it is worth reviewing.
Kurie Moore LLP helps individuals and families in Sherwood Park and the surrounding area take a clear, practical look at their wills and estate planning documents. The goal is simple: reduce confusion, protect your intentions, and give the people you trust a clearer path forward.
Contact Kurie Moore LLP to speak with a lawyer about wills and estate planning in Alberta.