
Legal Blog
Revocation of Beneficiary Designation in RSP, RIF, TFSA
Alger v. Crumb 2023 Ont CA
A will had the usual opening clause that revoked all prior wills and testamentary dispositions. The issue was whether that clause was sufficient to revoke beneficiary designations under a RIF (or RSP) and TFSA. Section 52(1) of the Succession Law Reform Act provides that a revocation in a will revokes a designation in an “instrument” (e.g., RIF) only if the revocation relates expressly to the designation, whether generally or specifically. The court held that the general revocation clause did not relate expressly to the existing designation by instrument for the RIF or the TFSA and was therefore ineffective to revoke those designations.
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Written by Jonathan Speigel, the founding partner of Speigel Nichols Fox LLP, leads the litigation and construction practices. |