Bill 13: An Act to Amend the Wills Act

This bill primarily affects lawyers, notaries, estate planners, and financial advisors in New Brunswick who help clients draft or administer wills and estates. Day-to-day work like preparing wills, advising on beneficiary designations, and handling probate applications will need to account for new rules — for example, the automatic revocation of bequests to former common-law partners after a relationship breakdown, or the new court process to validate a bequest made to a witness. Trust companies and financial institutions dealing with estate administration or personal property security interests (like loans tied to land or equipment) will also need to understand new rules about how mortgage-like debts on inherited property are handled. Solo practitioners and small estate law firms will feel this most directly, as they'll need to update their standard will templates and client intake processes to reflect these changes. The bill doesn't impose new taxes or create new employer obligations, but it does change legal compliance expectations around how wills are drafted, witnessed, and interpreted.