Beneficiary Designations in Ontario | Agile Legal Solutions

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What a designation does

Many of the largest assets people own never pass through their will. Ontario’s estate planning guidance notes that you can name someone to inherit the assets in your life insurance and other registered plans, and that jointly owned property usually passes automatically to the surviving owner. A designation is a direct instruction to the plan or insurer: when you die, pay this person. Because the money goes straight to them, it is generally not part of your estate. That is why designations have to be planned alongside your wills and powers of attorney, not as an afterthought.

Two sets of rules apply in Ontario:

Registered plans and pensions. Part III of the Succession Law Reform Act (the SLRA) governs designations under a “plan“, which section 50 defines to include pension and retirement funds, arrangements paying periodic sums, and retirement savings plans and retirement income funds as defined in the Income Tax Act (Canada). Section 2 of O. Reg. 54/95 adds tax-free savings accounts, regardless of when the designation was made.
Life insurance. Part III of the SLRA does not apply to insurance contracts or designations to which the Insurance Act applies (SLRA section 54(2)). Life insurance designations follow sections 190 to 197 of the Insurance Act instead.

The two regimes are similar, with a few differences that matter in practice. The table below sets out how each common asset passes. For the wider picture, see our estate planning overview.

How common assets pass at death in Ontario
Asset	How it passes	Counted for Estate Administration Tax?	Rule
RRSP or RRIF with a named beneficiary	To the designated person	No	SLRA ss. 50, 51; ontario.ca EAT page
TFSA with a named beneficiary	To the designated person	No	O. Reg. 54/95 s. 2; ontario.ca EAT page
Registered pension plan with a designation	Under the designation and the plan’s terms	No	SLRA Part III; ontario.ca EAT page
Life insurance with a named beneficiary	To the beneficiary; not part of the estate	No	Insurance Act ss. 190, 196(1)
Life insurance payable to the “estate” or “heirs”	To the estate trustee, as part of the estate	Yes	Insurance Act s. 190(3); ontario.ca EAT page
Joint account or property that passes to the surviving owner	To the surviving owner	No	ontario.ca estate planning and EAT pages
Registered plan or account with no designation	Through the will, or the intestacy rules	Yes	ontario.ca EAT page
Bank account in your sole name	Through the will, or the intestacy rules	Yes	ontario.ca EAT page

How to make, change and revoke a designation, step by step

Choose the method. For registered plans, section 51(1) of the SLRA lets you designate by a signed instrument (usually the plan’s own form) or by will, and revoke the same two ways. Since December 11, 2025, section 51(3) also allows a designation by instrument to be made electronically under the Electronic Commerce Act, 2000. For insurance, section 190(1) of the Insurance Act allows a designation in the contract or by a declaration, which may also be provided electronically (section 190(1.1)).
If you use your will, be express. A designation in a will counts only if it relates expressly to the plan, generally or specifically (SLRA section 51(2)). A will that leaves “everything to my children” does not, by itself, designate your RRSP. Likewise, a will revokes an existing form designation only if the revocation relates expressly to it (section 52(1)).
Remember the latest designation generally wins. Under section 52(2), a later designation revokes an earlier one to the extent they conflict. A designation in a will takes effect from the day the will is signed (section 52(7)), so a form signed after your will can override it. For insurance, section 192(2) says a designation in a will has no effect against one made later.
Tell the plan. The plan administrator is protected if it pays the person named in the latest designation made under the plan’s terms, unless it has actual notice of a later designation or revocation (SLRA section 53(a)). A designation hidden in a will the administrator never sees can lose out in practice. Send the plan a copy, or sign its form.
Keep the paperwork. Ask each institution for a written confirmation of the current beneficiary and keep it with your estate papers.

What changes the answer

A child as beneficiary

This is the most common trap. Money payable to someone under 18 cannot simply be handed to a parent. Ontario’s guidance on a child’s money explains that money a child receives from an estate, a life insurance policy or another source is generally paid into court with the Accountant of the Superior Court of Justice and paid to the child at the required age, usually 18. In most cases, $35,000 or less can instead be paid to a parent the child lives with or a person with lawful custody (section 51 of the Children’s Law Reform Act and its prescribed amount). For life insurance, section 220 of the Insurance Act requires the insurer to pay money owed to a minor into court if no one is able and authorized to give a valid discharge, unless it pays a court-appointed guardian of property or a person allowed under the CLRA.

The fix is planning. Section 193 of the Insurance Act lets you appoint a trustee for a beneficiary in the contract or by declaration, and a payment to that trustee discharges the insurer. For registered plans, some families name the estate instead and leave the money to a trust for the children in the will. Both approaches are explained on our trusts page. The guardian side of the question is covered in how to name a guardian for your children in an Ontario will.

Naming your “estate”

Under section 190(3) of the Insurance Act, a designation in favour of your “heirs“, “next of kin” or “estate” is treated as a designation of your personal representative. The money then becomes part of the estate: it is available to creditors, it passes under your will, and Ontario’s guidance counts insurance payable to the estate in the value for Estate Administration Tax. Sometimes that is the right choice, for example to fund a trust; it should be a deliberate one.

Irrevocable insurance designations

Under section 191(1), an insurance beneficiary can be designated irrevocably in the contract or in a declaration filed with the insurer during the insured person’s lifetime, but not in a will. While that beneficiary is alive, you cannot change the designation without their consent, and the money does not form part of your estate. An attempt to make a designation irrevocable in a will simply has the effect of an ordinary designation (section 191(2)).

Creditors

Where a beneficiary is designated, insurance money is not part of the insured person’s estate and is not subject to the insured’s creditors from the time it becomes payable (Insurance Act section 196(1)).

Separation and divorce

Section 17 of the SLRA revokes gifts and appointments in a will in favour of a former spouse after a divorce, and in some cases after separation. Nothing in Part III of the SLRA or in sections 190 to 197 of the Insurance Act cancels a designation on a plan’s own form when you separate or divorce. A form naming a former partner can stay in force until you change it. We cover the will side in what happens to your will if you separate in Ontario.

If a beneficiary dies first

For insurance, if a beneficiary dies before you and the contract or a declaration says nothing else, their share goes to the surviving beneficiaries in equal shares, or to your estate if none survive (Insurance Act section 194(1)). Naming a contingent beneficiary avoids the guesswork.

Your attorney and a plan that changes

Since December 11, 2025, if a plan is converted, renewed, replaced or transferred, your attorney under a continuing power of attorney for property, or your guardian of property, can sign a designation so the same person stays designated on the new plan (SLRA section 51(1.1)). Our page on continuing powers of attorney for property explains that document.

A surviving married spouse

If a married spouse who receives life insurance, a lump-sum pension payment or survivorship property chooses an equalization payment under the Family Law Act, section 6(7) generally credits those amounts against the equalization entitlement, unless a written designation, will or other instrument says they are in addition.

Example

For example, imagine Raj, of Vaughan, who signed a will in 2019 that expressly designated his two children, Anika and Dev, as equal beneficiaries of his RRSP. In 2022, updating his details with the RRSP issuer, he signed its beneficiary form naming only Anika. He also had a $250,000 life insurance policy naming Dev, then 15, as beneficiary.

When Raj dies, the 2022 form is the later designation, so under section 52(2) it revokes the will’s designation to the extent of the conflict, and the whole RRSP goes to Anika. The insurance is payable to a minor. With no trustee appointed under section 193 and no guardian of property, the insurer must pay it into court under section 220, where it waits until Dev turns 18 and is then paid to him outright. A short trustee appointment on the insurance form, and a matching update to the RRSP designation, would have kept both results in line with what Raj actually wanted.

Common mistakes

Assuming the will controls everything. Designated plans and insurance generally pass outside the will.
A vague will clause. A will designation must relate expressly to the plan, and a will revocation must relate expressly to the designation.
Signing a new form and forgetting the will. The later designation generally wins, whichever document it is in.
Naming a minor child directly. The money may be paid into court and released in full at 18.
An old form naming a former partner. Separation does not change a form designation by itself.
Unequal results by accident. If one child receives the RRSP by designation and the estate is split equally, the totals may not be what you intended.

What to do this week

List every RRSP, RRIF, TFSA, pension and life insurance policy you own.
Ask each institution in writing who is currently named as beneficiary, and any contingent beneficiary.
Check that each designation matches your will and your intentions for each child or beneficiary.
For any beneficiary under 18, decide on a trustee or a trust in your will.
Update any form that still names a former spouse or partner.
If there is no valid will at all, read who inherits if you die without a will in Ontario; undesignated plans pass under those rules.
If you want designations and your will reviewed together, a first consultation takes 30 minutes, by video or in person. You can request one here.

Frequently asked questions

Is a beneficiary designation in my will valid?

Yes, if it relates expressly to the plan, generally or specifically (SLRA section 51(2)). It takes effect from the date the will is signed, and a later form designation can override it.

Do designated RRSPs and TFSAs avoid Estate Administration Tax?

Ontario’s guidance excludes RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs and registered pension plans with a beneficiary designation from the value of the estate for Estate Administration Tax. Income tax is a separate question for the estate’s accountant.

Can I designate a beneficiary online?

For life insurance, a declaration may be provided electronically under section 190(1.1) of the Insurance Act. For registered plans, section 51(3) of the SLRA has allowed electronic designations by instrument since December 11, 2025. The plan’s own procedures still apply.

Can I change an irrevocable insurance beneficiary?

Not without that beneficiary’s consent while they are alive (Insurance Act section 191(1)). If the beneficiary is a minor or lacks capacity, section 197(4) lets the insured apply to court to deal with the policy without consent.

What happens if my will is revoked?

A designation in a revoked will is revoked too (SLRA section 52(3); Insurance Act section 192(3)). Revoking a designation does not bring back an earlier one (SLRA section 52(6)).

Can my beneficiary refuse life insurance money?

Yes. Section 194(3) of the Insurance Act lets a beneficiary disclaim by filing written notice with the insurer at its head or principal office in Canada, and the disclaimer cannot be withdrawn.

Sources

This page is general information about Ontario law, not legal advice for your situation. It reflects the law as of October 26, 2026.

How do beneficiary designations on RRSPs, TFSAs and insurance work in Ontario?