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Wills Act 1968
20Revocation of will by testator’s marriage, civil union or
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20 Revocation of will by testator’s marriage, civil union or
civil partnership
(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), if a person marries or enters into a
civil union or civil partnership after having made a will, the will is
revoked by the marriage, civil union or civil partnership unless the
will was expressed to have been made in contemplation of that
marriage, civil union or civil partnership.
Part 4 Miscellaneous
Section 20A
page 30 Wills Act 1968
Effective: 23/02/26
R22
23/02/26
Authorised by the ACT Parliamentary Counsel—also accessible at www.legislation.act.gov.au
(2) If a testator marries or enters into a civil union or civil partnership
after having made a will by which he or she has exercised a power of
appointing real property or personal property by will, the marriage,
civil union or civil partnership does not revoke the will so far as it
constitutes an exercise of that power if the property so appointed
would not, in default of the testator exercising that power, pass to an
executor under any other will of the testator or to an administrator of
any estate of the testator.
(3) If a will contains a devise or bequest to, an appointment of property
in favour of, or a conferral of a power of appointment on, a person,
that is expressed to be in contemplation of the testator marrying, or
entering into a civil union or civil partnership with, that person—
(a) the devise, bequest, appointment or conferral is not revoked by
the marriage, civil union or civil partnership; and
(b) the remaining provisions of the will are not revoked by the
marriage, civil union or civil partnership unless a contrary
intention appears from the will or from evidence admitted under
section 12B.