Codicil (will)

A codicil is a document that amends, rather than replaces, a previously executed will

Will (law)

A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his estate and provides for the transfer of his property at death. For the devolution of property not disposed of by will, see inheritance and intestacy...

. Amendments made by a codicil may add or revoke small provisions (e.g., changing executors), or may completely change the majority, or all, of the gifts under the will. Each codicil must conform to the same legal requirements as the original will, such as the signatures of the testator

Testator

A testator is a person who has written and executed a last will and testament that is in effect at the time of his/her death. It is any "person who makes a will."-Related terms:...

 and, typically, two or three (depending on the jurisdiction) disinterested witnesses.

When confronted with testamentary writings executed after the date of the original will, a probate court may need to decipher whether the document is a codicil or a new will.

A codicil is a document that amends, rather than replaces, a previously executed will

Will (law)

A will or testament is a legal declaration by which a person, the testator, names one or more persons to manage his estate and provides for the transfer of his property at death. For the devolution of property not disposed of by will, see inheritance and intestacy...

. Amendments made by a codicil may add or revoke small provisions (e.g., changing executors), or may completely change the majority, or all, of the gifts under the will. Each codicil must conform to the same legal requirements as the original will, such as the signatures of the testator

Testator

A testator is a person who has written and executed a last will and testament that is in effect at the time of his/her death. It is any "person who makes a will."-Related terms:...

 and, typically, two or three (depending on the jurisdiction) disinterested witnesses.

When confronted with testamentary writings executed after the date of the original will, a probate court may need to decipher whether the document is a codicil or a new will. As a rule of thumb, if the second document does not make a complete disposition of the testator’s property and does not revoke the will in its entirety, it will be presumed to be a codicil.

In some jurisdictions, acting as a witness to the execution of the codicil may invalidate a gift to a beneficiary under the original will.

As an alternative to a codicil, a testator may modify a Last Will & Testament by writing a new, dated will revoking any previous wills and codicils. With the advent of word-processors this is now becoming recommended practice (as suggested by the international specialist body in this field, STEP

Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners

STEP was founded by George Tasker in 1991 and is the international professional body for workers in the trust industry and the field of estate administration...

) even for relatively minor changes to avoid the difficulties of interpretation which can arise from a chain of (possibly mutually inconsistent) codicils. Particular difficulties in interpreting chains of codicils arise in jurisdictions such as England and Wales

England and Wales

England and Wales is a legal unit within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Unlike Scotland and Northern Ireland, England and Wales follow the legal system known as English law, and the two form the constitutional successor to the...

which do not require wills or codicils to be dated (although this is common practice).

In completion of a codicil, a form must be created specifying the modifications to the existing last will and testament. As with a last will and testament, it is necessary to witness amendments to the will since they may override the relevant sections of the original will.