Revoking a Will

Many Estate Planning clients come to our office concerned not only with creating a new Last Will and Testament, but also with revoking an old one. Often it is just as important to ensure that your previous wishes are not carried out as it is that your current wishes are. If you have questions with regard to ensuring that an old or simply out-of-date Will is effectively revoked, contact the Houston Wills and Trusts attorneys at Garg & Associates today.

In general, Texas law provides for four basic methods of revoking a Will. These methods include revoking a previous Will within a subsequent Will; revoking a previous Will within a subsequent Codicil; revoking a previous Will by a subsequent declaration by the testator executed with the same formalities as required for executing a Will; and revoking a previous Will by the testator’s destruction or cancellation of the previous Will.

Perhaps most often, clients simply choose to revoke an old Will by creating a new Will or a Codicil. The subsequent Will or Codicil must, of course, be executed with all of the formalities required for the proper execution of a Will in Texas. As a general practice, all new Wills created by an estate planning attorney should include some variation of the language that the testator “hereby revokes all previous Wills and Codicils heretofore made,” indicating that it is the newly executed Will that shall control the disposition of the testator’s assets. A testator’s intent to supersede and cancel a previously-executed Will must be clearly manifested in the new Will.

It is important to note, however, that other options exist for revoking an old Will. A testator may state in a written declaration, executed with all of the same formalities as required for a Will, that his or her Will is no longer valid and should thereby be canceled and ineffective. The written statement must very clearly indicate the testator’s wishes, and therefore it is highly advisable to consult an experienced Estate Planning attorney prior to drafting and executing such a declaration. A testator may also simply destroy the old Will, or causing the old Will to be destroyed in his or her presence. Destroying or cancelling a Will or a part thereof under such a method should be undertaken with caution, however, as many individuals mistakenly believe that actions such as erasures or replacement of pages will effectively serve as a revocation. It is of the utmost importance to understand what actions will and will not be considered a valid revocation of the Will.

Again, whether you seek to create a new Will, revoke an old Will, or both, we invite you to fully discuss your options and the procedures for doing so with the qualified Houston Wills and Trusts attorneys at Garg & Associates. Give us a call today.