What You Should Know When Changing Your Last Will

How Can I Change Last Will And Testament?

Living will is very important legal document that you want to keep in safe place, as your entire assets and other instructions will be distributed and executed according to it. At times, you might have a need to modify your last will and testament for many reasons, such as change in your family members due to birth, marriage or divorce. Whenever you add, modify or remove the content of the will statements, you will need to put extra care as they are used when the court decides where to distribute your assets. In most states of U.S there are two different ways of changing last will: either by using a codicil or via making a new will. If you don’t know exact details of difference between those two methods, you will have to consult a family lawyer to avoid any further confusions.

Two Ways of Changing Your Will

1 – Make a partial change on your will by using codicil.
2 – Destroy a will in your possession, and make a completely new will nulls and voids any other wills after signing on it.

Before you put any action, it is always best idea to write down your reasons of changing a will. Knowing what changes are going to be made will help you out on how to approach the steps. If you are thinking of making a small change by adding or deleting the details of assets, who the beneficiaries will be, then those can be done via codicil. Once you make a modification, a codicil should be signed at the end, and witnessed by at least two witnesses in most of states in U.S. You can also make a change on large portion of the will, in which case you can choose to rewrite the entire will with the help of family lawyer.

When you make a change on your last will and testament, you should take extra care of what you are changing and how you are modifying it, because after all you will be responsible what was written in the legal document and you don’t want any court battle should anyone raise doubt or questions about the validity of the modification. For example, by crossing out portions of will is something you never want to do at any time. Here are some tips on how to write and make a change by using standard clauses. Make sure you are following the same way that you did in original document, so that they are consistent in their contents and the way they are organized.

1 – Before you begin to make a change, prepare a worksheet by making a copy of original addition forms. As you go along, note what information will be added for each clause on the right hand section. In the main clause, you’ll need to use one or more of the following phrases. In case a certain sentence need to be modified, you will need to revoke the original sentence and add your new sentence in. If you want to add new material to it or revoke a certain part, be sure you have one of the follow phrases in the will:

– In this will, I revoke the following sentence/phrase.
– In this will, I want to add in the following sentence/phrase.

2 – On the copied worksheet paper, mark out any extra material that’s not going to become a part of the will. Read of it entirely to make sure it’s what you really want.

3 – Keep going on until you have a rough draft of what you have worked on. Once you’ve made all the changes you want, be sure to type it out again, using 8 ½ x 11” typing paper.

4 – When the typing is complete, then you will need to fill in the total page amount in the signature paragraph. Don’t sign it yet or fill in the date where it says so.

5 – Next step is proof reading, and you can find any errors or mistakes. Retype them on that page, and don’t use correction fluid, tape or such kind. Try not to use pen or pencil when adding sentences and don’t mark out words.

6 – Once your will modification is complete, staple the pages together in the upper-left hand corner. Now your document is prepared to sign. Ensure to sign at the end of the pages, or initials in each page if instructed as such, otherwise the entire statements will become null and void. Be sure to include the statement, when signing:

“This is my Last Will and Testament, which I am about to sign.”

At any point of the time while you are making a change on the will, you can ask for help with family attorney. It is not an absolute requirement for anybody who’s changing their will, however they can help ensure the codicil or new will creation by ensuring that they are following the rules and regulations  that are specified by the American Bar Association. Also they are well familiar with up to date state's family law information.

For more helpful legal related information and other resources, go to our website, and you can find lots of legal forms that are completely free, including Living Trust Forms that you would want to use for your living will preparation with or without estate planning lawyer.