What Should I Do if I Want to Update My Will?
At Heritage Elder Law & Estate Planning, LLC, we advise our clients to look back at their established Last Will and Testament document every few years or so. If they find that their life circumstances have changed since the creation of their will, we then recommend that they return to seek our services once again to update their will. And with that, please continue reading to learn what initiatives to take if you want to update your existing will and how an experienced Butler County will preparation attorney at Heritage Elder Law & Estate Planning, LLC can help you do so legally and effectively.
What action should I take if I want to update my will?
In the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, there are one or two observed methods for updating a Last Will and Testament document. The first is by drafting a codicil, and the second is by creating a new will entirely from scratch.
On the one hand, a codicil is a separate legal document attached to an existing will, that makes effective changes to it without the need for an entire rewrite. For this reason, a codicil may only be advisable if you wish to make minor modifications, such as changing the executor of your will, adding a new beneficiary to your estate’s assets, or otherwise.
Importantly, it may be a potential risk to add more than one codicil to your existing will, as they may contradict one another and create confusion later on. So you may sooner create an entirely new will. Other than that, a new will may be necessary if you experience drastic, unexpected life changes. For example, you may get married or divorced; welcome a new child or grandchild into the world; acquire a new real estate property; change your primary state of residence; or otherwise.
What makes a will valid in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania?
You should know that a codicil is treated as a testamentary document. Therefore, it may be comprised of the same elements that make your existing Last Will and Testament legally valid and enforceable. Namely, you must provide your signature and the date at the bottom of this legal document. This must be done in the presence of two witnesses who are not your named beneficiaries, and they may be expected to sign as well.
Then, arguably the most important part of establishing a new valid will is revoking the existing one. This may entail explicitly stating in your new will that it revokes any previous will. For good measure, you may destroy and discard all physical copies of your previous wills. Lastly, please work with an attorney to ensure your new will still meets the requirements for a valid and enforceable will. Otherwise, in a worst-case scenario, you may sadly pass away with a will at all.
If you have any outstanding questions yet to be answered, please ask one of the skilled Butler County estate planning & probate attorneys. Anyone at Heritage Elder Law & Estate Planning, LLC can offer the support you need.
