Do you know how to amend your will in West Palm Beach? The answer may surprise you.

Uncategorized • Sep 8, 2015

Do you know how to revoke your will in West Palm Beach? It is not uncommon to find that your estate plan changes over the years. Every State has different rules on how to revoke or amend a will so be careful. Check out these three things to know about amending a will in West Palm Beach!

#1 Consider a Codicil

You do not have to start fresh with your estate plan, sometimes what you have is a good place to start.
Have you ever heard of a codicil?
In plain English these serve as “will amendments” but how do they work?
If you execute a codicil then everything else in the will is going to stay the same but the parts that are contradicted will follow the codicil.
These amendments may be more affordable that overhauling your entire will or estate plan.
Make sure that your codicils are with your will so someone who finds one finds them all!

#2 Presumptions

You want your will somewhere where people will find it, do you know why?
When your family cannot find a will there may be a presumption that you destroyed it.
In fact the legal presumption of a lost will is that you intended for it to be destroyed.
Many testators choose to keep these with the rest of their important documents.
A great place to consider is a lock box or some form of a fire proof container in your home.
What about if you want to start fresh and revoke that will?

#3 Know the Rules of Revocation in West Palm Beach

Did you know merely scratching part of your will out in West Palm Beach may not be enough?
There is no partial revocation by act in Florida.
If you want to revoke your will then you either need to destroy (and thus revoke) the entire thing or you will need to amend with a codicil.
So what happens if you do scratch out a bequest?
It is still going to that person when the will comes into the probate court.
What if you initialed next to the scratch?
That does not matter, the gift is good.
Experienced Palm Beach probate litigators know how to amend wills and draft codicils to make sure an estate plan is set properly.

Want to learn more about how to amend your West Palm Beach will or codicil?