Module 4

Revocation, alteration and revival: changing a will, codicils, dependent relative revocation, lost wills, mutual wills and contracts to make a will

A will does nothing until the person dies, and until then they may change their mind as often as they like. That freedom produces a practical problem: when someone dies, which document is the will? There may be an old will, a newer one, a codicil, a torn page in a drawer, and a copy that nobody can find the original of. This module sets out the ways a will is revoked, altered and brought back to life, the doctrine that rescues a will that was revoked by mistake, and the rare cases where a person has bound themselves not to change a will at all. The method is the same each time: find every document, work out which is the last valid one, and ask whether anything has undone it.

General education on the law of wills and succession, using invented people and estates. It states common principles in simplified form and does not describe any one country’s law, which differs and changes; rules on wills, intestacy, family claims and probate are strict and local. It is not legal advice. Consult a qualified lawyer in the place that matters.