Are you looking to amend a will? First, let’s acknowledge your previous will is better than no will at all. None the less, your previous will likely needs to be updated to accommodate changes in your life.
Sometimes this includes making changes because your family dynamics changed, family members left the family, family members were added to the family, or you just want to change where your stuff goes. Either way, you should seek help to amend a will. Incorrectly making changes to your will can have drastic outcomes, like negating your will all together.
Keeping it simple, it is better to create a new will and followed by destroying your past will versus changing or amending the will you currently are using. In other words, changing a will most definitely causes problems. Of course, the rules support your ability to amend a will through a process that involves a codicil.
What is a codicil you ask? A “codicil” is a supplement or an addition to a will. In other words, a codicil is a supplement and it does not necessarily dispose, terminate, or end your will. In other words, you can amend a will by drafting and implementing a codicil. However, this law office discourages this practice.
The problems with making changes to a will are as follows: a change or edit to your will is tricky because it has the potential of negating or contradicting your will. Also, people lose documents more than they care to admit. Even if you staple a codicil to your past will, a change is a change and this can have an impact on the interpretation of your will.
Usually, a codicil will make reference to your past Will. In Minnesota, a codicil is going to be scrutinized or compared to the document you want to change. If you amend a will, every change can impact the validity of the document you are trying to use as a clear outline of your intentions. For this reason alone, a new will is better than making a change or amending your previous will. As a result, it is easier and brings with it less risk by creating a new will.
If you are considering whether or not you want to should amend a will and are trying to figure out how to proceed, the best practice is seeking help from an estate lawyer versus using an online website that creates codicils or amendments. After all, if you want your estate administered according to your wishes, do it right the first time versus second guessing yourself.
Therefore, to assure compliance with rules that are considerably specialized and if you are looking to amend a will, please consider contacting this law office for help.
