Article: Make sure that the copy that you have is the final version of your last will and testament. Also gather any other existing codicils to your will. Then, identify the problems existing in the will and make note of them. Common reasons why people decide to make an amendment to a will include: executor of the will has passed or is no longer desirable. beneficiaries need to be changed or others need to be added. special needs of your family have changed – for instance, the guardian(s) of minor children have passed or must be replaced. financial circumstances – assets and liabilities – of your life have changed. funeral and burial arrangements have changed. there are significant tax consequences that are not covered by our will that must be addressed to protect the beneficiaries. Before you begin writing your codicil, you will need to give it an appropriate title to indicate the document’s purpose. An appropriate title for a codicil would be: Codicil to the Last Will and Testament of [your full name]. The first paragraph of the document should state:  “I [your name], [your address – including the city, county and state in which you live], being of sound mind, declare that this Codicil to the Last Will and Testament of [your name] is effective on this date and shall hereby amend my Last Will and Testament dated [insert date of will] as follows:” Include the date of your original will in your codicil. Including this date will show that you are aware of the original document and help prevent those who interpret your will from thinking that you may have created this document without knowledge of the original will. Make sure that you specify the article number and state in detail what the changes will be.  If you want to amend something, you could write: “Article 1 shall be amended to state [State your present and foreseen needs and desires that need to be changed - for example, changing the name(s) of beneficiary(ies) and/or the executor of the will.]” If you want to delete an article, you could write: “Article 1 shall be deleted in its entirety.” If you want to add an article, you could write: “Article 8 is hereby added as follows: [Include additional directives that were not included in your original will - for example, adding a provision that will afford your estate the optimum tax consequences upon your death.]” To accomplish this, you could write: “If any statement in this Codicil to the Last Will and Testament of [your full name] contradicts my Last Will and Testament dated [insert date of will], this Codicil shall control.” You should write, “In all other respects I reaffirm and republish my will dated [insert the date of the will.]”
What is a summary of what this article is about?
Read your original will. Title the document. Write the opening paragraph. Identify the article that you would like to amend, delete, or add to your will. Acknowledge that your codicil will overrule anything in your original will that contradicts it. Reaffirm your will.