A will can lay out your wishes for what will happen to your assets after death. Once created, a will becomes legally binding for your loved ones and the person you appoint to administer your estate, known as an executor or a personal representative.
However, you might want to change your will or replace it entirely after making it. An experienced wills attorney could assist with the revocation of a will in Upper Marlboro and ensure all required legal steps are followed.
The Will as a Legal Document
A last will and testament is perhaps the most important document for planning an estate, as its terms outweigh everything else. Most people carefully craft their wills to distribute property and protect family assets.
Anyone over 18 years old who is legally competent can create a will. A will must be in writing and signed by the person creating it (the testator), witnessed by two people, and notarized by a notary public. Wills can also be witnessed and signed electronically under certain circumstances.
A will should be kept in a safe place or with a trustworthy party so that it is easy to find and understand a person’s wishes upon their death. Revoking a will in Upper Marlboro can require locating and invalidating it before making a new one.
Changing Your Mind and Revoking a Will
Making a new will when one already exists can cause complications between the two documents, which is why a will should be revoked when a testator wants to make changes. Revocation of a will in the Upper Marlboro and Largo area must follow state laws, just as a will must meet statutory requirements to be effective.
A will can be revoked by one of several methods mentioned in state laws. First, it can be revoked by a subsequent, properly created will that cancels out the prior document or any part of it. That cancellation can be done explicitly or “by necessary implication,” but a clear, express revocation of an earlier will can avoid confusion. Second, a testator can revoke a will by “burning, canceling, tearing, or obliterating” the document.
Revocation by a later event is less common and involves a certain combination of circumstances. One example is when a testator creates a will but later marries and has a child. When that child or their descendant survives the testator, the will prior to the marriage is automatically revoked. Another entails the divorce or annulment of marriage after a will is created, which revokes the parts of the will relating to the former spouse unless otherwise provided for in the document.
An estate planning attorney can help revoke a will in Upper Marlboro by physically destroying the old document, canceling it out with a new document, or evaluating whether circumstances have revoked the old will.
Explore Revocation of a Will with an Upper Marlboro Attorney
Providing for clear instructions in a will can help alleviate any issues after death by creating clarity. If you already have a will, you might need to revoke it to make a new one or recognize later changes in your life and family.
An estate planning attorney can help with the revocation of a will in Upper Marlboro by identifying your prior document, creating a new one to revoke it, and destroying a will you no longer want or need. Call our offices to discuss your plans and documents today.
