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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dave70968" data-source="post: 3110712" data-attributes="member: 13624">Okay.  Yes, that's an ordinary will ("Last Will and Testament," not to be confused with "<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwzH716KfE0" target="_blank">Last Will and Temperment</a>," which I want to be played at the reading of my will!).If you have an existing will, you have two options: start from scratch, using that one as a guide as appropriate, or write a document called a "codicil," which is just a fancy word for "amendment."  A codicil isn't a free-standing document: it exists in the context of the original will, making changes as necessary.  The original will remains in full effect to the degree that it does not conflict with the codicil; the changes in the codicil supersede the original will only to the degree that they conflict.  The formalities (signatures, witnesses, etc.) for a codicil are the same as for the original will.Alternatively, you can publish a new will.  A new will explicitly revokes the original will and is a complete, free-standing document in its own right.  You write it just as if you were writing the first one, and it needs to completely dispose of all of your property; you also need to follow all of the same formalities of the original will.Advantages of a codicil: simple, efficient, probably cheaper to do because it'll take less time.  This is especially useful when you have a complex estate and a commensurately complex will.  Disadvantages: it depends upon the original document to have any meaning, and inconsistencies or ambiguities between the two can get ugly, requiring the probate court to sort out the intent.  That means a longer, more expensive probate process, and the possibility that your intent may not be carried out.Advantages of a new will revoking the old one: much cleaner, no modifications or changes to resolve; the intent is plainly stated on the face of a single document.  It also has the benefit of being drafted by a single person, so you don't have multiple people with different things in mind writing in different styles, potentially creating ambiguity.  Disadvantages: potentially more expensive due to re-writing what's already written.  If it's a simple will, this shouldn't be a big deal, particularly if it's a flat fee; when I do simple, flat-fee work, I'm working from a template anyway, so it won't take me any longer to do it either way.</blockquote>

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