How can a Will be Revoked?

There are a number of ways in which a Will can be revoked or ultimately deemed invalid.

Marriage/Civil Partnership

Generally speaking, a marriage or civil partnership revokes any Will that a testator made before the marriage or civil partnership. If the Will is made with the intention to marry clearly expressed to a particular person then the Will should not be revoked. Whilst a dissolution or annulment of a marriage/civil partnership does not fully revoke a will, it does cause any gifts made to the former spouse to fail as it treats the former spouse as if they had dies at the date the union was dissolved.

Making another Will

Under section 20 of the Wills Act 1837 a will can be revoked in part or in full by another Will or codicil. Ordinarily, all Wills include a revocation clause which revokes all former wills.

The Wills Act 1837 also allows for a Will to be revoked by writing a declaration or an intention to revoke that is executed in the same way as a Will.

Destruction

There must be a purposeful intention to destroy the Will in order to ensure that the intention was to destroy the Will rather than simply accidentally damaging it. The Wills Act 1837 states that a Will can be revoked by all of the following points;

• The burning, tearing or otherwise destroying of the Will.

• By the testator or by another person in their presence and by their direction

• With the intention of revoking the Will

The destruction should be full and writing on the Will or crossing out words may not be sufficient to revoke it.

If in doubt, always seek professional advice.