“Do it yourself” Changes to a will
- Providing the basic rules about how a will must be signed to be valid
- Describing three ways to change your will: (1) Make a new will, (2) Write in the change on your existing will, and (3) Make a “codicil”
I am following through on my promise to provide “do it yourself” guidance about how to make changes to a will.
I’ll start with a basic British Columbia rule about will validity. The will-maker must sign it in the presence of two adult witnesses. Then each witness must also sign in the presence of the will-maker and the other witness.
The witnesses should not be the will-maker’s beneficiary or the spouse of a beneficiary.
I am going to refer to these rules as the “Validity Rules” in this column.
None of these rules are written in stone. Wills that don’t follow these rules can be “cured” by the court in appropriate circumstances. But if you follow the rules, you can be assured of will validity.
It’s also helpful for a will to include the date it was made. Not to make it valid, but it helps to determine if the will is the will-maker’s last will.
Options for changing your will include making a new one, writing the change on the will you are changing and making a codicil.
Make a new will
One way to make a change to your will is simply to make a new one.
I’ll use a changed executor as an example.
If you have an electronic version of your will that can be changed on your computer, or can create one with optical character recognition, you can make the change on your computer and print the amended will with the new date.
But you’re unlikely to have that text.
A manual way is to cut up sticky notes to the right sizes to cover up the date, the executor name you want changed and the signatures, write in the new executor name and new date on the sticky notes covering that text, and then photocopy your will.
Either way, you then follow the Validity Rules when signing your new will.
Validity doesn’t require it, but I recommend that each of you and the witnesses initial each page of your new will in addition to signing it at the end to eliminate any uncertainty about what pages were included in the will.
Write the change on the will
You can hand write a change on the will itself.
Using the changed executor example, you would cross out the name you want changed and write in the new name.
For the change to be valid, you must follow the Validity Rules, though instead of doing that at the end of the will, you and your witnesses would sign in the margin near the change.
A Codicil
I don’t like archaic language like the word “codicil”. A codicil is an amendment to a will. How about call it that!
Using the same executor change example:
- Create a new document with a title of “Amendment to my will”,
- Refer to the will you are amending. For example: “I am amending my will dated August 15, 2004”,
- Set out the change. For example: “In the place of John Smith, I appoint Jane Doe as my executor”,
- Follow the Validity Rules when signing this document and include the date of signing.
Keep the amendment with your original will and let your executor know about it. There’s no “codicil fairy” that will alert your executor about that amendment.
Final Notes
Many changes in circumstances do not require changes to your will. I explained, with examples, in my column published May 18th, 2025.
In this column I used the very simple example of changing an executor. Other changes might not be so straightforward. And a change in one part of your will might not fit with other parts. Your “do it yourself” muck-up might cost buckets of legal dollars to fix after you’re gone.
Please consult with a lawyer periodically to review your estate plan. I provide my opinions about circumstances when you should do that in my column published May 5th, 2024.
Reach out to me if you have difficulty finding the columns I’ve referred to.
Any questions? Don’t hesitate to ask me.
