Sometimes, you want to change one little thing in your Texas will
without the need to create and sign an entirely new one. For example, one of
the persons you identified as your executor has died, and you want to name
someone else in his/her place. Or perhaps you’ve had an addition to the family
and want to leave a specific item or gift to your new grandchild.
In these situations, a codicil to your Texas will can be created
to make the minor change or to add a new provision. The codicil should
specifically reference your existing Texas will, preferably by date of execution, and
specifically identify the paragraph(s) you are changing or create a new
number/section for the information you are adding. A codicil in Texas should be executed using the same
formalities as an original will and can be made self-proving in the same manner
as an original will. Make sure that your codicil is placed in the same location
as your will, and that your executor is aware of its existence.
However, if you want to make several changes to your will,
or something has occurred in your life that substantially alters your previous
estate plan (such as a marriage/divorce or birth/adoption of a child), you
should execute a new will, under the usual formalities, and specifically revoke
the old one. Multiple codicils to a will, or substantial changes to a will via
codicil, can become very confusing to your executor or increase the risk that
the terms will be inconsistent with each other.
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