Alabama: Will Revocation and Revival Requirements

Requirements one by one

Governing law and scope

Alabama's revocation, family-change, and revival rules are §§ 43-8-136 through
43-8-138. Section 43-8-1(34) defines will to include a codicil and a
testamentary instrument that merely revokes or revises another will. The cited
probate provisions state no separate electronic-will or harmless-error route.

Later will, codicil, or writing

A subsequent will can revoke the earlier will or part expressly or by
inconsistency. Section 43-8-136 does not add the complete-disposition and
incomplete-disposition presumptions used in some other UPC states.

Alabama does recognize a specific written-declaration route as evidence of
revival after the second will is revoked. The testator's contemporary or later
declaration must be in writing, signed by the testator, and attested under the
ordinary will-execution section. An informal oral declaration does not fit that
statutory route.

Physical or electronic revoking act

Section 43-8-136(b) lists burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating, and
destroying the will. The act must be done with the intent and purpose of
revocation. The subsection does not create a separate electronic-record
deletion or custodian procedure.

Act by another person

Another person may perform the physical act in the testator's presence with the
testator's consent and direction. Alabama adds an express proof safeguard: at
least two witnesses must prove the testator's consent and direction when
someone else performs the act.

Partial revocation

Alabama separates the two methods. A subsequent will may revoke the earlier
will “or any part thereof.” The physical-act subsection, however, says “a will
is revoked” and does not extend its language to a part. The current section
therefore states no partial revocation-by-act route.

Intent, proof, and presumptions

Physical revocation requires intent and purpose. A directed act adds the two-
witness proof rule for consent and direction. The section states no quantified
evidence standard for an act performed personally by the testator and no
missing-original revocation presumption.

Revival evidence is more formal. Section 43-8-138 permits the circumstances of
the second will's revocation or a contemporary or subsequent declaration, but
the declaration must be written, signed, and attested under § 43-8-131.

Divorce, annulment, and other family events

Divorce or annulment revokes will dispositions and property appointments for
the former spouse, powers of appointment conferred on that spouse, and
nominations of the former spouse as executor, trustee, or guardian, unless the
will expressly says otherwise. The affected provisions operate as if the former
spouse failed to survive the decedent.

Remarriage to the former spouse revives provisions revoked solely by
§ 43-8-137. A decree of separation that does not end the marital status is not a
divorce for this rule, and the section says no other circumstance change revokes
a will.

Revival after a later will or revoking act

If a second will that would have revoked the first is itself revoked under
§ 43-8-136, the first remains revoked unless the circumstances or a properly
signed and attested contemporary or later written declaration show that the
testator wanted it to take effect as executed.

If a third will revokes the second, restoration reaches only as far as the third
will's terms show an intent to make the first will effective.

Reexecution, republication, and codicil effect

A codicil and a testamentary revocation or revision instrument are included in
will. Alabama does not create a restoration route based merely on possessing
the older document or making an oral statement. Section 43-8-138 instead uses
the third will's terms, the revocation circumstances, or a written declaration
signed and attested with will formalities.

What trips people up

Partial revocation differs by method. A later will can revoke part of an earlier
will, but the physical-act subsection is written for revoking the will rather
than a part. Crossing out one clause is therefore not the statutory equivalent
of executing a codicil or replacement will.

Alabama also demands corroboration when someone else destroys the will. The
testator's consent and direction must be proved by at least two witnesses, not
merely asserted by the person who performed the act.

Common questions

Can an Alabama testator cross out only one gift to revoke it?

Section 43-8-136 does not state a partial physical-act route. It expressly
allows partial revocation by a subsequent will, while its burn/tear/cancel/
obliterate/destroy subsection speaks to revoking the will.

Can someone else destroy the will for the testator?

Yes, but only in the testator's presence with consent and direction, and at
least two witnesses must prove that consent and direction.

Does destroying the newer will automatically restore the older one?

No. The older will remains revoked unless the revocation circumstances or a
testator-signed, properly attested written declaration shows restoration intent;
if a third will is involved, its terms control the extent of revival.

Statutes and sources

• Ala. Code § 43-8-1(34) — includes codicils and revoking or revising
  testamentary instruments within will. Official code
  viewer (accessed
  2026-08-01).
• Ala. Code § 43-8-136 — later-will and physical-act revocation, partial
  scope, intent, and the two-witness directed-act proof rule. Official code
  viewer (accessed
  2026-08-01).
• Ala. Code § 43-8-137 — former-spouse provisions, separation, remarriage,
  and other circumstance changes. Official code
  viewer (accessed
  2026-08-01).
• Ala. Code § 43-8-138 — revival through circumstances, formally attested
  written declarations, or a third will's terms. Official code
  viewer (accessed
  2026-08-01).