Will Revocation and Revival Requirements in Alabama

At a glance

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).