Arkansas: Will Revocation and Revival Requirements
The short answer
Arkansas permits whole or partial revocation by a later will, expressly or by inconsistency, or by a listed destructive act performed with revocatory intent by the testator or a directed person in the testator's presence. Divorce or annulment revokes provisions favoring the former spouse, but other changes in circumstances or marital status do not revoke the will. A revoked or invalid will or part can be revived only by reexecution or incorporation by reference in another will.
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This is the general rule in Arkansas. Ask about your specific facts and see which parts of current Arkansas law apply, with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law and scope | Ark. Code Ann. §§ 28-25-109 and -110; whole or partial revocation of wills by later will or act, divorce/annulment effect, and revival by reexecution or incorporation |
|---|---|
| Later will, codicil, or writing | A subsequent will may revoke the prior will or part expressly or by inconsistency (§ 28-25-109(a)(1)); the statute does not authorize a standalone informal revocation writing |
| Physical or electronic revoking act | Burn, tear, cancel, obliterate, or destroy the will or part, with intent and for the purpose of revocation (§ 28-25-109(a)(2)); no separate electronic act is stated |
| Act by another person | Allowed in the testator's presence and by the testator's direction; § 28-25-109 states no separate witness count |
| Partial revocation | Yes, by later will or listed physical act. Reattestation of the remainder is not required (§ 28-25-109(a), (c)). |
| Intent, proof, and presumptions | A physical act requires intent and purpose to revoke. Section 28-25-109 states no quantified proof standard or missing-original presumption. |
| Divorce, annulment, and other family events | Divorce or annulment revokes all will provisions favoring the former spouse. Except for those events, no change in circumstances, condition, or marital status revokes the will, subject to the spouse-election statute (§ 28-25-109(b)). |
| Revival after a later will or revoking act | No automatic revival. A revoked or invalid will or part can be revived only by reexecution or another will incorporating it by reference (§ 28-25-110). |
| Reexecution, republication, and codicil effect | Reexecute the revoked/invalid will or part, or execute another will that incorporates it by reference. Section 28-25-110 states no separate republication-by-codicil or revoked-codicil restoration rule. |
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Requirements one by one
Governing law and scope
Arkansas places the core rules in §§ 28-25-109 and 28-25-110. The first section
governs whole and partial revocation by a later will or physical act and the effect
of divorce or annulment. The second gives the exclusive statutory revival routes.
Neither section states a distinct electronic-will revocation method.
Later will, codicil, or writing
Under § 28-25-109(a)(1), a subsequent will may revoke the earlier will or a part of
it expressly or by inconsistency. The section does not create a revocation route for
an informal note that is not itself a subsequent will.
Physical or electronic revoking act
Section 28-25-109(a)(2) lists burning, tearing, cancelling, obliterating, or
destroying the will or part. The physical act must be accompanied by both the intent
and the purpose of revoking it.
Act by another person
Another person may perform the listed act, but only in the testator's presence and
at the testator's direction. The section does not add a statutory witness count for
that directed act.
Partial revocation
The opening words of § 28-25-109(a) reach “a will or any part thereof,” so both the
later-will and physical-act routes permit partial revocation. Subsection (c) then
says reattestation of the remainder is not required after a partial revocation.
Intent, proof, and presumptions
A listed physical act is not enough by itself; § 28-25-109(a)(2) requires intent and
purpose to revoke. The section states no quantified evidence standard and creates no
presumption merely because an original will cannot be found.
Divorce, annulment, and other family events
Divorce or annulment revokes all provisions in favor of the former spouse. The rest
of the will is not automatically revoked by another change in circumstances,
condition, or marital status, although § 28-25-109(b) preserves the separate
spouse-election statute in § 28-39-401.
Revival after a later will or revoking act
Arkansas does not make revival depend on merely destroying the later will or keeping
the earlier original. Under § 28-25-110, a revoked or invalid will or part can return
to effect only through reexecution or through another will that incorporates it by
reference.
What trips people up
Revocation and replacement are different acts. Crossing out a gift can revoke that
part when the statutory act and intent are present, but writing a replacement gift
does not itself become a valid new testamentary disposition unless it is part of a
properly executed will.
Divorce does not erase every provision of the will. Section 28-25-109(b) targets the
provisions favoring the former spouse and otherwise rejects revocation based only on
changed circumstances or marital status.
Common questions
Does an Arkansas will need to be witnessed again after a partial revocation?
No. Section 28-25-109(c) says reattestation of the remainder is not required.
Does marriage alone revoke an Arkansas will?
No. Section 28-25-109(b) says changes in circumstances, condition, or marital status
do not revoke a will except for its stated divorce and annulment rule, subject to the
separate spouse-election statute.
Can an old Arkansas will be revived just by destroying the newer will?
No. Section 28-25-110 requires reexecution of the old instrument or a subsequently
executed will that incorporates the revoked or invalid will or part by reference.
Statutes and sources
- Ark. Code Ann. § 28-25-109 — revocation and family events. The official
Arkansas Judiciary probate benchbook reproduces the later-will, physical-act,
directed-act, divorce/annulment, and partial-revocation text. Official court
publication
(accessed 2026-08-01). - Ark. Code Ann. § 28-25-110 — revival. The same official publication states
the reexecution and incorporation-by-reference routes. Official court
publication
(accessed 2026-08-01).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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