Will Revocation and Revival Requirements in Georgia

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law and scope

Georgia's revocation and republication rules are collected in O.C.G.A. §§ 53-4-40 through 53-4-50. The title's definitions matter: § 53-1-2 defines a codicil as an amendment to or republication of a will and says “will” includes the will and all its codicils.

Later will, codicil, or writing

§ 53-4-43 permits express revocation by a later will or another writing executed, subscribed, and attested with will formalities. A later inconsistent will works differently. Under § 53-4-42(c), implied revocation is not completed unless that later will becomes effective; failure of the later instrument leaves the implied revocation incomplete.

Physical or electronic revoking act

Section 53-4-44 uses a broad formulation—“any destruction or obliteration”—rather than a closed list of acts. The testator must act with intent to revoke, or another person may act at the testator's direction. No electronic-record act is stated.

Act by another person

Georgia permits another person to destroy or obliterate the will at the testator's direction. Section 53-4-44 does not add a presence condition or a quantified witness requirement to that directed-person route.

Partial revocation

Georgia expressly recognizes partial outcomes. § 53-4-47 limits implied revocation to the inconsistency and preserves every part that can stand with the later testamentary plan. Section 53-4-44 makes obliteration or cancellation of a material portion evidence of intent, and § 53-4-45 separately addresses a written instrument that revoked or amended only part of an earlier will.

Intent, proof, and presumptions

Intent is required in every revocation under § 53-4-41. Obliterating or canceling a material part creates a presumption of revocatory intent, rebuttable by a preponderance of the evidence. A missing original creates another revocation presumption under § 53-4-46; a proponent using a copy must prove by a preponderance that it is true and rebut the presumption by that same standard.

Divorce, annulment, and other family events

Under § 53-4-48, a later marriage, birth—including a posthumous child born within ten months after death—or adoption can revoke the existing plan only to the extent needed to supply the later spouse's or child's intestate share when the will made no provision in contemplation of that event. A gift to the new spouse or child counts toward the share. A class gift to the testator's children is presumptively made in contemplation of later children unless contrary intent appears.

Final divorce or annulment instead makes the prior will operate as if the former spouse died first, absent a provision contemplating the event. If the testator remarries that former spouse without revoking or amending the will, provisions revoked solely by § 53-4-49 revive.

Revival after a later will or revoking act

Section 53-4-45 uses four different intent rules. A whole prior will revoked by a later writing returns only when the terms of the next writing show revival intent; after revocation by act, circumstances or contemporaneous or later declarations may show that intent. A part revoked by a later writing returns only to the extent the terms show intent, while a part revoked by an instrument that is itself revoked by act returns by default unless the circumstances or declarations show the testator did not want it restored.

Reexecution, republication, and codicil effect

When § 53-4-45's revival rules do not restore the prior will or provision, § 53-4-50 supplies a formal republication route: the testator executes a writing that witnesses subscribe and attest with the same formalities required for a will. Because § 53-1-2 defines a codicil as an amendment or republication, a properly executed codicil fits that function.

What trips people up

The default flips for one narrow revival scenario. When an instrument partially revoked an earlier will and the testator later revokes that instrument by a destructive act, the earlier provision returns unless evidence shows the testator did not want it restored. Whole-will revival never gets that default; affirmative revival intent still must appear.

Family events also do not simply erase the will. A later marriage or child can produce an intestate-share adjustment from the residue and then by abatement, while divorce or annulment applies a former-spouse-deemed-predeceased rule. Those are different statutory mechanisms with different effects.

Common questions

What if the later inconsistent will never becomes effective?

The implied revocation is not completed. Section 53-4-42(c) makes effectiveness of the later inconsistent will a condition of the revocation itself.

Does a missing original automatically prevent probate of a copy?

No. Section 53-4-46 permits a copy if the proponent proves it is a true copy and rebuts the revocation presumption, both by a preponderance of the evidence.

Does naming current children defeat protection for a later child?

Not by itself. Section 53-4-48(b) says merely identifying children already born or adopted does not defeat the presumption that a class gift to the testator's children contemplated later members of that class.

Statutes and sources

• O.C.G.A. § 53-1-2 — definitions. Defines codicil and makes the statutory term “will” include all codicils. Official-code public-domain text (accessed 2026-08-01).
• O.C.G.A. §§ 53-4-40–43 — power, intent, and written revocation. Permit predeath change, require intent, distinguish express from implied revocation, and impose will formalities on a revoking writing. Official-code public-domain text (accessed 2026-08-01).
• O.C.G.A. §§ 53-4-44–47 — acts, revival, and presumptions. Cover directed acts, material-part and missing-original presumptions, four revival rules, and inconsistency-limited revocation. Official-code public-domain text (accessed 2026-08-01).
• O.C.G.A. §§ 53-4-48–49 — family events. Address later spouses and children, class gifts, divorce or annulment, and remarriage revival. Official-code public-domain text (accessed 2026-08-01).
• O.C.G.A. § 53-4-50 — republication. Requires a testator-executed writing subscribed and attested with will formalities. Official-code public-domain text (accessed 2026-08-01).