Will Revocation and Revival Requirements in Idaho

At a glance

Idaho has two revocation tracks. The older Uniform Probate Code sections govern ordinary paper wills, while the 2023 Uniform Electronic Wills Act adds a separate rule for electronic wills. The general definition of will includes codicils and testamentary instruments whose only purpose is to revoke or revise another will.

Requirements one by one

Later will, codicil, or writing

For a paper will, § 15-2-507(a) permits a subsequent will to revoke the earlier will or any part expressly or by inconsistency. For an electronic will, § 15-2-1107(2)(a) uses the same express-or-inconsistent later-will rule.

Neither section creates an informal-note route. A formal revocation-only testamentary instrument can qualify because § 15-1-201(56) includes such an instrument within the definition of a will.

Paper revocation by physical act

Section 15-2-507(b) lists burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating, and destroying. The testator must act with the intent and purpose of revoking the paper will or part. Another person may perform the act only in the testator's presence and at the testator's direction.

Idaho adds a duplicate-original rule. If the will was executed in duplicate, revoking one duplicate revokes the will under § 15-2-507(c). A person should not assume the untouched duplicate necessarily remains operative.

Electronic-will revocation

Section 15-2-1107 permits an electronic will to revoke all or part of an earlier will, whether the earlier will is paper or electronic. The electronic will or part can then be revoked by a subsequent will or by a physical act.

The physical-act route is valid only if a preponderance of the evidence establishes that the testator acted with intent to revoke all or part, or directed another person who performed the act in the testator's physical presence. The section does not list deletion, rendering unreadable, or loss of control as separate acts, so those terms should not be inserted into Idaho's rule.

Partial revocation

Both tracks expressly permit partial revocation. Section 15-2-507 begins with a will "or any part thereof." Section 15-2-1107 says an electronic will may revoke "all or part" of a previous will and that "all or part" of the electronic will may itself be revoked.

That means Idaho does not limit the physical-act route to destruction of the entire estate plan. Intent and proof still determine what the act revoked.

Intent, proof, and presumptions

For paper, the listed act must be performed "with the intent and for the purpose of revoking" the will or part. Section 15-2-507 states no quantified proof standard.

For an electronic will, § 15-2-1107 supplies one: the physical act and the required intent, actor, direction, and physical-presence facts must be established by a preponderance of the evidence.

Neither section creates a complete-disposition later-will presumption or a missing-original presumption.

Divorce, annulment, remarriage, and other changes

Unless the will expressly provides otherwise, divorce or annulment revokes four types of provision for the former spouse: a property disposition or appointment, a general or special power of appointment, and nomination as executor, trustee, conservator, or guardian.

Section 15-2-508 then treats property provisions as though the former spouse failed to survive and interprets the revoked powers and offices the same way. Remarriage to the former spouse revives provisions revoked solely by this section.

A separation decree that does not terminate spouse status is not a divorce, and the last sentence of § 15-2-508 says no other changed circumstance revokes a will. The Idaho rule does not extend revocation to relatives of the former spouse.

Revival after the second will is revoked

Idaho rejects automatic revival. Under § 15-2-509(a), if a second will that would have revoked the first is itself revoked by acts under § 15-2-507, the first remains revoked in whole or part unless the revocation circumstances or the testator's contemporary or later declarations show intent that the first take effect as executed.

If a third will revokes the second, subsection (b) keeps the first revoked except to the extent the third will's terms show that the testator intended the first to take effect. The third-will route therefore turns on the third instrument's terms.

Republication and codicil effect

Idaho adds a concise restoration rule that many states lack: "Republication of a revoked will revives such will" (§ 15-2-509(c)). The section does not define a separate informal republication procedure, so that sentence should not be read as making mere possession or an oral statement sufficient.

Because Idaho's definition of will includes a codicil, the same later-will and revival rules apply to codicils. The Act does not separately state that a codicil republishes a will or that revoking a codicil automatically restores every provision it changed.

What trips people up

• One duplicate can revoke both. Section 15-2-507(c) makes revocation of one duplicate sufficient when the will was executed in duplicate.
• The electronic rule requires a physical act. Idaho does not copy statutes that separately list deletion or loss of control over an electronic record.
• Only electronic physical-act revocation has a statutory evidence level. It uses preponderance of the evidence; the paper section states none.
• Divorce revocation is former-spouse-only. Idaho does not extend § 15-2-508 to the former spouse's relatives.
• Republication is an express revival route. It is separate from the intent rules governing destruction of a later will or execution of a third will.

Common questions

Can an electronic will revoke a paper will?

Yes. Section 15-2-1107(1) says an electronic will may revoke all or part of a previous will and does not limit the previous will to electronic form.

May another person destroy the will?

Yes. For paper, the person must act in the testator's presence and at the testator's direction. For electronic-will physical-act revocation, the statute specifies the testator's physical presence.

Does divorce revoke the entire Idaho will?

No. It revokes the listed former-spouse gifts, powers, and fiduciary nominations unless the will expressly provides otherwise.

Does destroying the second will revive the first?

Not automatically. The circumstances or the testator's declarations must show intent for the first to take effect as executed, or another statutory revival route must apply.

Statutes and sources

• Idaho Code § 15-1-201(56) — will definition, including codicils and revocation-only testamentary instruments. Official text (accessed 2026-08-01).
• Idaho Code § 15-2-507 — paper whole/partial revocation, listed acts, directed acts, intent, and duplicate wills. Official text (accessed 2026-08-01).
• Idaho Code § 15-2-508 — divorce, annulment, construction, remarriage revival, and no-other-change rule. Official text (accessed 2026-08-01).
• Idaho Code § 15-2-509 — revival after acts or a third will and republication. Official text (accessed 2026-08-01).
• Idaho Code § 15-2-1107 — electronic-will whole/partial revocation, preponderance standard, and physical-presence directed act. Official text (accessed 2026-08-01).