Will Revocation and Revival Requirements in Maryland

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law and scope

Maryland's main revocation and revival rules are Estates and Trusts §§ 4-105 and 4-106. Section 4-101(k) defines a will to include a record intended as a codicil or as an instrument that revokes or revises another will. For an electronic or remotely witnessed will, the certified will created under § 4-102 is deemed the original for all purposes.

Later will, codicil, or writing

A provision in a later validly executed will may revoke a prior will or part expressly or by necessary implication. The same provision can expressly republish an earlier will that was revoked by an intermediate will, but only if that earlier will is still in existence.

Physical or electronic revoking act

Section 4-105(b)(2) lists burning, canceling, tearing, or obliterating the will. It does not separately list deletion of an electronic file. Because the certified will is deemed the original for an electronic or remotely witnessed will, altering or discarding one representation of the plan should not be assumed to satisfy the statutory act without identifying the operative will.

Act by another person

Another person may perform the listed act only in the testator's presence and with the testator's express direction and consent. Section 4-105 does not state a separate number of witnesses for proving that act.

Partial revocation

Section 4-105 opens by addressing a will “or any part of it.” The later-will route expressly reaches the prior will or part. The family-event rules are also specific: the marriage-plus-child rule revokes all premarital wills, while the divorce rule revokes only provisions relating to the spouse.

Intent, proof, and presumptions

The later will may operate by necessary implication, not only express language. For an act by another person, the testator's direction and consent must be express. Sections 4-105 and 4-106 do not state a quantified evidence standard or create a statutory presumption merely because an original cannot be located.

Divorce, annulment, and other family events

A later marriage followed by the testator's birth, adoption, or legitimation of a child revokes every will executed before the marriage if that child or the child's descendant survives the testator. This is a combined trigger; marriage alone is not how § 4-105(b)(3) is written.

An absolute divorce or annulment after execution revokes all will provisions relating to the spouse—and only those provisions—unless the will or decree says otherwise. Separation is not the event named in this paragraph.

Revival after a later will or revoking act

Destroying or otherwise revoking the later will does not by itself restore the prior will. Section 4-106 requires the prior will still to exist and to be republished with the same formalities required for execution. Section 4-105(b)(1)(ii) also allows a later validly executed will expressly to republish an existing earlier will revoked by an intermediate will.

Reexecution, republication, and codicil effect

Republication with current will-execution formalities is Maryland's express restoration method. Because the statutory definition includes a codicil, a properly executed codicil can operate as the later will that revokes, revises, or expressly republishes an earlier instrument.

What trips people up

Maryland's two family triggers have different scope. Later marriage plus a surviving child or descendant revokes all premarital wills. Divorce or annulment revokes only spouse-related provisions. Treating either event as a blanket rule for every will term misstates § 4-105.

Keeping the old original is not enough after a later will revoked it. Section 4-106 requires formal republication after the later will is destroyed or otherwise revoked, and the earlier will must still exist.

Common questions

Can a Maryland codicil revoke only one provision?

Yes. A codicil is within the statutory definition of will, and a later validly executed will may revoke a prior will or part expressly or by necessary implication.

Does divorce revoke the whole Maryland will?

No. Section 4-105(b)(4) revokes the provisions relating to the former spouse and only those provisions, subject to contrary language in the will or decree.

Does tearing up the newer will restore the older one?

No. The prior will must still exist and be republished with the same formalities required to execute a will.

Statutes and sources

• Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 4-101(k) — defines will, codicil, and revoking or revising testamentary instruments. Official text (accessed 2026-08-01).
• Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 4-102(e) — makes the certified electronic or remotely witnessed will the original. Official text (accessed 2026-08-01).
• Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 4-105 — exclusive revocation routes, later wills, acts, directed acts, marriage-plus-child revocation, and divorce or annulment. Official text (accessed 2026-08-01).
• Md. Code, Est. & Trusts § 4-106 — no automatic revival and formal republication of an existing prior will. Official text (accessed 2026-08-01).