Will Revocation and Revival Requirements in Mississippi

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law and scope

Mississippi's express statutory rule is concentrated in § 91-5-3. It addresses revocation of a devise or clause, an omitted child born after a will made when the testator had no living child, and an omitted posthumous child when other children were already living. The current Chapter 91-5 index contains no general revival or republication section.

Later will, codicil, or writing

Section 91-5-3 permits revocation by a subsequent will, codicil, or declaration in writing that is “made and executed.” It does not state in its text whether a later instrument must revoke expressly or may do so only to the extent of inconsistency.

Physical or electronic revoking act

The listed acts are destroying, canceling, or obliterating the devise or clause. The section does not name burning, tearing, deletion, or another electronic act, so those methods should not be substituted for the statutory words.

Act by another person

The testator may cause the destructive act to be done in the testator's presence. Section 91-5-3 states no separate witness count or quantified proof rule for that route.

Partial revocation

Partial revocation is built into the object of the rule: § 91-5-3 applies to a devise “or any clause thereof.” A later executed writing or a listed act may therefore target a clause rather than every provision of the will.

Intent, proof, and presumptions

Unlike many state statutes, § 91-5-3 does not expressly say “with intent to revoke” and does not state an evidence standard or missing-original presumption. Whether a particular mark, loss, or destruction proves revocation can therefore require legal authority and evidence outside the section's text.

Divorce, annulment, and other family events

Section 91-5-3 states no automatic divorce, annulment, or remarriage rule. Its family-event provision instead concerns children.

If a person made the will while having no living child and did not provide for or mention a future child, the will can have no effect during the after-born child's life under the section's stated conditions. If the testator already had children and left a pregnant wife, a posthumous child who was not settled for, provided for, or disinherited receives the portion the child would have taken in intestacy, funded proportionately by the devisees and legatees.

Revival after a later will or revoking act

Current Chapter 91-5 states no general rule deciding whether revocation of a later will revives an earlier one. It likewise states no general statutory route for reexecution, republication, or restoration of provisions changed by a revoked codicil. Those questions should not be answered from § 91-5-3 alone.

What trips people up

The statute's after-born-child language is not a simple rule that every later birth revokes every will. The first branch applies to a will made when the testator had no living child and omitted any future child. A separate branch addresses a posthumous child when the testator left other children living.

A written declaration must be “made and executed.” An unsigned note or an informal statement is not enough merely because § 91-5-3 uses the word “declaration.”

Common questions

Does Mississippi list tearing or burning as revoking acts?

Not in § 91-5-3. Its listed acts are destroying, canceling, and obliterating. Whether particular conduct amounts to one of those acts is a fact-specific question.

Does Mississippi's revocation statute automatically revoke a former-spouse gift?

Section 91-5-3 contains no express divorce or annulment rule. It should not be read as supplying one merely because other states do.

Does destroying a later Mississippi will automatically revive an older will?

Current Chapter 91-5 does not answer that question with a general revival provision. Do not assume revival from possession of the older original alone.

Statutes and sources

• Miss. Code Ann. § 91-5-3 — revocation and after-born children. The current compiled section lists the physical and later-writing routes, permits revocation of a clause, and states the two child-related consequences. Official-code release (accessed 2026-08-01).
• Miss. Code Ann. Chapter 91-5 — statutory-scheme audit. The complete chapter index was reviewed for a general revival, republication, or revoked-codicil rule; none appears. Official-code release (accessed 2026-08-01).