Will Revocation and Revival Requirements in Oklahoma

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law and scope

Oklahoma's traditional rules are in 84 O.S. §§ 101 through 106, with related codicil and divorce rules in §§ 113 and 114. Section 101 reaches a written will “nor any part thereof.” Since November 1, 2024, § 906 has supplied a separate revocation rule for electronic wills.

Section 91 keeps loss and revocation distinct. A lost or destroyed will may be established “in the cases provided by law,” so disappearance does not itself answer whether the testator revoked it.

Later will, codicil, or writing

Under § 101, a traditional will or part may be revoked or altered by another written will or by another revocation writing, but that writing must be executed with the same formalities required for the testator's will.

Under § 105, a later will revokes the prior one if it says so expressly or contains provisions wholly inconsistent with the earlier terms. Otherwise, the earlier will remains effective to the extent the two can operate consistently.

For an electronic will, § 906 allows a subsequent will to revoke all or part expressly or by inconsistency.

Physical or electronic revoking act

Section 101 lists burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating, and destroying a traditional will or part. The act must be done with intent and for the purpose of revocation.

Electronic wills use a broader formulation. Section 906 does not list particular acts; it permits a “physical act” when the required intent and conduct are proved by a preponderance of the evidence.

Act by another person

For a traditional will, another person may perform the act in the testator's presence and by the testator's direction. Under § 102, the direction and the fact of injury or destruction must be proved by two witnesses.

For an electronic will, the testator may direct another individual to act in the testator's physical presence. Section 906's preponderance standard applies to the intent and performance of that directed act.

Partial revocation

Traditional partial revocation is permitted, but § 103 creates a trap. An obliteration on the face of the will may be partial or total and is complete if the material part is obliterated in a way that shows revocatory intent. If the testator made the alteration to substitute a new disposition, however, the revocation fails unless the new disposition was legally effected.

Section 906 expressly permits an electronic will to revoke all or part of a previous will and permits all or part of the electronic will itself to be revoked.

Intent, proof, and presumptions

Traditional physical revocation requires both intent and a revocatory purpose. A directed cancellation or destruction has the separate two-witness proof rule, and partial obliteration must visibly show an intention to revoke the affected material.

Electronic physical-act revocation uses a preponderance standard for both the testator's intent and the act performed personally or by the directed individual. Section 91 allows proof of a lost or destroyed will but creates no automatic revocation presumption in its text.

Divorce, annulment, and other family events

Under § 114, divorce revokes all will provisions in favor of the former spouse, annulment has the same effect, and the former spouse is treated as having predeceased the testator. The automatic rule does not apply if the decree is vacated, the former spouses remarry, or the testator later executes a new valid will or codicil.

Marriage alone is not a revoking event in the current §§ 101 through 114 scheme. Separate omitted-spouse or omitted-child rules may affect distribution, but they are not revocation under these sections.

Revival after a later will or revoking act

Under § 106, destroying, canceling, or revoking the later will does not revive the former will. Revival occurs only if the terms of the revocation show an intent to renew the former will or the testator republishes the prior will.

Reexecution, republication, and codicil effect

The text of § 106 uses “republishes” as the formal restoration concept but does not separately define the required republication method. Section 113 supplies the codicil consequence in the other direction: revocation of a will revokes all of its codicils.

What trips people up

Crossing out a gift and writing a replacement can fail in both directions. Under § 103, if the attempted new disposition is not legally effective, the associated revocation by alteration or obliteration is also invalid.

Traditional and electronic revocations use different proof rules. A directed traditional destruction must be proved by two witnesses. An electronic physical act instead requires a preponderance of the evidence and physical presence when another individual acts.

Destroying the newer will does not ordinarily restore the older one. Section 106 still requires renewal intent expressed in the revocation or republication of the prior will.

Common questions

Can an Oklahoma will executed in duplicate be revoked by destroying one original?

Yes. Section 104 says revocation of a will executed in duplicate may be made by revoking one of the duplicates.

Can a lost or destroyed Oklahoma will still be proved?

Potentially. Section 91 says a lost or destroyed will may be established in the cases provided by law. That rule permits proof of the instrument; it does not declare that every missing original was revoked or preserved.

Statutes and sources

• 84 O.S. § 91 — a lost or destroyed will may be established in cases provided by law. Official text (accessed 2026-08-01).
• 84 O.S. §§ 101–103 — formal revocation writings, listed physical acts, directed-act proof, and partial obliteration. § 101, § 102, and § 103 (accessed 2026-08-01).
• 84 O.S. §§ 104–106 — duplicate wills, later-will inconsistency, and revival by renewal intent or republication. § 104, § 105, and § 106 (accessed 2026-08-01).
• 84 O.S. §§ 113–114 — revoking the will revokes its codicils; divorce or annulment revokes former-spouse provisions subject to stated exceptions. § 113 and § 114 (accessed 2026-08-01).
• 84 O.S. § 906 — electronic-will revocation by a later will or a proved physical act. Official text (accessed 2026-08-01).