Codicil to Last Will & Testament - Maryland

CODICIL TO LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

of
[TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME]

I. IDENTIFICATION

1. Testator. I, [TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME], a resident of [COUNTY], Maryland, being legally competent to make a will and at least eighteen (18) years old, declare this to be the [ORDINAL — e.g., First / Second / Third] Codicil (this "Codicil") to my Last Will and Testament.

2. Will Being Amended. This Codicil amends my Last Will and Testament dated [__/__/____] (the "Will").

3. Prior Codicils.
   ☐ I have made no prior codicil to the Will.
   ☐ I have previously made the following codicil(s) to the Will, all of which remain in effect except as modified herein: [LIST PRIOR CODICILS BY DATE].

4. Capacity & Voluntary Act. I execute this Codicil freely and voluntarily, and not under duress, menace, fraud, or the undue influence of any person.

II. DECLARATION — WILL REMAINS IN FULL FORCE

I confirm my Will and any prior codicil identified above, except for each provision expressly changed by this Codicil. I do not revoke the Will as a whole.

III. AMENDING PROVISIONS

A. Revocation of a Specific Article or Bequest

I hereby REVOKE the following provision(s) of my Will in their entirety:

☐ Article/Section [____] of the Will, captioned [SECTION TITLE], is revoked and shall be of no further force or effect.

☐ The specific bequest of [DESCRIBE GIFT — e.g., "$[AMOUNT]" / "the real property at [ADDRESS]"] to [BENEFICIARY NAME] set forth in Article/Section [____] is revoked. I instead direct that property be disposed of as follows: [STATE THE REPLACEMENT GIFT OR IDENTIFY THE EXACT RESIDUARY CLAUSE].

B. Addition of a New Bequest

I hereby ADD the following bequest to my Will:

☐ I give [DESCRIBE GIFT — e.g., "$[AMOUNT]" / "[DESCRIPTION OF ITEM OR REAL PROPERTY]"] to [BENEFICIARY FULL NAME & ADDRESS].

• If this Beneficiary does not survive me, I instead give this property to [IDENTIFY AN ALTERNATE BENEFICIARY OR THE EXACT RESIDUARY CLAUSE].

C. Amendment or Replacement of an Article

I hereby AMEND AND REPLACE the following provision(s) of my Will. The replacement language below supersedes the corresponding provision in the Will:

☐ New Personal Representative. Article/Section [____] of the Will is amended so that I nominate [NEW PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE NAME & ADDRESS] as Personal Representative of my estate, in place of [FORMER PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE NAME]. If that person fails or ceases to serve, I nominate [SUCCESSOR PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE NAME] as successor. A person appointed to serve may exercise powers granted by the Will and Md. Code Ann., Est. & Trusts § 7-401(a), subject to valid limits in the Will or a court order.

☐ New Guardian. If I am the surviving parent of an unmarried minor child and no agreement or court order prohibits this appointment, Article/Section [____] of the Will is amended so that I appoint [NEW GUARDIAN NAME & ADDRESS] as guardian of that child's person, in place of [FORMER GUARDIAN NAME], with [SUCCESSOR GUARDIAN NAME] as successor (Md. Code Ann., Est. & Trusts § 13-701(a)).

☐ New Trustee / Beneficiary. Article/Section [____] of the Will is amended so that:

• The Trustee of the [NAME OF TESTAMENTARY TRUST] shall be [NEW TRUSTEE NAME], in place of [FORMER TRUSTEE NAME]; and/or
• The beneficiary designated in that Article shall be [NEW BENEFICIARY NAME], in place of [FORMER BENEFICIARY NAME].

☐ New / Restated Residuary Distribution. Article/Section [____] of the Will is amended so that my Residue shall be distributed as follows: [NEW RESIDUARY DISTRIBUTION — list beneficiaries and percentages, e.g., "[BENEFICIARY A]: [____]%; [BENEFICIARY B]: [____]%"].

☐ Other Amendment. Article/Section [____] of the Will is amended to read as follows: [INSERT REPLACEMENT TEXT].

IV. CONFIRMATION OF UNCHANGED TERMS

I direct that provisions of my Will and any prior codicil remain as written unless this Codicil expressly changes them. This Codicil takes effect only if executed as a will under Md. Code Ann., Est. & Trusts § 4-102.

V. EXECUTION

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I, [TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME], the Testator, sign my name to this Codicil and declare that I sign and execute this instrument as a Codicil to my Last Will and Testament, that I sign it willingly, and that I execute it as my free and voluntary act for the purposes expressed herein.

Date: [__/__/____]

______________________________________
[TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME], Testator

ATTESTATION BY WITNESSES

We, the undersigned credible witnesses, affirm that on the date written above the Testator declared this instrument to be a Codicil to the Testator's Last Will and Testament, signed it (or expressly directed another person to sign it in the Testator's physical presence) in our physical presence, and requested that we witness the same; and that we, in the physical presence of the Testator, now attest and sign this Codicil. To the best of our knowledge the Testator is legally competent to make a will and acts under no constraint or undue influence.

1. ______________________________________
   [WITNESS #1 NAME]
   Address: _______________________________

2. ______________________________________
   [WITNESS #2 NAME]
   Address: _______________________________

VI. PROBATE-PROOF NOTE

The witness attestation above recites the physical signing facts relevant to Md. Code Ann., Est. & Trusts §§ 4-102(b) and 5-303. The separate certification and affidavit procedures in § 4-102(c) and (d) concern electronic or remotely witnessed wills; they do not impose a general notary requirement on this physical codicil.

Sources and References

• Md. Code Ann., Est. & Trusts § 4-102 — Capacity and execution (official)
• Md. Code Ann., Est. & Trusts § 5-303 — Attestation recital (official)
• Md. Code Ann., Est. & Trusts § 4-102 (Justia)
• Md. Code Ann., Est. & Trusts § 4-101(k) — Definition of will includes codicil
• Maryland Register of Wills — General Estate Information