Codicil to Last Will & Testament - Michigan

CODICIL TO LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

of
[TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME]

1. IDENTIFICATION

1.1 Testator. I, [TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME], residing at [ADDRESS, COUNTY, MICHIGAN], being eighteen years of age or older and having sufficient mental capacity under MCL 700.2501, declare this to be the [ORDINAL — e.g., First / Second / Third] Codicil (this "Codicil") to my Last Will and Testament.

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

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

1.4 Voluntary Act. I execute this Codicil freely and voluntarily, under no constraint or undue influence.

2. DECLARATION — WILL REMAINS IN FULL FORCE

I intend this Codicil to supplement rather than replace my Will. Except for provisions expressly changed by this Codicil or inconsistent with it, I confirm and ratify the Will. Under MCL 700.2507, this Codicil revokes the Will only to the extent stated here or to the extent of an inconsistency; it is not intended to revoke the Will as a whole.

3. AMENDING PROVISIONS

3.1 Revocation of a Specific Article or Gift

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

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

☐ The specific gift of [DESCRIBE GIFT — e.g., "$[AMOUNT]" / "the real property at [ADDRESS]"] to [BENEFICIARY NAME] set forth in Article/Section [____] is revoked. The subject property shall pass under the Residuary Estate of my Will unless otherwise provided in this Codicil.

3.2 Addition of a New Gift

I hereby ADD the following gift, free of all taxes and expenses of administration:

☐ 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, this gift shall ☐ pass into the Residuary Estate ☐ pass to [ALTERNATE BENEFICIARY] ☐ pass per stirpes to the Beneficiary's descendants.

3.3 Amendment or Replacement of an Article

I hereby AMEND AND REPLACE the following provision(s) of my Will; the replacement language supersedes the corresponding provision:

☐ New Personal Representative. Article/Section [____] of the Will is amended so that I nominate [NEW PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE NAME & ADDRESS] as Personal Representative, in place of [FORMER PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE NAME], with [SUCCESSOR PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE NAME] as successor. Subject to the Will, applicable court orders, MCL 700.3715, and other governing law, the Personal Representative may exercise the powers legally available to that office. For bond under MCL 700.3603, select one: ☐ the Will relieves the Personal Representative of bond ☐ the Will expressly requires bond ☐ no bond direction is added by this Codicil.

☐ New Guardian. If I am a parent authorized to make the appointment under MCL 700.5202, Article/Section [____] of the Will is amended so that I appoint [NEW GUARDIAN NAME & ADDRESS] as guardian for any unmarried minor child of mine, in place of [FORMER GUARDIAN NAME], with [SUCCESSOR GUARDIAN NAME] as successor. The appointment becomes effective only through the statutory acceptance and priority process.

☐ 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 Residuary Estate shall pass as follows: [NEW RESIDUARY DISTRIBUTION — beneficiaries and percentages, per stirpes].

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

4. CONSTRUCTION WITH THE WILL

This Codicil and the Will, together with any prior codicil that remains effective, shall be read together. If this Codicil conflicts with the Will or an earlier codicil, this Codicil controls only to the extent of the conflict. No provision is changed except as expressly stated or necessarily inconsistent with this Codicil.

5. EXECUTION BLOCK

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I, [TESTATOR NAME], sign this Codicil on the date set forth below. Each witness must sign within a reasonable time after witnessing my signing or my acknowledgment of my signature or of this Codicil, as provided by MCL 700.2502(1).

Date: _______________________, [YEAR]

_______________________________
[TESTATOR NAME], Testator

6. WITNESS ATTESTATION CLAUSE

We declare that the Testator signed this Codicil or acknowledged the Testator's signature or this Codicil to us, and that each of us signs within a reasonable time after that witnessed signing or acknowledgment. To the best of our knowledge, the Testator is eighteen years of age or older, has sufficient mental capacity to make a will, and acts voluntarily and under no constraint or undue influence.

Witness #1
_______________________________
Signature
Name: _________________________
Address: ______________________
City/State/ZIP: ________________

Witness #2
_______________________________
Signature
Name: _________________________
Address: ______________________
City/State/ZIP: ________________

7. OPTIONAL SELF-PROVING AFFIDAVIT

(Codicil and original Will made self-proved under MCL 700.2504(3))

STATE OF MICHIGAN )
) ss.
COUNTY OF [____] )

I, [TESTATOR NAME], sign my name to this Codicil on [__/__/____]. I have taken an oath, administered by the officer whose signature and seal appear below, swearing that the statements in this document are true. I declare to that officer that this document is a codicil to my Will; that I sign it willingly or willingly direct another to sign for me; that I execute it as my voluntary act for the purposes expressed in this Codicil; that I am eighteen years of age or older and under no constraint or undue influence; and that I have sufficient mental capacity to make this Codicil.

______________________________________
[TESTATOR NAME], Testator

We, [WITNESS #1 NAME] and [WITNESS #2 NAME], sign our names to this document and have taken an oath, administered by the officer whose signature and seal appear below, swearing that the following statements are true: the Testator executes this document as a codicil to the Testator's Will, signs it willingly or willingly directs another to sign, and executes it as a voluntary act for the purposes expressed in this Codicil; each of us, in the Testator's presence, signs this Codicil as witness to the Testator's signing; and, to the best of our knowledge, the Testator is eighteen years of age or older, is under no constraint or undue influence, and has sufficient mental capacity to make this Codicil.

______________________________________
[WITNESS #1 NAME], Witness

______________________________________
[WITNESS #2 NAME], Witness

Sworn to and signed in my presence by [TESTATOR NAME], the Testator, and sworn to and signed in my presence by [WITNESS #1 NAME] and [WITNESS #2 NAME], the witnesses, on [__/__/____].

_________________________________
Signature of officer authorized to administer oaths
Official capacity: ______________________
(OFFICIAL SEAL)

Sources and References

• MCL 700.1108 — Definition of "will" includes a codicil
• MCL 700.2501 — Age and sufficient mental capacity
• MCL 700.2502 — Witnessed-will execution
• MCL 700.2504 — Self-proved will and codicil
• MCL 700.2505 — Witness competency and interested witnesses
• MCL 700.2507 — Revocation by writing or act
• MCL 700.3603 — Personal-representative bond
• MCL 700.3715 — Personal-representative transactions
• MCL 700.5202 — Parental appointment of guardian for minor