Codicil to Last Will & Testament - North Dakota

CODICIL TO LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

OF [TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME]

Made this [DAY] day of [MONTH], [YEAR]
County of [COUNTY] • State of North Dakota

ARTICLE 1 — IDENTIFICATION AND THE WILL BEING AMENDED

1.1 Testator. I, [TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME], residing at [ADDRESS], County of [COUNTY], State of North Dakota, being of legal age, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence, declare this instrument to be the [ORDINAL — e.g., First / Second / Third] Codicil (this "Codicil") to my Last Will and Testament.

1.2 Existing Will. I refer to my Last Will and Testament dated [__/__/____] (the "Will").

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

1.4 Capacity. I have testamentary capacity, I execute this Codicil voluntarily, and this Codicil expresses my testamentary intent as to the matters addressed herein.

ARTICLE 2 — DECLARATION; WILL REMAINS IN FORCE

2.1 I hereby amend the Will only as expressly set forth in Article 3 of this Codicil.

2.2 Except as expressly amended, revoked, or supplemented by this Codicil, I ratify, confirm, and republish the Will in all respects, and I direct that the Will and this Codicil be read and construed together as a single, integrated testamentary instrument.

2.3 If any provision of this Codicil conflicts with the Will or any prior codicil, the provisions of this Codicil control.

ARTICLE 3 — AMENDING PROVISIONS

3.1 Revocation of an Article or Bequest

☐ I revoke in its entirety Article/Section [____] of the Will [and/or the specific bequest of [DESCRIBE PROPERTY/AMOUNT] to [BENEFICIARY NAME]]. The revoked provision shall be of no further force or effect, and any property that was the subject of a revoked specific bequest shall pass under the residuary provisions of the Will unless otherwise directed in this Codicil.

☐ I revoke the following words/sentence within Article/Section [____]: "[QUOTE TEXT BEING REMOVED]".

3.2 Addition of a New Bequest

☐ I add the following bequest to the Will:
I give [$[AMOUNT] / DESCRIBE PROPERTY OR ASSET], free of all death taxes and costs of transfer, to [BENEFICIARY FULL LEGAL NAME], of [ADDRESS], if [he/she/they] survive(s) me. If this beneficiary does not survive me, this gift shall ☐ lapse into my Residuary Estate ☐ pass to [ALTERNATE BENEFICIARY].

3.3 Amendment or Replacement of an Article

☐ I amend and restate Article/Section [____] of the Will to read in its entirety as follows:
"[INSERT FULL REPLACEMENT TEXT]".

(a) New Personal Representative (Executor)

☐ I revoke the nomination of Personal Representative in the Will and nominate [NEW PRIMARY PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE NAME], of [ADDRESS], as Personal Representative of my Estate. If that person is unable or unwilling to serve, I nominate [SUCCESSOR PERSONAL REPRESENTATIVE NAME]. ☐ No bond shall be required. ☐ Bond shall be required in the amount the District Court deems appropriate.

(b) New Guardian for Minor Children

☐ I revoke the nomination of Guardian in the Will and nominate [NEW PRIMARY GUARDIAN NAME], of [ADDRESS], as Guardian of the person [and estate] of any minor child of mine, with [SUCCESSOR GUARDIAN NAME] as alternate.

(c) New Trustee or Trust Beneficiary

☐ I revoke the designation of Trustee in the Will and nominate [NEW TRUSTEE NAME], of [ADDRESS], as Trustee of any trust created under the Will, with [SUCCESSOR TRUSTEE NAME] as alternate.

☐ I amend the beneficiary designation of the [NAME OF TRUST/ARTICLE] so that the beneficiary shall be [NEW BENEFICIARY NAME] in the share of [STATE SHARE/PERCENTAGE].

3.4 Additional Amendments

☐ [INSERT ANY ADDITIONAL AMENDING LANGUAGE: ______________________________________________]

ARTICLE 4 — REPUBLICATION

By executing this Codicil, I republish and re-execute the Will, as amended by this Codicil and by any prior codicil that remains in effect, as of the date of this Codicil. All provisions of the Will not changed by this Codicil are confirmed and shall remain in full force and effect.

ARTICLE 5 — EXECUTION

I, [TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME], declare to the undersigned authority that I sign and execute this instrument as a Codicil to my Last Will and Testament, that I sign it willingly (or willingly direct another to sign for me), that I am of sound mind, and that I execute it as my free and voluntary act for the purposes expressed herein.

____________________________________
[TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME], Testator
Date: [__/__/____]

ARTICLE 6 — ATTESTATION

We, the undersigned witnesses, sign our names to this Codicil in the presence of the Testator and at the Testator's request. We each affirm that the Testator signed (or acknowledged the Testator's signature on) this Codicil in our presence, that the Testator appears to be eighteen (18) years of age or older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence, and that each of us signs within a reasonable time after witnessing the Testator's signing or acknowledgment, as required by N.D. Cent. Code § 30.1-08-02.

ARTICLE 7 — SELF-PROVING AFFIDAVIT

(N.D. Cent. Code § 30.1-08-04)

STATE OF NORTH DAKOTA
COUNTY OF [COUNTY]

I, [TESTATOR NAME], the testator, sign my name to this instrument this [____] day of [MONTH], [YEAR], and being first sworn, declare to the undersigned authority that I sign and execute this instrument as a codicil to my will and that I sign it willingly or willingly direct another to sign for me, that I execute it as my free and voluntary act for the purposes therein expressed, and that I am 18 years of age or older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.

____________________________________
[TESTATOR NAME], Testator

We, [WITNESS #1 NAME] and [WITNESS #2 NAME], the witnesses, sign our names to this instrument, and being first sworn, declare to the undersigned authority that the testator signs and executes this instrument as the testator's codicil and that the testator signs it willingly or willingly directs another to sign for the testator, and that each of us, in the presence and hearing of the testator, signs this codicil as witness to the testator's signing, and that to the best of our knowledge the testator is 18 years of age or older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.

____________________________________
[WITNESS #1 NAME], Witness

____________________________________
[WITNESS #2 NAME], Witness

Subscribed, sworn to, and acknowledged before me by [TESTATOR NAME], the testator, and subscribed and sworn to before me by [WITNESS #1 NAME] and [WITNESS #2 NAME], witnesses, this [____] day of [MONTH], [YEAR].

(SEAL)

____________________________________
Notary Public for the State of North Dakota
My Commission Expires: __________________

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• N.D. Cent. Code § 30.1-08-02 (Execution): https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t30-1c08.pdf
• N.D. Cent. Code § 30.1-08-04 (Self-proved will): https://law.justia.com/codes/north-dakota/title-30-1/chapter-30-1-08/
• N.D. Cent. Code § 30.1-01-06 (Definitions — "will" includes codicil): https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t30-1c01.pdf
• N.D. Cent. Code § 30.1-08-07 (Revocation): https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t30-1c08.pdf