Codicil to Last Will & Testament

CODICIL TO LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

of
[FULL LEGAL NAME OF TESTATOR]

(Prepared for use under Pennsylvania law – 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. §§ 2502, 3132, 3132.1)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Article 1 – Identification and the Will Being Amended
2. Article 2 – Declaration; Will Remains in Force
3. Article 3 – Amending Provisions
4. Article 4 – Republication
5. Article 5 – Execution
6. Self-Proving Acknowledgment and Affidavit (20 Pa. C.S. § 3132.1)

ARTICLE 1

IDENTIFICATION AND THE WILL BEING AMENDED

1.1 Declaration. I, [FULL LEGAL NAME], presently residing at [ADDRESS, COUNTY, COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA], being of sound mind and over the age of 18 years, make, publish, and 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), 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 free of duress, menace, fraud, or undue influence, and this Codicil expresses my testamentary intent as to the matters addressed herein.

ARTICLE 2

DECLARATION; WILL REMAINS IN FORCE

2.1 I 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]]. Any property that was the subject of a revoked specific bequest shall pass under the Residuary Estate 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, devise, and bequeath [$[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 by the Survival Period stated in the Will. If this beneficiary does not so 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 Executor

☐ I revoke the nomination of Executor in the Will and nominate [NEW PRIMARY EXECUTOR NAME], of [ADDRESS], as Executor of my estate. If that person is unable or unwilling to serve, I nominate [ALTERNATE EXECUTOR NAME]. ☐ No bond or other security shall be required. ☐ Bond shall be required.

(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 [ALTERNATE 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 sign this Codicil at the end on this [____] day of [MONTH], 20___, at [CITY], Pennsylvania.

__________________________________
[TESTATOR NAME], Testator

SELF-PROVING ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AFFIDAVIT

(Pursuant to 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3132.1)

Acknowledgment

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (or State of ____________)
County of ____________

I, [TESTATOR NAME], the testator whose name is signed to the attached or foregoing instrument, having been duly qualified according to law, do hereby acknowledge that I signed and executed the instrument as a Codicil to my Last Will; and that I signed it willingly and as my free and voluntary act for the purposes therein expressed.

Sworn to or affirmed and acknowledged before me by [TESTATOR NAME], the testator, this [____] day of [MONTH], 20___.

__________________________________
(Testator)

__________________________________
(Signature of officer or attorney)
(Seal and official capacity of officer or state of admission of attorney)

Affidavit

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (or State of ____________)
County of ____________

We, [WITNESS #1 NAME] and [WITNESS #2 NAME], the witnesses whose names are signed to the attached or foregoing instrument, being duly qualified according to law, do depose and say that we were present and saw the testator sign and execute the instrument as a Codicil to the testator's Last Will; that the testator signed willingly and executed it as the testator's free and voluntary act for the purposes therein expressed; that each subscribing witness in the hearing and sight of the testator signed the Codicil as a witness; and that to the best of our knowledge the testator was at that time 18 or more years of age, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.

Sworn to or affirmed and subscribed before me by [WITNESS #1 NAME] and [WITNESS #2 NAME], witnesses, this [____] day of [MONTH], 20___.

__________________________________
Witness

__________________________________
Witness

__________________________________
(Signature of officer or attorney)
(Seal and official capacity of officer or state of admission of attorney)

SOURCES AND REFERENCES

• 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2502 (Form and execution of a will): https://law.justia.com/codes/pennsylvania/title-20/chapter-25/section-2502/
• 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3132.1 (Self-proved wills): https://law.justia.com/codes/pennsylvania/title-20/chapter-31/section-3132-1/
• 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3132 (Proof of wills): https://www.palegis.us/statutes/consolidated/view-statute?txtType=HTM&ttl=20&div=0&chapter=31
• 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 102 (Definitions — "will" includes codicil): https://www.palegis.us/statutes/consolidated/view-statute?txtType=HTM&ttl=20&div=0&chapter=1
• 20 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 2505 (Revocation of a will or codicil): https://law.justia.com/codes/pennsylvania/title-20/chapter-25/section-2505/