Codicil to Last Will & Testament - Washington

CODICIL TO LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

1. Testator and Existing Will

I, [TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME], declare:

1. I am at least 18 years old and of sound mind.
2. My Last Will and Testament is dated [DATE] (the “Will”).
3. My prior codicils, if any, are dated [DATES OR “NONE”].
4. This instrument is my [FIRST / SECOND / OTHER] Codicil to the Will.

RCW 11.02.005(2) defines a codicil as a will that modifies or partially revokes an existing earlier will. A codicil need not refer to or be attached to the earlier will, but this form identifies the Will to reduce ambiguity.

2. Review Before Amendment

Before signing, counsel and the Testator should compare the proposed change against:

☐ The complete signed Will and every prior codicil

☐ Current marriage or state registered domestic-partnership status

☐ Any dissolution, invalidation, or termination after the Will, because RCW 11.12.051 may revoke provisions favoring or empowering a former spouse or former domestic partner

☐ Separate, community, and quasi-community property characterization

☐ Beneficiary designations and other nonprobate transfers

☐ Survivorship, lapse, alternate-gift, residue, trust, tax, and fiduciary provisions that may interact with the change

☐ Whether a complete new will would be clearer than another codicil

Under RCW 26.16.030(1), neither spouse or domestic partner may devise or bequeath by will more than one-half of the community property. This form does not classify any asset or decide which share is testamentary.

3. Amendment

Use one complete, counsel-reviewed amendment. Identify the exact provision and state the full replacement or addition; do not rely on an informal summary.

Option A — Replace a Provision

I revoke [EXACT ARTICLE / SECTION / PARAGRAPH OF THE WILL OR PRIOR CODICIL] and replace it in full with:

[INSERT THE COMPLETE REPLACEMENT PROVISION]

Option B — Add a Provision

I add the following as [NEW ARTICLE / SECTION / PARAGRAPH]:

[INSERT THE COMPLETE NEW PROVISION]

Option C — Revoke Without Replacement

I revoke [EXACT ARTICLE / SECTION / PARAGRAPH] without replacement.

Counsel must state the resulting disposition or effect:

[STATE WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE REVOCATION, INCLUDING ANY ALTERNATE, LAPSE, RESIDUARY, TRUST, OR FIDUCIARY CONSEQUENCE]

Do not assume that a revoked gift automatically passes under a residue clause or that a replacement name alone preserves every condition, power, bond term, trust term, or alternate appointment in the original provision.

4. Confirmation of Unchanged Provisions

Except for the amendment stated in Section 3 and any unavoidable legal effect of that amendment, I confirm the remaining provisions of the Will and prior codicils that are not inconsistent with this Codicil.

This clause expresses testamentary intent; it does not declare that every provision of the Will is legally “re-executed” on the date of this Codicil.

5. Testator's Signature

I sign this Codicil on [DATE] at [CITY, STATE] and declare it to be a Codicil to my Will.

____________________________________

[TESTATOR FULL LEGAL NAME], Testator

6. Witness Attestation

RCW 11.12.020 requires a written will signed by the testator—or by another person under the testator's direction in the testator's presence or electronic presence—and attested by two or more competent witnesses. Each witness must subscribe the witness's name to the will, or sign a compliant affidavit, while in the testator's presence or electronic presence and at the testator's direction or request.

This form uses a physical-presence, witness-signature route. It does not require the witnesses to sign in each other's presence, and it does not attempt to implement the separate electronic-will statutes in RCW 11.12.400 through 11.12.491.

We declare that the Testator signed this Codicil, or acknowledged the Testator's signature, in our presence; declared the instrument to be a Codicil; and directed or requested that we sign as witnesses. Based on our observations, the Testator appeared to be acting voluntarily and to be of sound mind.

Witness 1

Signature: ____________________________________

Printed name: [NAME]

Address: [ADDRESS]

Date: [DATE]

Witness 2

Signature: ____________________________________

Printed name: [NAME]

Address: [ADDRESS]

Date: [DATE]

Interested-Witness Check

☐ Neither witness receives a gift under the Will as amended.

☐ A witness may receive a gift. Washington counsel has reviewed RCW 11.12.160, including its rebuttable presumption when fewer than two other subscribing witnesses are disinterested.

7. Optional Attesting-Witness Affidavits

RCW 11.20.020(2) permits any or all attesting witnesses, at the Testator's request or after death at the request of the executor or another interested person, to make an affidavit before a person authorized to administer oaths stating the facts the witness would have to prove in court. The affidavit may be written on, affixed to, or logically associated with the will or a copy.

The affidavits below are for the attesting witnesses. The statute does not require the Testator to be an affiant. An affidavit addressing this Codicil should not be represented as independently proving execution of the earlier Will unless the affiant can truthfully establish the necessary facts for that document.

Witness 1 Affidavit

State of [STATE]

County of [COUNTY]

I, [WITNESS 1 NAME], being duly sworn, state that I am an attesting witness to this Codicil and that the facts stated in Section 6 concerning execution and attestation are true based on my personal knowledge.

____________________________________

[WITNESS 1 NAME]

Signed and sworn before me on [DATE].

____________________________________

[NOTARIAL OFFICER / TITLE / SEAL]

Witness 2 Affidavit

State of [STATE]

County of [COUNTY]

I, [WITNESS 2 NAME], being duly sworn, state that I am an attesting witness to this Codicil and that the facts stated in Section 6 concerning execution and attestation are true based on my personal knowledge.

____________________________________

[WITNESS 2 NAME]

Signed and sworn before me on [DATE].

____________________________________

[NOTARIAL OFFICER / TITLE / SEAL]

8. Execution and Safekeeping Checklist

☐ No blank dispositive, fiduciary, beneficiary, asset, or date field remains

☐ The exact Will and prior codicils were reviewed together

☐ The amendment's effect on residue, alternates, trusts, taxes, and fiduciary powers was stated expressly

☐ Two competent witnesses completed the selected execution route

☐ Interested-witness consequences were reviewed

☐ The original Codicil will be kept with the original Will under the safekeeping plan: [PLAN]

☐ Copies are marked as copies and the location of the original is recorded

Official Sources

• RCW 11.02.005 — Definitions
• RCW 11.12.010 — Who may make a will
• RCW 11.12.020 — Requisites of wills
• RCW 11.12.051 — Dissolution or termination
• RCW 11.12.160 — Interested witness
• RCW 11.20.020 — Proof and witness affidavits
• RCW 26.16.030 — Community property management and testamentary limit