UK Codicil Template | Wills Act 1837 Compliant

A codicil is a testamentary document that alters, adds to, or partially revokes an existing will. It does not stand alone. It reads as part of the will it amends, so the two documents are interpreted together as a single expression of your wishes. That is the practical difference between a codicil and a new will: a fresh will revokes everything before it, whereas a codicil surgically edits one or two provisions and leaves the rest untouched.

People reach for a codicil when the change is small and self-contained. Swapping an executor who has died or moved abroad, increasing a cash legacy, adding a grandchild born since the will was signed, or naming a different guardian after a relationship breakdown are all classic examples. What a codicil should not do is attempt a wholesale restructure. If you are rewriting the residuary distribution, excluding several beneficiaries, or reworking a trust, a new will is safer, because layered codicils create ambiguity that surfaces at probate when nobody can reconcile the versions. There is no legal cap on the number of codicils you can make, but each additional one multiplies the risk of internal contradiction. As a rule of thumb, one codicil is sensible, two is the ceiling, and beyond that you should be drafting afresh. If your underlying will needs replacing entirely, our last will and testament template for England and Wales is the better starting point.

A codicil is governed by the same statute as the will it amends: the Wills Act 1837, as substituted by section 17 of the Administration of Justice Act 1982. The single most important provision is section 9, which sets out the execution formalities. The codicil must be in writing, signed by the testator (or by another person in the testator's presence and at the testator's direction), and it must appear that the testator intended by that signature to give effect to the document. The signature must then be made or acknowledged in the presence of two witnesses present at the same time, and each witness must attest and sign in the presence of the testator. These are not stylistic preferences. A codicil that fails section 9 is void, and the will it was meant to amend simply continues in its original form.

The witness rules deserve special attention. Under section 15 of the Wills Act 1837, if a beneficiary (or that beneficiary's spouse or civil partner) witnesses the codicil, the gift to them fails, even though the codicil itself stays valid. Never let anyone who benefits under the codicil act as a witness. Use two independent adults with no financial interest in the estate. The temporary pandemic rules that briefly allowed witnessing by video link have expired, so physical presence is now required again.

Two further sections shape how codicils behave. Section 20 governs revocation, meaning a codicil can itself be revoked by a later will, a later codicil, or by destruction with intent. Section 34 deals with the interaction between the codicil and the earlier will, confirming that a properly executed codicil is read into the will. For the statutory wording itself, the authoritative source is the legislation.gov.uk text of section 9 of the Wills Act 1837. If capacity or mental soundness is even slightly in question at the time of signing, that is a separate hurdle the codicil must clear, and it is worth documenting the circumstances of execution.

The most frequent trigger is a change of executor. The person you originally named may have died, emigrated, fallen out with the family, or simply no longer be willing to serve. Rather than redraft the whole will, a codicil substitutes the new appointment cleanly. Closely related is the revised gift or legacy: you want to raise a cash bequest, add a specific item like a piece of jewellery or a car, or leave something to a charity or friend who was not in the original document. A codicil records the addition without disturbing the residuary estate.

Family change accounts for much of the rest. A grandchild born after the will was signed, a new son-in-law or daughter-in-law you want to include, or the removal of a beneficiary after estrangement can all be handled through a codicil, provided the change is discrete rather than a full redistribution. Parents of young children often use a codicil to update the appointment of a guardian, typically after a separation or the death of the person first named. If you have minor children, our property and financial affairs LPA template is worth reviewing alongside your will, since the two documents address different moments of your life.

One edge case worth flagging: a codicil can be used to revive a gift that was accidentally voided when a beneficiary witnessed the original will, provided that beneficiary does not also witness the codicil. Another is the "confirmation" codicil, which republishes an existing will and can update its effective date for interpretation purposes. Both are technical uses that reward precise drafting rather than a generic template filled in carelessly.

• The codicil heading and identification clause names you in full, states your address, and identifies the exact will being amended by its date of execution. This is the anchor that ties the two documents together. A codicil that fails to identify its parent will with precision invites a dispute at probate about which will it modifies, particularly if you have made earlier wills.

• The amendment provisions are drafted in the operative language courts expect, using verbs like revoke, substitute, and add rather than loose description. Each change references the specific clause number of the original will it alters, so an executor reading both documents side by side can apply the edit without guesswork. Vague phrasing such as "I want to change my executor" is replaced by a clause that names the outgoing and incoming executors explicitly.

• The confirmation clause states that, save for the amendments made, you confirm and republish your original will in all other respects. This is the provision that keeps the untouched parts of your will fully effective and prevents any argument that the codicil impliedly revoked more than it should have.

• The attestation clause reproduces the section 9 formalities in the recital form that raises the presumption of due execution. It records that you signed in the presence of two witnesses present at the same time, and that each of them signed in your presence. Because a properly worded attestation clause shifts the evidential burden at probate, this single paragraph does a great deal of protective work.

• The witness details block captures each witness's full name, address and occupation, which is the information the Probate Registry may need if execution is later questioned. Keeping this with the codicil saves your executors from having to track witnesses down years afterwards.

This template is drafted for wills governed by the law of England and Wales, where the Wills Act 1837 and the Administration of Justice Act 1982 set the execution rules. The section 9 formalities, the two-witness requirement, and the section 15 rule voiding gifts to witnessing beneficiaries all apply uniformly across these two jurisdictions, so there is no internal variation to worry about between, say, London and Cardiff.

Northern Ireland follows substantially the same execution framework. The Wills Act 1837 extends there, and the two-witness rule and beneficiary-witness prohibition operate in the same way, which is why this codicil is suitable for Northern Irish wills as well. The practical machinery of probate is administered separately through the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service, so while the codicil's validity turns on the same statute, the administration of the estate afterwards runs through a different registry.

Scotland is the important exception. Scots succession law is a separate legal system built on different principles, and the concept of a codicil operates under Scottish rather than Wills Act 1837 rules, including distinct requirements around subscription and, historically, self-proving arrangements. Scotland also recognises legal rights (legitim) that protect certain family members from disinheritance in a way English law does not. Do not use an England and Wales codicil for a Scottish will. If your original will was made under Scots law, you need a document drafted specifically for that jurisdiction. When in doubt about which law governs your will, check the will itself, since a well-drafted will states its governing law on its face. For estate-related debts and money matters that sit outside the will, our private loan agreement template for individuals covers a common adjacent need.

You start by entering your full legal name and current address, then the date your original will was signed, which is the detail that links the codicil to the correct document. From there the template asks what you want to change, and you select the type of amendment: replacing an executor, adjusting or adding a gift, changing a guardian, or another discrete alteration. For each change you identify the clause of the original will affected and state the new provision in plain terms, and the template converts that into the operative revoke-and-substitute language.

The confirmation clause is generated automatically, so the parts of your will you are not touching remain fully effective. The final section produces the attestation clause and the witness blocks. You do not sign at this stage. You print the finished codicil, then sign it in front of two independent adult witnesses who are present at the same time, after which each of them signs in your presence. Once complete, store the codicil physically with your original will, because the two must be read together, and tell your executor where both documents are kept. The whole process takes minutes, and you can browse the full range of UK personal legal document templates if you need related paperwork.

The error that voids more codicils than any other is faulty witnessing. People sign at the kitchen table alone, then ask a neighbour to "witness it later", which breaks the section 9 rule that both witnesses must be present at the same time as the signature. Just as damaging is letting a beneficiary witness the document, because section 15 then wipes out that person's gift while leaving the rest of the codicil intact, an outcome that quietly defeats the very change you were trying to make. Always use two independent adults who take nothing under the will or the codicil.

The second cluster of mistakes is about drafting and storage. Failing to identify the original will by its exact date creates confusion about which document is being amended, especially where earlier wills exist. Attempting too much through a codicil is another trap: if you are effectively rewriting the estate, layered amendments contradict each other and you should make a new will instead. Storing the codicil separately from the will, or not telling your executor it exists, means the amendment may never surface during probate. Finally, altering the codicil after signing by crossing words out or writing in the margin has no effect unless the alteration is itself executed with section 9 formalities under section 21 of the Act. If you need to change something after signing, draft a fresh codicil rather than defacing the one you have.