A codicil is a legal document that is separate to your Will. It allows minor amendments or additions to be made to an existing will and sits alongside the existing will.

Traditionally a codicil would be prepared to deal with simple alterations such as changing the executors or changing the amount of money a beneficiary would receive; for example reducing a legacy from £5000 to £2000. The use of codicils was particularly prevalent when Wills were handwritten as a codicil saved the time and expense associated with writing out an entirely new Will to include a relatively minor amendment. This rationale is now increasingly redundant where solicitors prepare Wills using computers making the actual drafting much less laborious. As such it usually makes sense for the solicitor to prepare a new Will as there are risks associated with codicils.

 Some of the potential pitfalls of making a codicil include:

  • As the codicil is a separate legal document there is a risk of the codicil being separated from the Will and the contents of the codicil being ignored and the unaltered terms of the Will being carried out instead (this risk reduces where solicitors prepare and hold both the Will and any codicils). This problem is exacerbated where there are two or more codicils in addition to the existing Will, multiple codicils also run the risk of contradicting each other or the existing Will.
  • Where the change is perceived to be only a minor change there can be the temptation for a homemade codicil to be prepared. However, it should always be remembered that however small the change a codicil must still be signed and witnessed in the same way as the existing Will. If the formalities of the Wills Act 1837 are not complied with, then the codicil could be declared invalid.
  • Even if a homemade codicil is technically valid, it might not achieve the desired result if the wording used is incorrect or ambiguous. There could also be problems when the Executors try to deal with deceased’s estate in accordance with the Will and codicil.

If in doubt you should always seek legal advice regarding the terms of your existing Will. The process of having your existing Will reviewed often uncovers other, more important, changes that need making in addition to the changes you hope to make under a codicil.  Conversely, upon the Will being reviewed, it might well become apparent that the original Will actually addresses an unfortunate change in circumstances, e.g. a beneficiary pre-deceasing would usually be covered by a professionally drafted Will.

At Timms solicitors we can advise whether your existing Will actually needs to be changed to fit your current wishes and circumstances and if changes are required whether a new Will or a codicil would be appropriate.

For further information regarding this blog or if you have a Wills or Probate related problem, please contact me Matthew Kelly at m.kelly@timms-law.com or on 01283 214231.