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It is important to create a Will that accurately depicts your final wishes. However, just because you create a Will does not mean that it is permanent. In fact, it is perfectly reasonable and advisable to change or revoke a Will that is no longer accurate or that no longer reflects your wishes.
Our experienced lawyers can help you with the revocation of a Will in Woodstock. Our team at Nelson Elder Care Law can help locate existing Wills, explain your options for revocation, and guide you through the process in a way that leaves no doubt concerning your intentions.
Wills represent your wishes at a specific moment in time. They should declare what you want to happen to your assets on the date that you sign the document. Naturally, these wishes may change over time. For example, if you and your spouse divorced, you may wish to update your Will to remove them as a beneficiary.
In addition, positive changes in life can also motivate a revocation. Perhaps you have additional children or acquire new property. Making additions to a Will to provide for the future of these children or to more accurately reflect your financial situation are also valid reasons to make changes. In short, any time that a major life event occurs, or you acquire new assets can justify revoking your current Will. Our attorneys in Woodstock could help to determine whether a Will revocation is necessary or advisable.
The methods for revoking a Will are a matter of Georgia law. State statutes provide the exact means by which a party may revoke their Will and determines the legal effect of these actions. According to the Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 53-4-44, a party may revoke a will by any destruction or obliteration of the document. This can include tearing, burning, stamping the document with “VOID,” or any other method of destruction. This is called an express revocation.
However, it is also possible to revoke a Will through an implied revocation. Under O.C.G.A. § 53-4-42, creating a second Will that contains different terms than an older will implies the revocation of the previous version. This is because you may only have one Will in effect at any time, and the law presumes that the most recently dated Will is that document. Our lawyers at Nelson Elder Care Law can provide guidance through the Will revocation process.
There are many reasons to revoke a Will. Life circumstances may change in a way that motivates you to change your heirs, or a new acquisition of property has made an older document unclear as to the rights of your heirs.
In any event, revoking a Will requires an understanding of state law. Our team can help determine if the revocation of a Will in Woodstock is necessary and provide guidance throughout the process. Call today to get started.
