Most people land on this page because something changed since they signed their will. A marriage, a divorce, a new grandchild, a death in the family, a falling-out with the person they named as executor. Wanting to change your will does not mean the original one was wrong. A will is meant to be updated as your life changes. The real risk is doing the update the wrong way, and ending up with a document a Georgia court will not honor.
Why You Might Need to Change Your Will
Life events are the most common reason people come back to an old will. A new child or grandchild who is not named. A beneficiary who died before you. A divorce. A move to Georgia from another state. An executor who is no longer able or willing to serve.
None of these require you to rewrite your entire will. Most single changes can be handled with a codicil. The exception is when several parts of your will need to change at once, which is covered further down this page. For a full look at how a will fits alongside a trust and other Georgia estate planning tools, see our estate planning overview.
What Is a Codicil, and When Should You Use One?
A codicil is a short legal document that amends your existing will. It names the will it is changing. It states the specific change. And it confirms every other part of the original will stays in effect.
Under O.C.G.A. § 53-4-20, a codicil must be signed and witnessed the same way as a will. Georgia law treats a codicil as a will for signing purposes. There is no shortcut version.
A codicil works well for a single, clear change, like swapping one beneficiary, naming a new executor, or adding a small gift. If you are changing more than one or two things, a new will is usually cleaner. For a full comparison of these two documents, see will vs. trust in Georgia.
The 4 Steps to Sign a Valid Codicil in Georgia
The process has four steps, and Georgia law is specific about each one.
1
Write Down the Exact Change
State exactly what you are changing. Reference the original will by its date. A vague codicil confuses your executor later, and that confusion is what leads to a probate dispute.
2
Sign the Codicil Yourself
You must sign the codicil yourself, or direct someone else to sign it in your presence. You must be mentally competent at the moment you sign. A codicil signed while incapacitated can be challenged and thrown out.
3
Sign in Front of Two Witnesses
Georgia requires two competent witnesses who watch you sign. Do not use a beneficiary of your will as a witness. A witness who also inherits under the will can create a legal conflict, one a Georgia court may have to sort out later.
4
Store It With Your Original Will
Keep the signed codicil together with your original will, in the same safe place. A codicil found separately, or not found at all, does not help your family. Tell your executor where both documents are.
When You Need a New Will Instead of a Codicil
A codicil is built for one change at a time. Stacking several codicils onto one will creates a paper trail that is easy to misread. Most estate planning attorneys recommend a new will once you need more than one or two changes.
A new will also makes more sense after a big life event. A divorce, a remarriage, or a move to Georgia from another state are common examples. In these cases, a codicil patched onto an old document is more likely to cause a conflict than solve one. If you do not have a will yet, or need a full rewrite, see our last will and testament service.
What If You Want to Cancel Your Will Completely?
Amending is different from canceling. Georgia allows two ways to cancel a will. You can physically destroy it, like tearing or burning it, with the clear intent to revoke it. Or you can sign a new will that states it cancels all prior wills. Some Georgia homeowners use a different tool instead of a will for their house, like a transfer on death deed, though that tool has its own rules and limits.
If you cancel your will and never replace it, Georgia’s default inheritance law decides who gets your property instead of you. That outcome is rarely what someone actually wants. If you plan to cancel an old will, have a new one ready to sign at the same time.
Mistakes That Get a Codicil Thrown Out
Using a beneficiary as a witness. This is the most common codicil mistake. It can void the gift to that witness, or invite a challenge to the whole document.
Only one witness instead of two. Georgia requires two witnesses for a codicil, the same as a will. One is not enough, no matter how the document is worded.
Writing changes directly on the original will. Crossing out a name or writing a note in the margin of your signed will is not a legal amendment. It can also raise questions about whether the whole will was tampered with.
Stacking too many codicils. Three or four codicils on one will is a sign it is time for a new will, not another codicil.
Forgetting to reference the original will by date. A codicil that does not clearly identify which will it amends can be hard for a probate court to connect to the right document.
Letting the codicil get separated from the original will. A codicil found apart from the will it amends can be treated during probate as if it never existed. Staple or clip it directly to the original and store both in the same place.
DIY Codicil or Attorney: What to Consider
A single, simple change is a small task. Updating one beneficiary’s name is far less work than writing a will from scratch. Many attorneys charge far less for a codicil than for a new will. To compare pricing across Georgia estate planning services, see our how much a will costs in Georgia.
The risk with a DIY codicil is precision. A codicil can fail if it conflicts with the original will, uses the wrong witness, or gets stored in the wrong place. A codicil that fails does not just fall back to your old wishes. It can create a dispute your family has to sort out in probate court instead of you.
