- Law. A supplement or appendix to a will.
- A supplement or appendix.
[Middle English, from Old French codicille, from Latin cōdicillus, diminutive of cōdex, cōdic-, codex. See codex.]
codicillary cod'i·cil'la·ry (kŏd'ə-sĭl'ə-rē) adj.
Dictionary:
cod·i·cil (kŏd'ə-sĭl) ![]() |
[Middle English, from Old French codicille, from Latin cōdicillus, diminutive of cōdex, cōdic-, codex. See codex.]
codicillary cod'i·cil'la·ry (kŏd'ə-sĭl'ə-rē) adj.| 5min Related Video: codicil |
| Business Dictionary: Codicil |
Supplement to a Will, whose purpose is to add to, subtract from, or qualify, modify, or revoke the provisions of a prior will.
| Law Encyclopedia: Codicil |
A document that is executed by a person who had previously made his or her will, to modify, delete, qualify, or revoke provisions contained in it.
A codicil effectuates a change in an existing will without requiring that the will be reexecuted. The maker of the codicil identifies the will that is to be changed by the date of its execution. The codicil should state that the will is affirmed except for the changes contained therein. The same formalities that are necessary for the valid execution of a will must be observed when a codicil is executed. Failure to do so renders the codicil void.
| Wikipedia: Codicil (will) |
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A codicil is a document that amends, rather than replaces, a previously executed will. Amendments made by a codicil may add or revoke small provisions (e.g., changing executors), or may completely change the majority, or all, of the gifts under the will. Each codicil must conform to the same legal requirements as the original will, such as the signatures of the testator and, typically, two or three (depending on the jurisdiction) disinterested witnesses.
When confronted with testamentary writings executed after the date of the original will, a probate court may need to decipher whether the document is a codicil or a new will. As a rule of thumb, if the second document does not make a complete disposition of the testator’s property and does not revoke the will in its entirety, it will be presumed to be a codicil.
In some jurisdictions, acting as a witness to the execution of the codicil may invalidate a gift to a beneficiary under the original will.
As an alternative to a codicil, a testator may modify a Last Will & Testament by writing a new, dated will revoking any previous wills and codicils. With the advent of word-processors this is now becoming recommended practice (as suggested by the international specialist body in this field, STEP) even for relatively minor changes to avoid the difficulties of interpretation which can arise from a chain of (possibly mutually inconsistent) codicils. Particular difficulties in interpreting chains of codicils arise in jurisdictions such as England and Wales which do not require wills or codicils to be dated (although this is common practice).
In completion of a codicil, a form must be created specifying the modifications to the existing last will and testament. As with a last will and testament, it is necessary to witness amendments to the will since they may override the relevant sections of the original will.
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| Translations: Codicil |
Dansk (Danish)
n. - tillægsbestemmelse til testamente
Français (French)
n. - codicille
Deutsch (German)
n. - Kodizill, Testamentsnachtrag, Anhang
Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - (νομ.) κωδίκελος, παράρτημα, συμπλήρωμα
Português (Portuguese)
n. - cláusula (f) adicional
Русский (Russian)
дополнение к завещанию
Español (Spanish)
n. - codicilo
Svenska (Swedish)
n. - kodicill
中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
遗嘱的附录, 附录
中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 遺囑的附錄, 附錄
日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 遺言補足書, 追加条項, 付録
العربيه (Arabic)
(الاسم) ملحق لوصيه
עברית (Hebrew)
n. - נספח לצוואה
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| Republication |
| Is an executor require to show a codicil and all amendments to the codicil to the trustees? | |
| Where can you find a format for a codicil to a will? | |
| Can a codicil be made without a lawyer? |
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