To amend a will in Texas, you have two legal options: sign a codicil that modifies specific provisions, or sign a new will that revokes the old one. Both documents must be executed with the same formalities as the original will, which means a written document, your signature, and two credible witnesses age 14 or older who sign in your presence.1State of Texas. Texas Estates Code Chapter 251 – Fundamental Requirements and Provisions Relating to Wills Skip any of those steps and the change may not hold up in probate.
Codicil or New Will
A codicil is the right tool for a narrow change: swapping one beneficiary, naming a different executor, adjusting a single bequest. It references the original will and modifies only the provisions it names, leaving everything else intact.
A new will makes more sense when you have multiple changes, when your life circumstances have shifted substantially, or when codicils have started to pile up. A probate court reading an original plus two or three codicils has to reconcile several documents to figure out what you meant. One clean replacement avoids that. Both methods are equally valid under Texas law so long as the execution requirements are met.
Signing a Codicil
A codicil must be in writing, signed by you (or by someone else at your direction and in your presence), and witnessed by at least two credible witnesses who are 14 or older. The witnesses sign in your presence, and you sign in theirs. Everyone should be in the same room for the full signing.1State of Texas. Texas Estates Code Chapter 251 – Fundamental Requirements and Provisions Relating to Wills
The text of the codicil needs to identify the original will, usually by the date you signed it, and spell out exactly which provisions are being changed, added, or removed. Vague language is the main source of trouble. “I want my sister to get more” tells the court nothing about what she gets or which earlier bequest it replaces.
The Self-Proving Affidavit
After signing, you and your witnesses can appear before a notary and sign a self-proving affidavit, which the notary seals and attaches to the codicil. A self-proved document can be admitted to probate without calling the witnesses to testify, which matters if years pass and a witness has moved, died, or become hard to locate.1State of Texas. Texas Estates Code Chapter 251 – Fundamental Requirements and Provisions Relating to Wills Self-proving status does not lock you in; you can still amend or revoke the document later.
Signing a New Will
A new will must satisfy the same execution rules as a codicil. It should also include an explicit revocation clause, a sentence stating that it revokes all prior wills and codicils. Without that clause, a court may try to read both documents together, and contradictions between them can send your estate into a dispute.
Texas law allows a prior will to be revoked by a later will, codicil, or written declaration executed with the same formalities, or by physically destroying the old document.2State of Texas. Texas Estates Code 253.002 – Revocation of Will If someone else destroys it, that has to happen in your presence and at your direction. Intent matters. Losing a will does not revoke it, and tearing one up in anger does revoke it if that was your purpose. The safest practice when replacing an old will is to include the revocation clause in the new one and then destroy the old document so no one accidentally submits it.
The Holographic Option
Texas recognizes holographic wills and codicils, meaning documents written entirely in your own handwriting. A holographic document needs no witnesses.1State of Texas. Texas Estates Code Chapter 251 – Fundamental Requirements and Provisions Relating to Wills
This is where amendments go wrong most often. Writing changes in the margin of a typed will does not create a valid holographic codicil, because the document is no longer wholly in your handwriting. If you want to use this route, write the codicil on a separate page, entirely by hand, identify the will it modifies, and state the change clearly. A holographic amendment cannot be made self-proving, so your handwriting will have to be verified in probate court.
Changes That Happen Automatically
Two common life events change your will under Texas law without any action on your part. Knowing about them helps you decide whether a formal amendment is even necessary.
Divorce or Annulment
If your marriage ends after you sign your will, Texas treats your former spouse and your former spouse’s relatives (who are not also your relatives) as though they died before you. Every provision in the will that benefits them, including fiduciary roles like executor, is read as if they predeceased you.3State of Texas. Texas Estates Code 123.001 – Will Provisions Made Before Dissolution of Marriage You do not have to file anything.
There is an exception for wills that expressly keep the ex-spouse in place despite a divorce. And the automatic rule has a limit: it removes the ex-spouse but does not reshuffle the rest of the plan. If your ex was your primary beneficiary, their share passes under whatever alternates exist, and the estate may end up partially intestate. Updating the will after a divorce is still the right move.
A Child Born or Adopted After You Signed
A child born or adopted after you execute your will, and not mentioned or provided for in it, is a “pretermitted child.” Texas gives that child a share of your estate carved out of what you left to other beneficiaries. If the will already provides for other children, the pretermitted child receives a share equal to theirs.4State of Texas. Texas Estates Code Chapter 255 – Construction and Interpretation of Wills The cleaner approach is to amend the will when a new child joins the family, even if the statutory default would produce roughly the result you want.
Handling Sensitive Changes
Some amendments need extra care in how they are drafted.
Disinheriting an heir. Name the person you are cutting out, state plainly that the exclusion is intentional, and make sure the rest of the estate is fully distributed so no gap suggests an oversight. A codicil can do this if the rest of the will stays intact, but a new will is often cleaner.
No-contest clauses. Texas enforces forfeiture clauses that strip a beneficiary who challenges the will, but a beneficiary who proves just cause and good faith avoids forfeiture.5State of Texas. Texas Estates Code Chapter 254 – Certain Provisions in and Contracts Relating to Wills If your amendment reduces someone’s share or disinherits them, think about whether the existing clause is strong enough or whether you want to strengthen it.
Community property. Texas is a community property state. You can only dispose of your half of community property plus all of your separate property (what you owned before the marriage, inherited, or received as a gift). Writing bequests that reach into your spouse’s half creates problems in probate.
You Must Have Capacity When You Sign
To make or amend a Texas will you must be of sound mind, and at least 18, currently or previously married, or a member of the armed forces.1State of Texas. Texas Estates Code Chapter 251 – Fundamental Requirements and Provisions Relating to Wills Sound mind generally means you understand what you own, who your natural beneficiaries are, what distributing property through a will means, and how those pieces come together.
Capacity is measured at the moment you sign. Someone with early-stage dementia may have capacity on a good day; someone heavily medicated at the signing may not. If capacity is a plausible concern, a physician’s evaluation close to the signing date creates a contemporaneous record that helps if the amendment is later challenged.
Storing the Signed Document
The original signed codicil or will needs to be somewhere safe and reachable by your executor. Common options are a fireproof home safe, your attorney’s office, or a safe deposit box, though safe deposit boxes can create access delays if the bank requires a court order.
Texas also lets you deposit your will with the county clerk in your county of residence for a $5 fee. The clerk holds it and issues a certificate of deposit.6State of Texas. Texas Estates Code Chapter 252 – Safekeeping and Custody of Wills If you use the clerk and later amend, deposit the new document too and account for the earlier one so there is no confusion about which controls. Tell your executor and at least one trusted family member where the original is kept.
What It Costs
An attorney-drafted codicil or a simple replacement will generally runs in the range of several hundred dollars. Complex estates involving trusts, tax planning, or business interests cost more. A self-proving affidavit needs a notary, and Texas caps most notary fees at $10 per signature. The county clerk deposit is $5. A holographic codicil written in your own hand costs nothing to produce, though having an attorney review it before you finalize is worth considering.