There could be any number of reasons why you might want to amend your will. Possibly you have changed your mind about who your beneficiaries will be, or you have added significant assets to your estate and must change your will to reflect your changing situation.
At one time, it was common for people to simply go to an attorney and have their will amended to reflect the changes that they wanted, but today this is no longer practical for many reasons. The first being that the laws change on a constant basis and a will that was drafted years ago will not likely reflect the changes in law. If you must change your will, it only makes sense that you will want to accommodate the changes in law as well.
Another reason why an amendment may be a bad idea is that a will with too many changes may have problems when it comes to probate. It can create significant problems if the probate court has difficulty deciphering what the deceased wanted due to the fact that there have been so many amendments that the entire will is unclear.
In addition, the cost of drafting a new will may not be significantly more than an amendment, especially if you must make changes to reflect the changes in law. With there being little difference in cost, it doesn’t make a lot of sense to make amendments to your will, as opposed to drafting a new one. When you draft a new will, you can be sure that it reflects any changes in law, and it will clearly state what your last wishes are.
Drafting a new will could save your family a lot of expense and headache later. If there are changes that you feel need to be included in your will, it is best to contact an attorney experienced in estate planning and probate law to find out if it would be in your best interest to draft a new will.
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