I Did a Will Years Ago and Need to Make Changes. How Do I Do That?

If you’re looking at a will that’s a few years old, you might see things you want to change. The natural inclination is to scratch what no longer makes sense and write in a new direction. This is not permitted in Minnesota. How is a probate judge supposed to know that someone else didn’t find your will and scratch out the parts they didn’t like? In order to be recognized, changes must be done in the same way the will was done in the first place, most importantly by having two disinterested people witness the change. One option is a codicil, or amendment, to the will. This works well for straightforward changes like who serves as personal representative. If there are a lot of changes to be made or if you don’t want interested people to later on find out you made a change, you should consider doing a brand new will. If your old will doesn’t reflect your current intent, speak with a licensed attorney to make sure your changes are recognized.