Also known as: expressly revoke · expressly revoking · expressly revoked · explicit revocation
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A method of revoking a prior will through a subsequent writing that contains a clear statement of intent to revoke the earlier instrument. The subsequent writing must satisfy the Wills Act formalities to be effective. Express revocation operates independently of any inconsistency between the two instruments.
Elliot Edmonds executed a will in 2018 leaving his estate to his siblings. In 2022 he executed a new will that opened with the statement I hereby revoke all prior wills and codicils and then left everything to a charity. After Elliot's death the 2022 will is offered for probate. The express revocation clause renders the 2018 will inoperative even though the two documents could have been read together without contradiction.
Emanuel Escobar signed a 2015 will naming his niece as sole beneficiary. In 2020 he signed a new will that stated it revoked every earlier testamentary instrument and named a friend as beneficiary. The 2020 will is admitted to probate. The express revocation language eliminates any need to compare the dispositive provisions of the two documents.
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Express revocation occurs when the later writing contains a clear statement of intent to revoke the prior will. Revocation by inconsistency occurs only when the later will lacks such a statement and the two instruments cannot be reconciled. The Uniform Probate Code treats the two methods as distinct routes to revocation.
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Yes. A document executed with Wills Act formalities that contains only an express revocation clause qualifies as a valid will and effectively revokes the prior instrument.
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No. The clause operates regardless of whether the later will makes a complete disposition. The statute focuses on the presence of the revocation language itself.
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