How can a will be revoked in Alaska?
Full Question:
My husband made a will when he was a bachelor. Now he wants to revoke the will and make a new one. How can a will be revoked in Alaska?
03/09/2017 |
Category: Wills and Es... ยป Revocation |
State: Alaska |
#33644
Answer:
- The testator may make a new will and specifically provide in the latest will his intention of revoking a part or whole of the old will.
- If the testator himself or by another person tears, burns, cancels, obliterates or destroys the will, then the will may be considered as revoked.
- A subsequent will may revoke the old will if it is inconsistent with the old will.
- A court order or a contract made either regard to the division of the marital property between a divorced couple, before or after the marriage, divorce, or annulment, the divorce or annulment of a marriage may also revoke the will.
- If a person kills the testator then his share in the will may be considered as forfeited.
Alaska Stat. § 13.12.507 :
“Revocation by writing or by act
(a) A will or a part of a will is revoked
(1) by executing a subsequent will that revokes the previous will or part expressly or by inconsistency; or
(2) by performing a revocatory act on the will, if the testator performed the act with the intent and for the purpose of revoking the will or part of the will or if another individual performed the act in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction; in this paragraph, "revocatory act on the will" includes burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating, or destroying the will or any part of it; a "revocatory act on the will" includes a burning, tearing, or canceling whether or not the burn, tear, or cancellation touched any of the words on the will.
(b) If a subsequent will does not expressly revoke a previous will, the execution of the subsequent will wholly revokes the previous will by inconsistency if the testator intended the subsequent will to replace rather than supplement the previous will.
(c) The testator is presumed to have intended a subsequent will to replace rather than supplement a previous will if the subsequent will makes a complete disposition of the testator's estate. If this presumption arises and is not rebutted by clear and convincing evidence, the previous will is revoked; only the subsequent will is operative on the testator's death.
(d) The testator is presumed to have intended a subsequent will to supplement rather than replace a previous will if the subsequent will does not make a complete disposition of the testator's estate. If this presumption arises and is not rebutted by clear and convincing evidence, the subsequent will revokes the previous will only to the extent the subsequent will is inconsistent with the previous will; each will is fully operative on the testator's death to the extent they are not inconsistent.”
Alaska Stat. § 13.12.508:
“Revocation by change of circumstances
Except as provided in AS 13.12.803 and 13.12.804, a change of circumstances does not revoke a will or a part of it.”
Alaska Stat. § 13.12.803:
“Sec. 13.12.803. Effect of homicide on intestate succession, wills, trusts, joint assets, life insurance, and beneficiary designations
(a) An individual who feloniously kills the decedent forfeits all benefits under this chapter with respect to the decedent's estate, including an intestate share, an elective share, an omitted spouse's or child's share, a homestead allowance, exempt property, and a family allowance. If the decedent died intestate, the decedent's intestate estate passes as if the killer disclaimed the killer's intestate share.
(b) The felonious killing of the decedent
(1) revokes a revocable
(A) disposition or appointment of property made by the decedent to the killer in a governing instrument;
(B) provision in a governing instrument conferring a general or nongeneral power of appointment on the killer; and
(C) nomination of the killer in a governing instrument, nominating or appointing the killer to serve in fiduciary or representative capacity, including a personal representative, executor, trustee, or agent; and
(2) severs the interests of the decedent and killer in property held by them at the time of the killing as joint tenants with the right of survivorship, transforming the interests of the decedent and killer into tenancies in common.
(c) A severance under (b)(2) of this section does not affect a third-party interest in property acquired for value and in good faith reliance on an apparent title by survivorship in the killer unless a writing declaring the severance has been noted, registered, filed, or recorded in records that are appropriate to the kind and location of the property and that are relied upon, in the ordinary course of transactions involving the type of property, as evidence of ownership.
(d) Provisions of a governing instrument are given effect as if the killer disclaimed all provisions revoked by this section or, in the case of a revoked nomination in a fiduciary or representative capacity, as if the killer predeceased the decedent.”
Alaska Stat. § 13.12.804:
“Effect of divorce, annulment, and other changes of circumstances on probate and nonprobate transfers
(a) Except as provided by the express terms of a governing instrument, a court order, or a contract relating to the division of the marital estate made between the divorced individuals before or after the marriage, divorce, or annulment, the divorce or annulment of a marriage
(1) revokes a revocable
(A) disposition or appointment of property made by a divorced individual to the divorced individual's former spouse in a governing instrument and a disposition or appointment created by law or in a governing instrument to a relative of the divorced individual's former spouse;
(B) provision in a governing instrument conferring a general or nongeneral power of appointment on the divorced individual's former spouse or on a relative of the divorced individual's former spouse; and
(C) nomination in a governing instrument, nominating a divorced individual's former spouse or a relative of the divorced individual's former spouse to serve in a fiduciary or representative capacity, including a personal representative, executor, trustee, conservator, agent, or guardian; and
(2) severs the interests of the former spouses in property held by them at the time of the divorce or annulment as joint tenants with the right of survivorship, transforming the interests of the former spouses into tenancies in common.
(b) A severance under (a)(2) of this section does not affect a third-party interest in property acquired for value and in good faith reliance on an apparent title by survivorship in the survivor of the former spouses unless a writing declaring the severance has been noted, registered, filed, or recorded in records appropriate to the kind and location of the property that are relied upon, in the ordinary course of transactions involving that kind of property, as evidence of ownership.
(c) Provisions of a governing instrument are given effect as if the former spouse and relatives of the former spouse disclaimed all provisions revoked by this section or, in the case of a revoked nomination in a fiduciary or representative capacity, as if the former spouse and relatives of the former spouse died immediately before the divorce or annulment.
(d) Provisions revoked solely by this section are revived by the divorced individual's remarriage to the former spouse or by a nullification of the divorce or annulment.
(e) A change of circumstances other than as described in this section and in AS 13.12.803 does not effect a revocation.”
