Law of Wills, 2016A

2. David executed a will leaving his farm to Robert; $5.00 to Jeremy; and the rest of his estate to
Major. The applicable statute required the will to be witnessed by two competent witnesses. The will
was witnessed by Jeremy and Bruce. When the will was probated, Jeremy disclaimed his interest in
the estate. Was the will validly executed?
3. Cynthia executed a will leaving half of her estate to her son, Garrison, and half to her best friend,
Olivia. The applicable statute required the will to be witnessed by two competent witnesses. The will
was witnessed by Garrison and Tiffany. Was the will validly executed? Will Garrison be permitted to
take under the will?
11.6 Revocation
Because the will does not become effective until the testator’s death, it is a constantly
evolving document. Thus, the testator may change or revoke the will during his or her lifetime. All
or part of a testator’s will may be revoked in one of the following ways: (1) by a subsequent writing
executed with testamentary formalities; (2) by a physical act such as destroying, obliterating, or
burning the will; (3) or by change in family circumstances (divorce or birth of a child). In order for a
change or revocation to be effective, the testator must manifest the intent to change or revoke the
will. For example, T drinks too much one night and accidentally shreds his will. This could be
considered to be a revocation by physical act; however, the revocation would not be effective
because T lacked the necessary testamentary intent.
M.G.L.A. 190B § 2-507 Revocation by writing or by act (Mass.)
(a) A will or any part thereof 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 or if another individual performed the act in the
testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction. For purposes of this paragraph,
“revocatory act on the will” includes burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating, or destroying the will
or any part of it.
(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, 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, the subsequent will revokes the previous will only to the
494