You can change or cancel your will at any time while you are able to make one. It must be done in one of the ways the law allows: a new will, a codicil, a signed and witnessed revocation, or destroying the will with the intention of revoking it. Writing on a signed will does not work unless the change is itself signed and witnessed.
You can change your mind
A will can be revoked or altered by the person who made it at any time while they are competent to make a will (Indian Succession Act, 1925, section 62).
The ways a will is revoked
A will or codicil, or any part of it, is revoked only (section 70):
- by a later will or codicil;
- by a written document that declares the intention to revoke it, signed and witnessed in the same way as a will;
- by burning, tearing or otherwise destroying it, done by you, or by someone in your presence and at your direction, with the intention of revoking it;
- for Christians, Parsis, Jews and others, also by marriage (see below).
Every will Waseeyat drafts states that it revokes all earlier wills and codicils, so there is no doubt about which one counts.
Marriage
- Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains: marriage does not revoke a will (proviso to section 57; Schedule III, item 4, which removes marriage from section 70 for these wills).
- Christians, Parsis, Jews and others: marriage revokes every earlier will (section 69). The only exception is a will made under a power of appointment over property that would not otherwise pass to the person's executor, administrator or heirs. If you marry, make a new will.
Writing on a signed will
A crossing-out, an insertion or any other change made after the will was signed has no effect unless the change is itself signed and witnessed like a will (section 71). The one exception: words that the change has made impossible to read cannot be relied on.
A change is properly signed if your signature and the witnesses' signatures are placed in the margin or elsewhere near it, or at the end of the will next to a note describing it (proviso to section 71).
The safer course is not to write on a signed will at all. Make a codicil or a new will instead.
Codicils
A codicil explains, changes or adds to a will, and it is treated as part of the will (section 2(b)). Sign and witness a codicil in exactly the same way as a will.
Bringing back a revoked will
A will that has been revoked comes back into force only if it is signed and witnessed again, or by a codicil, signed and witnessed, that shows the intention to revive it (section 73). Destroying a later will does not by itself bring an earlier one back.
Sources
- The Indian Succession Act, 1925 (Act 39 of 1925), sections 2(b), 57, 62, 69, 70, 71, 73 and Schedule III. India Code consolidated text as on 19 June 2026, read 9 October 2026: https://indiacode.gov.in/act/3eeb6aec-1e1f-42d4-9673-c04d21829663
General information about Indian law, not legal advice. Waseeyat is not a law firm.