My brother was executor of my parent’s estateboth still living. My brother passed away and my dad wants to make me the executor. What needs to be done?
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My brother was executor of my parent’s estateboth still living. My brother passed away and my dad wants to make me the executor. What needs to be done?
My parents have wills naming my brother as executor. My brother passed away. Do
my parents have to make out new wills?
Asked on August 9, 2016 under Estate Planning, Kansas
Answers:
M.D., Member, California and New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
When someone wants to make significant changes to their Will, they should draw up a new one entirely. However, if all they want is to change the executor of their estate, they can simply add a "codicil" to their Will. A codicil is a written amendment that makes changes to a Will without invalidating it. It must be executed in the same manner as a Will and make reference to the changes to the Will. Crossing out language or adding new language does not meet the legal requirements for executing a valid Will. Therefore it won't result in a successful modification of the Will and may invalidate it In KS, for a codicil to be valid, it must be signed in front of 2 adult witnesses (they do not have to be the same people who witnessed the Will) and the individual executing the Will/codicil must have legal capacity.
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