The Lost Art of Codicils — Lost for a Reason

The “Lost Art” of codicils? What makes it lost? A listener asked several questions: Under Arizona law, may I make a codicil to an existing will? May I designate an executor? And leave everything to the executor? Provide instructions for the executor? In this podcast episode, we review these deceptively simple questions. It gives us an opportunity to talk about language, typing (including our first use of the venerable phrase “carbon paper” in years) and the utility of seeking legal counsel. Can you make a codicil? Yes, but you might just as well sign a whole new will. In fact, Arizona law eliminates the distinction between a will and a codicil (see the definition section of Arizona law, and scroll down to the definition of “will”). This is why we call it the “lost art” of codicils. It’s because virtually no lawyers prepare codicils any longer. Why not? Hint: it has more to do with computers than art.