A will in Singapore can be revoked in a small number of recognised ways: by a later will or codicil that revokes it, by a later document that is inconsistent with it, by destruction with the intention of revoking, and (automatically, whether you want it or not) by marriage.
Two points do most of the damage in practice. Marriage revokes your will unless it was made in contemplation of that marriage. Divorce does not revoke it, so an ex-spouse stays named as executor and beneficiary until you do something about it. Everything below assumes you already know the basic formalities for making a will.
Revocation by a later will or codicil
The cleanest method, and the one to use. A properly executed new will opens with an express revocation clause: words to the effect that you revoke all former wills and testamentary dispositions. From execution, the earlier will has no effect.
The new will must itself satisfy the formalities: in writing, signed by you (or by someone else in your presence and at your direction), with that signature made or acknowledged before two or more witnesses present at the same time, who then attest and sign in your presence. Neither witness should be a beneficiary or a beneficiary’s spouse, because that causes the gift to that beneficiary to fail while leaving the will valid.
A codicil can also revoke, either the whole will or a specified clause of it, and must be executed with the same formalities. Whether to amend or replace is covered in our comparison of a codicil versus a new will.
Revocation by inconsistency: avoid it
A later testamentary document that contradicts an earlier one revokes the earlier one to the extent of the inconsistency, even without an express revocation clause. That sounds convenient and is in fact a mess. It leaves your executor comparing two documents clause by clause to work out which parts survive, and gives anyone unhappy with the outcome an argument to run. Always include an express revocation clause instead.
Revocation by destruction
Burning, tearing or otherwise destroying a will revokes it, but only where both of the following are present at the same time:
- The act. Actual destruction of the document, not a symbolic gesture. Writing “cancelled” across the front or striking through the text is generally not enough on its own.
- The intention. You must intend, in destroying it, to revoke it. This is sometimes described as the animus revocandi.
The consequences of that pairing are worth spelling out:
- A will destroyed by accident (a fire, a flood, a shredder mistake) is not revoked, because there was no intention. It can still be proved, though the executor faces a harder application.
- A will destroyed by somebody else is not revoked either, unless it was done in your presence and at your direction. A relative who burns a will they dislike has not changed anything in law, only made it harder to prove.
- A will destroyed by someone who lacked capacity at the time cannot have had the necessary intention.
The evidential problem is obvious. If the original cannot be produced and it was last known to be in your possession, a presumption tends to arise that you destroyed it intending to revoke it. That presumption can be rebutted, but only with evidence, and by then you are not there to give it.
Marriage revokes your will
This is the trap that matters most on this page. Getting married automatically revokes any existing will, unless the will was expressly made in contemplation of that particular marriage.
It catches people in a specific and predictable way. Someone divorces, sensibly makes a new will removing their former spouse, then remarries some years later, and the careful new will is wiped out on the wedding day. Unless a fresh will is made, they die intestate, and the estate is divided by statute rather than by their wishes. The point applies equally to a first marriage in Singapore and to remarriage after a divorce.
Two safeguards:
- Make the will in contemplation of the marriage if the wedding is already planned. The will must say so, and it should identify the intended spouse. Generic wording will not reliably do the job.
- Or simply make a new will after the wedding. Put it on the post-wedding list alongside changing your identification documents and updating your CPF nomination.
Divorce does not revoke a will
Nothing happens to your will when your marriage ends. The gift to your former spouse stands. Their appointment as executor stands. If you die before making a new will, the person you divorced administers your estate and takes the bulk of it.
People assume the law fixes this automatically. It does not. Redoing your will belongs on the same list as changing your CPF nomination, reviewing insurance nominations and revisiting a lasting power of attorney where your former spouse was the donee. The full sweep is set out in our guide to life admin after divorce.
Timing note: do it once the divorce is under way rather than waiting for final judgment. The risk window is exactly the period when people are least inclined to think about wills.
| Event | Effect on your will | What you should do |
|---|---|---|
| You make a new will with a revocation clause | Earlier will revoked in full | Destroy old originals to avoid confusion |
| You marry | Existing will revoked automatically | Make a new will, or make one in contemplation of the marriage beforehand |
| You divorce | No effect at all | Make a new will as soon as proceedings begin |
| You tear up the will intending to revoke | Revoked | Make a replacement immediately |
| The will is damaged by accident | Not revoked | Tell your executor and keep the pieces |
| Someone else destroys it without your direction | Not revoked | Re-execute a fresh will to remove doubt |
Revoking part of the will, or a codicil
You do not have to revoke everything. A codicil can revoke a single clause and leave the rest intact, and a new will can reproduce most of the old scheme while changing one part of it.
To revoke a codicil while keeping the will, either execute a document saying exactly that, with full will formalities, or destroy the codicil with the intention of revoking it. Record what you have done and tell your executor. A codicil that was known to exist and cannot be produced generates questions at probate that a short note in the file would have prevented.
Revoke and replace, never revoke alone
If you revoke a will and make no new one, you die intestate. The Intestate Succession Act then decides who takes what: fixed shares to a spouse, children, parents or siblings depending on who survives you, with no regard for what you intended, who needs it most, or any promises you made. Muslim estates in Singapore are distributed according to faraid instead. Your family also has to apply for letters of administration rather than probate, which is generally slower and may require sureties.
Which brings us to the most common self-inflicted wound in this area: destroying the only will in anger, after a family row or the discovery of an affair, without making a replacement. The gesture is understandable and the outcome is almost never what the person wanted, because intestacy rules frequently favour the very people they were trying to cut out, such as a spouse from whom they are separated but not divorced.
Doing it properly
- Make the new will first. Have it signed and witnessed before you touch the old one, so you are never without a valid will.
- Use an express revocation clause revoking all former wills and codicils.
- Destroy every original and copy of the superseded will, including any held by a former solicitor or a bank, so no old version can surface.
- Tell your executor that a new will exists, and where the original is kept. See where to keep your will.
- Update the record if the earlier will’s location was registered anywhere.
- Review after any major life event: marriage, divorce, a birth, a death, a property purchase, a move overseas.
For how revocation fits into the wider picture of estate planning and administration, see our guide to wills and probate in Singapore.
