Chapter 3 - Revocation and Revival

California Probate Code — §§ 6120-6124

Sections (6)

Enacted by Stats. 1990, Ch. 79.

A will or any part thereof is revoked by any of the following:

(a)A subsequent will which revokes the prior will or part expressly or by inconsistency.

(b)Being burned, torn, canceled, obliterated, or destroyed, with the intent and for the purpose of revoking it, by either (1) the testator or (2) another person in the testator’s presence and by the testator’s direction.

§ 6121

Enacted by Stats. 1990, Ch. 79.

A will executed in duplicate or any part thereof is revoked if one of the duplicates is burned, torn, canceled, obliterated, or destroyed, with the intent and for the purpose of revoking it, by either (1) the testator or (2) another person in the testator’s presence and by the testator’s direction.

§ 6122

Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 50, Sec. 86. (SB 1005) Effective January 1, 2017.

(a)Unless the will expressly provides otherwise, if after executing a will the testator’s marriage is dissolved or annulled, the dissolution or annulment revokes all of the following:

(1)Any disposition or appointment of property made by the will to the former spouse.

(2)Any provision of the will conferring a general or special power of appointment on the former spouse.

(3)Any provision of the will nominating the former spouse as executor, trustee, conservator, or guardian.

(b)If any

disposition or other provision of a will is revoked solely by this section, it is revived by the testator’s remarriage to the former spouse.

(c)In case of revocation by dissolution or annulment:

(1)Property prevented from passing to a former spouse because of the revocation passes as if the former spouse failed to survive the testator.

(2)Other provisions of the will conferring some power or office on the former spouse shall be interpreted as if the former spouse failed to survive the testator.

(d)For purposes of this section, dissolution or annulment means any dissolution or annulment which would exclude the spouse as a surviving spouse within the meaning of Section 78. A decree of legal separation which does not terminate the status of spouses is

not a dissolution for purposes of this section.

(e)Except as provided in Section 6122.1, no change of circumstances other than as described in this section revokes a will.

(f)Subdivisions (a) to (d), inclusive, do not apply to any case where the final judgment of dissolution or annulment of marriage occurs before January 1, 1985. That case is governed by the law in effect prior to January 1, 1985.

§ 6122.1

Added by Stats. 2001, Ch. 893, Sec. 51. Effective January 1, 2002.

(a)Unless the will expressly provides otherwise, if after executing a will the testator’s domestic partnership is terminated, the termination revokes all of the following:

(1)Any disposition or appointment of property made by the will to the former domestic partner.

(2)Any provision of the will conferring a general or special power of appointment on the former domestic partner.

(3)Any provision of the will nominating the former domestic partner as executor, trustee, conservator, or guardian.

(b)If any disposition or other provision of a will is revoked solely by this section, it is revived by the testator establishing another domestic partnership with the former domestic partner.

(c)In case of revocation by termination of a domestic partnership:

(1)Property prevented from passing to a former domestic partner because of the revocation passes as if the former domestic partner failed to survive the testator.

(2)Other provisions of the will conferring some power or office on the former domestic partner shall be interpreted as if the former domestic partner failed to survive the testator.

(d)This section shall apply only to wills executed on or after January 1, 2002.

§ 6123

Enacted by Stats. 1990, Ch. 79.

(a)If a second will which, had it remained effective at death, would have revoked the first will in whole or in part, is thereafter revoked by acts under Section 6120 or 6121, the first will is revoked in whole or in part unless it is evident from the circumstances of the revocation of the second will or from the testator’s contemporary or subsequent declarations that the testator intended the first will to take effect as executed.

(b)If a second will which, had it remained effective at death, would have revoked the first will in whole or in part, is thereafter revoked by a third will, the first will is revoked in whole or in part, except to the extent it appears from the terms of the third will that the testator intended the first will to take effect.

§ 6124

Enacted by Stats. 1990, Ch. 79.

If the testator’s will was last in the testator’s possession, the testator was competent until death, and neither the will nor a duplicate original of the will can be found after the testator’s death, it is presumed that the testator destroyed the will with intent to revoke it. This presumption is a presumption affecting the burden of producing evidence.