A codicil is a small instrument that does important work. It allows you to amend or supplement an existing Will without rewriting the whole thing. Used well, it saves time and cost. Used badly, it creates contradictions that hand the family a fresh dispute.
A codicil is, in plain terms, a supplementary document to an existing Will. It amends, adds to, or partially revokes provisions of the original Will, while leaving the rest intact. Section 2(b) of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 defines a codicil as 'an instrument made in relation to a Will, and explaining, altering or adding to its dispositions, and shall be deemed to form part of the Will.'
Codicils exist because Wills change. A child marries; a property is sold; a beneficiary predeceases the testator; a business is restructured; a new grandchild is born. Each of these events may require a change to the Will. In an earlier era — before word processors, before the relative ease of redrafting a full document — a codicil saved the testator the trouble of executing an entirely new Will for each small change.
That historical reason matters less now. But codicils continue to be useful in particular circumstances, and continue to be misused in others.
A codicil is treated as part of the Will for all legal purposes. Its execution must therefore comply with the same formalities as a Will under Section 63 of the ISA: it must be in writing, signed by the testator (or by someone on the testator's behalf in the testator's presence and by direction), and attested by two or more witnesses, each of whom has seen the testator sign or has received a personal acknowledgement.
The witnesses to the codicil need not be the same witnesses as those to the original Will. They must, however, be non-beneficiaries — Section 67 of the ISA invalidates any bequest to an attesting witness or their spouse.
A codicil must clearly identify the Will to which it relates. Standard drafting practice is to reference the original Will by date and place of execution: 'I, [Name], having made my last Will and Testament on [Date] at [Place], do now make this codicil to that Will...'
Small, targeted amendments are the classic case. You wish to change the executor. You wish to add a new beneficiary (perhaps a grandchild born after the original Will). You wish to substitute a specific bequest (the family heirloom now passes to a different child). You wish to update an address or the description of a property.
A codicil is also appropriate where you wish to revoke a specific provision while leaving the rest of the Will intact. For example, your original Will provides for a particular employee who has since left your service. A codicil can revoke that specific bequest without disturbing the rest of the disposition.
Where the change is small and the rest of the Will continues to reflect your intentions accurately, a codicil is faster, cheaper, and cleaner than a full rewrite.
Where the changes are extensive — affecting multiple clauses or fundamentally changing the structure of the disposition — drafting a fresh Will is almost always the better choice. Codicils that try to do too much become unwieldy and create interpretive risk.
Where the original Will is old — five years or more — it is worth reviewing the entire document. Statutory amendments may have changed the position. The names of institutions may have changed (banks have merged; companies have rebranded). A fresh Will is an opportunity to refresh the entire instrument.
Where multiple codicils already exist, adding another creates a layered document that the executor will struggle to reconcile. The standard practice when the third codicil is being contemplated is to consolidate everything into a fresh Will.
Identify the original Will precisely — by date and place of execution, ideally also by a description of who drafted it. This ensures there is no ambiguity about which document is being amended.
State clearly what is being changed. Identify the clause being amended by its number and the change being made. 'Clause 4 of my Will dated 12 March 2022 is hereby revoked and the following substituted: ...' is much cleaner than 'I now want my third son to have the Pune apartment.'
If multiple changes are being made, deal with them in order — clause by clause. Confirm at the end that all other provisions of the original Will remain in force and effect.
Sign and date the codicil. Have it attested by two witnesses, both of whom are non-beneficiaries. Store it with the original Will — separating them is asking for the codicil to be lost or its existence to be disputed.
The single biggest risk with codicils is that they end up contradicting the original Will. The testator amends Clause 4 by codicil but forgets that Clause 7 references Clause 4 — and now the two are inconsistent.
When such contradictions arise, the general rule of construction is that the later instrument prevails to the extent of the contradiction. But proving which provision the testator intended to prevail is a litigation question — and one that beneficiaries often have an interest in disputing.
The fix is to re-read the entire Will before drafting the codicil. Every reference to the clause being amended, every cross-reference, every provision that turns on the existence of the original disposition — all must be identified and either reconciled in the codicil or expressly preserved.
It is permissible to execute multiple codicils to the same Will. Each codicil should reference both the original Will and any prior codicils, confirming which provisions remain in force.
A common labelling practice is 'First Codicil', 'Second Codicil', etc. This makes the sequence clear when the documents are reviewed by the executor or the court.
But as a matter of clean drafting, multiple codicils to a single Will tend to be a red flag. They suggest that the Will is being patched too often and is overdue for replacement. By the time you are contemplating a third codicil, you almost certainly should be drafting a fresh Will.
Where probate is required for the original Will (mandatory for Christians, Hindus, and Parsis in the territorial limits of the High Courts of Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai, in respect of property situated there), the codicil also forms part of the application for probate.
The court will examine both the Will and the codicil together. If there are inconsistencies, the court will resolve them according to the standard rules of construction — the later instrument prevailing to the extent of the conflict, the testator's intention being given effect wherever possible.
Court fees on probate are calculated on the value of the estate as bequeathed, which is determined after reading the Will and codicils together. Adding a codicil does not by itself increase court fees, but if it adds a beneficiary or increases a bequest, the resulting valuation may affect fees.
Mrs. Mehta executed her Will in 2018. In 2024, she sells the Bandra flat that was specifically bequeathed to her daughter and replaces it with a flat in Worli. A codicil is the right tool: it revokes the specific bequest of the Bandra property and substitutes the Worli property to the same daughter. The rest of the Will is unaffected.
Mr. Kapoor executed his Will in 2020. In 2025, his wife passes away, two of his three children have married, his business has been restructured, and his shareholding has changed materially. A codicil is not the right tool here — the changes are too extensive. A fresh Will is the cleaner choice.
Mr. Iyer executed his Will in 2015. He has since added three codicils — one in 2018 (changed executor), one in 2020 (added a new bequest), one in 2023 (revoked a different bequest). In 2026 he wants to make another change. By this point he should be drafting a fresh consolidated Will rather than adding a fourth codicil.
Codicils have a legitimate role in keeping a Will current without the cost of a full redraft. We typically recommend one for genuinely targeted amendments — a change of executor, an addition of a new grandchild, a substitution of one specific bequest.
Where the change is structural, where multiple provisions are affected, or where the Will is more than five years old, we recommend a fresh Will instead. The cost differential is small and the clarity gained is substantial.
If you have a Will that has been amended by one or more codicils and you are considering another change, this is the moment to call us and consolidate. The amount of time the codicil saves at execution is generally less than the time the family loses later trying to reconcile a layered document.
An interesting drafting question arises where a codicil amends a clause that has been previously revoked by another codicil. Does the new codicil revive the earlier disposition?
The general rule is that a revoked clause is not revived merely because a later instrument references it. Express revival language is required. If the testator wishes to restore an earlier provision, the codicil should explicitly state: 'I hereby revive Clause X of my Will dated [date], which was previously revoked by my codicil dated [date].'
Without such express revival, the revoked clause remains revoked, and any reference to it in a subsequent codicil may be construed as a fresh disposition under the codicil rather than a revival of the original Will provision.
A codicil executed long after the original Will can sometimes serve as evidence of continued testamentary capacity. If the testator was clearly competent at the time of the codicil and the codicil ratifies the existing Will, this supports the validity of the underlying Will against later capacity challenges.
Conversely, an unexplained codicil that substantially changes the disposition shortly before death can attract suspicion — particularly where the change benefits a person in a confidential relationship with the testator.
We sometimes recommend a periodic codicil — every few years — even if no substantive change is needed, simply to confirm the testator's continued endorsement of the Will. The codicil might say: 'I have re-read my Will dated [date] and confirm that it continues to reflect my testamentary intentions.' This is a small but useful evidentiary measure.
We recommend a codicil where a single specific change is needed — for example, the executor named in the Will has predeceased the testator, or the testator wishes to add a specific bequest of an asset acquired after the Will was made.
We recommend a fresh Will where multiple clauses are affected, where the testator's family circumstances have changed materially (marriage, divorce, death of a beneficiary), where the original Will is more than five years old, or where the asset position has changed significantly.
We never recommend a third codicil to the same Will. By that point, the layering has become a liability and the proper course is consolidation. A fresh, integrated Will reflects the testator's current intentions cleanly and is far easier for the executor to administer.
An unusual but real scenario: the testator executes a Will, then a codicil amending it. The original Will is later misplaced, but the codicil survives. Can the codicil alone be admitted to probate?
The general answer is no — the codicil is by definition a supplementary instrument and cannot stand alone. But where the original Will's contents can be substantively reconstructed (from a draft, from a witness's memory, from references in the codicil itself), the probate court has the discretion to admit the codicil along with the reconstructed Will under doctrines developed for lost-Will cases.
The practical lesson is the converse: always store the original Will and any codicils together, in the same secure location. Tell your executor where they are. Consider lodging them with a trusted advocate or in a bank locker that the executor can access. The codicil should never be the only surviving record of your testamentary intentions.