Changing or Revoking a Will in Idaho

Part of my Idaho Wills & Probate Overview.

By Ronald W. Brilliant, Attorney at Law · Licensed in Idaho, Nevada & California · Last reviewed: September 2026 against the Idaho Code as posted by the Idaho Legislature (July 1, 2026)

In This TopicIdaho Wills & ProbateTopic 2 of 15: Changing a Will

Idaho law lets a person change or cancel a will. Under Idaho law, a will or any part of it can be revoked by a later will or by a physical act such as tearing or burning it, done with the intent to revoke (Idaho Code § 15-2-507). Divorce or annulment can also revoke parts of a will (§ 15-2-508).

This page explains how revocation works, when a revoked will can come back into effect, how divorce affects a will and other documents, and which life changes do not revoke a will. It matters to anyone updating an estate plan and to families sorting out which will controls.

Ways to Revoke a Will in Idaho

A will, or any part of it, is revoked in either of these ways (Idaho Code § 15-2-507):

• By a later will that revokes the earlier will or part of it, either expressly or by being inconsistent with it (§ 15-2-507(a)).
• By a physical act: the will is burned, torn, canceled, obliterated, or destroyed, with the intent and for the purpose of revoking it. The act must be done by the testator (the person who made the will), or by another person in the testator’s presence and by the testator’s direction (§ 15-2-507(b)).

If a will was signed in duplicate, it may be revoked by revoking one (1) of the duplicates (Idaho Code § 15-2-507(c)).

Changing a Will with a Codicil or New Will

In the Idaho Code, the word “will” includes a codicil and any testamentary instrument that merely revokes or revises another will (Idaho Code § 15-1-201(56)). Because a codicil is a will under that definition, the signing rules for wills apply to it (§ 15-1-201(56); § 15-2-502). Those rules are explained in Making a Valid Will.

Whether a later document expressly revokes an earlier one can matter in probate. The registrar must decline informal probate of one or more of a known series of testamentary instruments (other than a will and one or more codicils to it) if the latest one does not expressly revoke the earlier ones (Idaho Code § 15-3-304).

In a formal testacy proceeding, more than one (1) instrument may be probated if neither expressly revokes the other or contains provisions that work a total revocation by implication (Idaho Code § 15-3-410). If more than one is probated, the court’s order must indicate which provisions control the nomination of an executor, if any (§ 15-3-410).

A separate written list of tangible personal property referred to in a will may be changed by the testator after it is prepared (Idaho Code § 15-2-513).

Revoking an Electronic Will

An electronic will may revoke all or part of a previous will (Idaho Code § 15-2-1107(1)). All or part of an electronic will is revoked by (§ 15-2-1107(2)):

• A later will that revokes all or part of the electronic will expressly or by inconsistency; or
• A physical act, if it is established by a preponderance of the evidence that the testator performed the act with the intent of revoking all or part of the will, or directed another individual who performed the act in the testator’s physical presence.

Reviving a Revoked Will

Sometimes a person signs a second will that revokes a first will, and later revokes the second will. Idaho law decides whether the first will comes back into effect (Idaho Code § 15-2-509):

How the second will was revoked	Effect on the first will
By a physical act under section 15-2-507	The first will stays revoked in whole or in part, unless the circumstances of the revocation or the testator’s statements at the time or later show that the testator intended the first will to take effect as executed (§ 15-2-509(a))
By a third will	The first will stays revoked in whole or in part, except to the extent the terms of the third will show the testator intended the first will to take effect (§ 15-2-509(b))

Republication of a revoked will revives that will (Idaho Code § 15-2-509(c)).

Effect of Divorce or Annulment on a Will

If the testator is divorced or the marriage is annulled after the will is signed, the divorce or annulment revokes these parts of the will, unless the will expressly provides otherwise (Idaho Code § 15-2-508):

• Any gift (disposition or appointment) of property to the former spouse;
• Any provision giving the former spouse a general or special power of appointment; and
• Any nomination of the former spouse as executor, trustee, conservator, or guardian.

Property that cannot pass to the former spouse because of this rule passes as if the former spouse had not survived the decedent (Idaho Code § 15-2-508). Other provisions giving the former spouse a power or office are read as if the former spouse had not survived (§ 15-2-508).

If provisions were revoked only by this rule, they are revived if the testator remarries the former spouse (Idaho Code § 15-2-508). A decree of separation that does not end the status of husband and wife is not a divorce for this purpose (§ 15-2-508).

Divorce and Other Documents, Including Nonprobate Transfers

A broader Idaho statute applies to “governing instruments” signed by a divorced individual before the divorce or annulment (Idaho Code § 15-2-804(a)(4)). Unless the governing instrument’s express terms, a court order, or a contract about dividing the marital estate provides otherwise, a divorce or annulment revokes any revocable (§ 15-2-804(b)(1)):

• Disposition or appointment of property to the former spouse, and any disposition or appointment to a relative of the former spouse;
• Provision giving the former spouse or a relative of the former spouse a general or nongeneral power of appointment; and
• Nomination of the former spouse or a relative of the former spouse to serve in any fiduciary or representative role, including personal representative, executor, trustee, conservator, agent, or guardian.

A “relative of the former spouse” is someone related to the former spouse by blood, adoption, or affinity who, after the divorce or annulment, is not related to the divorced individual by blood, adoption, or affinity (Idaho Code § 15-2-804(a)(5)). “Revocable” means the divorced individual alone had the power, at the time of the divorce or annulment, to cancel the designation (§ 15-2-804(a)(6)).

A divorce or annulment also severs the former spouses’ interests in property they held as joint tenants with right of survivorship, turning them into equal tenancies in common (Idaho Code § 15-2-804(b)(2)). A severance does not affect a third party who acquired an interest for value and in good faith, relying on apparent title by survivorship, unless a writing declaring the severance was recorded or filed in the appropriate records (§ 15-2-804(c)).

Revoked provisions are given effect as if the former spouse and the former spouse’s relatives had disclaimed them. A revoked nomination is treated as if they died immediately before the divorce or annulment (Idaho Code § 15-2-804(d)). Provisions revoked only by this section are revived if the divorced individual remarries the former spouse or the divorce or annulment is set aside (§ 15-2-804(e)).

A payor or other third party is not liable for payments or transfers made in good faith before receiving written notice of the divorce, annulment, or remarriage (Idaho Code § 15-2-804(g)(1)). The notice must be sent by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, to the payor’s main office or home, or served like a summons (§ 15-2-804(g)(2)). For more on assets that pass outside probate, see Nonprobate Transfers.

A person who received a payment or property without giving value, and who is not entitled to it under this section, must return it or is personally liable for its value to the person who is entitled to it (Idaho Code § 15-2-804(h)(1)). If federal law preempts the section, the same duty runs to the person who would have been entitled without preemption (§ 15-2-804(h)(2)).

Life Changes That Do Not Revoke a Will

No change of circumstances other than divorce or annulment as described in section 15-2-508 revokes a will (Idaho Code § 15-2-508). Section 15-2-804 similarly provides that no change of circumstances other than those it describes and those in section 15-2-803 effects a revocation (§ 15-2-804(f)).

Section 15-2-803 deals with a “slayer,” meaning a person who participates as a principal or as an accessory before the fact in the wilful and unlawful killing of another person (Idaho Code § 15-2-803(a)(1)). Property that would have passed to the slayer by devise or legacy from the decedent is distributed as if the slayer had died before the decedent (§ 15-2-803(d)).

Because only the changes described above revoke a will, marriage or the birth or adoption of a child after a will is signed does not revoke it (Idaho Code § 15-2-508). However, a spouse who married the testator after the will was signed, or a child born or adopted after it was signed, may be entitled to a share of the estate if the will does not provide for them, unless an exception applies (§§ 15-2-301, 15-2-302). See Spouse and Children Protections.

Contracts Not to Revoke a Will

A contract not to revoke a will or devise can be established only by (Idaho Code § 15-2-701):

1. Provisions of a will stating the material terms of the contract;
2. An express reference in a will to the contract, plus outside evidence proving its terms; or
3. A writing signed by the decedent evidencing the contract.

Signing a joint will or mutual wills does not create a presumption of a contract not to revoke the will or wills (Idaho Code § 15-2-701).

Proving Revocation After Death

In informal probate, the registrar must find that an original, duly executed, and apparently unrevoked will is in the registrar’s possession (Idaho Code § 15-3-303(a)(5)). In a contested formal testacy proceeding, a person contesting a will has the burden of establishing revocation, along with other grounds such as lack of capacity or undue influence (§ 15-3-407).

If a will is opposed by a petition to probate a later will that revokes it, the court first decides whether the later will is entitled to probate (Idaho Code § 15-3-407). For more on these disputes, see Will Contests.

How I Can Help

I help Idaho clients update or replace their wills after marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, or other changes, and I review beneficiary designations and other documents that divorce may affect. When a family is unsure which will controls or whether a will was revoked, I can explain how the Idaho Code applies. Request a consultation to discuss your situation.

This page provides general information about Idaho wills and probate, based on the Idaho Code, and is not legal advice. Court rules and case law also affect these matters. Every situation is different; consult an attorney about yours. Reading this page does not create an attorney-client relationship.