Legal Question in Wills and Trusts in Colorado
Amend a Will
Can I change a eneficiary without going through an attorney? Will a notarized addendum be acceptable?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Amend a Will
An amendment to a Will is called a Codicil. You will want to make sure that the Codicil that you do yourself is appropriate and executed with the same formalities that the Will was executed with.
Because of the risks associated with doing your own Codicil, you should work with an attorney experienced in the area.
Re: Amend a Will
You can do this without an attorney provided you know exactly what you are doing. To change a valid will, you need to draft a codicil which must be notarized and witnessed in the same manner as all CO wills (assuming this is not a holographic or handwritten will).
Here is an article on wills http://www.cobar.org/group/display.cfm?GenID=426. Read the statutes and make sure everything is done correctly. Either get counsel or start reading, very carefully.