How to Remove a Beneficiary From a Will

To remove a beneficiary from a will in England and Wales you either add a signed and witnessed codicil for a single change, or write a new will that revokes the old one. You cannot lawfully remove someone by crossing out their name on a will that has already been signed.

Which route suits you depends on how much you want to change and how the rest of the will is drafted. This guide sets out both methods, the signing rules that make a change valid, what happens to the share you are removing, and the separate rules that apply after a person has died. Figures and rules are current as at August 2026 and are subject to change.

Can you just cross a beneficiary out?

No. Once a will has been signed and witnessed, marking, erasing or striking through a name usually has no legal effect, and it can create confusion or a dispute when the estate is administered. Any handwritten alteration to a finished will is generally disregarded unless it is signed and witnessed in the same way as the will itself, so a quiet pen stroke does not remove anyone. The official routes are a codicil or a new will (gov.uk, updating your will, as at August 2026, subject to change).

The two ways to remove a beneficiary

There are two recognised methods. A codicil is a short document that amends part of an existing will, and it suits a single, clean change such as taking out one gift. A new will replaces the old one entirely and is usually the better choice where the change affects several parts of the will or the wording is no longer clear.

Many people find a new will the cleaner option. Removing a beneficiary often has knock-on effects, because their share has to pass to someone, and a fresh document lets those consequences be set out in one place rather than read across a will and a stack of codicils. If you are minded to rewrite, our guide on how to write a will covers what a valid will needs to contain.

How to remove a beneficiary, step by step

Whichever method you choose, the same formalities decide whether the change is valid.

• Decide the scope. A single removal can go in a codicil. If it reshapes the will, prepare a new one.
• Say where the share goes. Name who now receives the gift, or state that it falls into the residue of the estate, so nothing is left uncertain.
• Sign in front of two witnesses. The document must be signed in the presence of two witnesses who are both over 18 (gov.uk, as at August 2026, subject to change).
• Use independent witnesses. A witness, or the married or civil-partnered spouse of a witness, cannot be left anything in the will, so choosing neutral witnesses protects the gifts that remain (gov.uk, as at August 2026, subject to change).
• Store it with the will. Keep a codicil with the original will, and tell your executors where both are held.

Removing an ex-partner: what marriage and divorce do automatically

Two life events change a will without anyone redrafting it, which matters when the person you want to remove is a partner. Getting married or forming a civil partnership generally revokes an existing will completely, unless the will was made in express contemplation of that marriage (gov.uk, revocation by marriage, as at August 2026, subject to change). Divorce or dissolution works differently: it does not cancel the whole will, but the parts that refer to the former spouse or civil partner are treated as though that person had died on the date the marriage or civil partnership ended (gov.uk, effect of divorce on a will, as at August 2026, subject to change). Even so, a separation before a final order does nothing on its own, and gifts to an ex-partner can survive by accident, so reviewing the will after a relationship ends is a common step.

What happens to the share you remove

A gift does not simply vanish when a beneficiary is taken out; it has to go somewhere, and saying where is the part people most often overlook. If a specific gift is removed and nothing replaces it, the amount usually falls into the residue of the estate and is shared among whoever takes the remainder. If you remove a residuary beneficiary without naming a replacement, their share can pass under the intestacy rules instead, which may send it to people you did not intend (gov.uk, intestacy rules, as at August 2026, subject to change). Stating clearly who inherits in the removed person's place keeps control with you. The broader picture of how these documents fit together sits in our estate planning guide.

Can a beneficiary be removed after someone has died?

The will itself can no longer be edited once the person has died, but the people who inherit can rearrange what they receive. A deed of variation, sometimes called a deed of family arrangement, lets beneficiaries redirect their own entitlement, and it must be completed within two years of the death, with the agreement of anyone left worse off by the change (gov.uk, as at August 2026, subject to change). This is not a way to strip an inheritance from a beneficiary who does not consent; it works because a beneficiary chooses to give up or pass on part of their share. If the variation increases the inheritance tax due, a copy must be sent to HM Revenue and Customs within six months of making it (gov.uk, as at August 2026, subject to change). Variations are often handled alongside the wider administration of the estate, which our guide to what is probate explains, and the tax side is covered in our inheritance tax guide.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

This guide describes the law of England and Wales. Scotland has its own succession law, and legal rights can entitle a spouse, civil partner and children to a fixed share of certain assets regardless of what a will says, which limits how completely a family member can be removed. Northern Ireland follows a separate but broadly similar system to England and Wales. If your estate touches more than one of these jurisdictions, it can be worth taking advice in each.

Frequently asked questions