Changing Or Revoking A Will
SDCL § 29A-2-507 — a later will, or burning, tearing or canceling it, and a divorce that undoes gifts to the former spouse
- Signing a later will that revokes it expressly or by inconsistency.
- Burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating or destroying it, with the intent to revoke, by the person or by another in their conscious presence and at their direction.
Either revokes a will or part of one. A later will that disposes of the whole estate is presumed to replace the earlier one, unless that is rebutted by clear and convincing evidence.
After a divorce. Unless the document, a court order or a property agreement says otherwise, a divorce or annulment revokes what a will or other revocable instrument gave the former spouse and the former spouse's relatives.
A particular will is a question for a licensed South Dakota attorney.
Sources for this section (2)
- SDCL § 29A-2-507 — Revocation by writing or by act
- SDCL § 29A-2-804 — Revocation of probate and nonprobate transfers by divorce; No revocation by other changes of circumstances
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of October 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed South Dakota attorney.