surprise will

April 27, 2008 4:31 AM

What is the literary or legal term for a second will that suddenly appears after someone has died, in addition to one that had been taken to be the real one?
posted by cogneuro to writing & language (8 comments total)

A codicil is an amendment to an existing will, but if you're talking about a new will that entirely replaces the old one, I don't know that there's a formal name for it.
posted by juv3nal at 5:17 AM on April 27

The literary term is "plot device."

Actually, in all my reading/movie watching featuring this scenario, I've only ever heard it referred to as a "secret will" or a "new will." I guess it could also be referred to as a "superseding will" or "amended will."
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 5:28 AM on April 27 [1 favorite]

This probably isn't the answer to your question, but it's a term I like: A holographic will is one written entirely in the testator's handwriting. In many jurisdictions it doesn't have to be witnessed so it can truly be a surprise to every one, including the family lawyer.
posted by the christopher hundreds at 7:27 AM on April 27

A good literary example of the christopher hundreds' answer is in John Grisham's The Testament.
posted by Fuzzy Skinner at 8:16 AM on April 27

A later executed will revokes the prior will. So the words "execution" and "revocation" might come up.
posted by ClaudiaCenter at 8:23 AM on April 27

The will that was executed last in time (without regard to the order of its subsequent discovery) should be the last will and testament, I think. The other will would be a "putative will."
posted by DB Cooper at 11:20 AM on April 27

The OP is not asking just about a will which was executed later in time, but rather one which is found too late (and was executed later in time, thus revoking the earlier one).

There is no technical legal name for it, but I would call it the "after-found" will. It can be enormously disruptive, particularly if it is found after the creditors' claims have been paid and the beneficiaries have received their bequests.
posted by megatherium at 1:49 PM on April 27

I think the term I was looking for is "seconded," with the accent on the second syllable. I must have read it in some novel.
posted by cogneuro at 1:09 AM on May 3