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Wills & Estates
RSMo 474.420effective 28 Aug 1955

Change in circumstances

In plain English

If a person makes a will and then gets divorced, any part of the will that left things to that spouse is automatically canceled. It works as if the ex-spouse had already died when the divorce happened. Other than divorce, nothing else that changes in a person's life can cancel a will or any part of it.

Word-for-word law

474.420. Change in circumstances — divorce. — If after making a will the is divorced, all in the will in favor of the testator's spouse so divorced are thereby but the effect of the shall be the same as if the divorced spouse had died at the time of the divorce. With this , no written will, nor any part thereof, can be revoked by any change in the circumstances or condition of the testator.

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Source & history notes

(L. 1955 p. 385 § 271)

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Legal information, not legal advice. Always confirm with the official source at revisor.mo.gov.

RSMo 474.420: Change in circumstances | KnowMo Laws