# FIRST CODICIL TO THE WILL OF ELEANOR MARGARET VAUGHAN
## Identification and legal effect
This First Codicil is made by Eleanor Margaret Vaughan of 7 Cedar Walk, Guildford, Surrey GU2 9NF, email eleanor.vaughan@example.test, born 16 January 1949. It is dated 9 November 2027 and has document reference EMV-WILL-COD-01. I declare that this codicil is intended to supplement, and not replace, my will dated 22 June 2022, which I signed and declared as my will in the presence of two witnesses who each signed in my presence and in the presence of the other witness. I refer to that document as my 2022 Will.
I revoke only the provisions expressly changed by this codicil. Except for those changes, I confirm my 2022 Will in every respect. If a court or the Probate Registry requires the original will and this codicil to be proved together, my executors must present both. This document is not a letter of wishes, power of attorney, lifetime gift or instruction to a bank. It takes effect on my death only if I had testamentary capacity and this codicil was validly executed in accordance with section 9 of the Wills Act 1837, including my signature or acknowledgement and the attestation and signatures of two witnesses who were present together. A separate concept of delivery is not required for this testamentary codicil.
## First change: replacement of one pecuniary legacy
In clause 4 of my 2022 Will, the gift of £8,000 to my friend Miriam Charlotte Dale of 18 Tillingbourne Road, Godalming, Surrey GU7 2HF, email miriam.dale@example.test, is revoked and replaced by the following gift:
I GIVE the sum of £14,500 to Miriam Charlotte Dale if she survives me by 28 days. If Miriam does not survive me by 28 days, this gift shall lapse and shall fall into my residuary estate under clause 7 of my 2022 Will, unless that will or the law requires a different result. The increased gift is a pecuniary legacy and is not a gift of a particular account, investment or other asset. My executors shall pay it from my general estate, subject to the debts, liabilities, tax and administration provisions in my 2022 Will.
The arithmetic of the change is recorded for identification only: the former legacy was £8,000, the replacement legacy is £14,500, and the increase is £6,500, calculated as £14,500 minus £8,000. This calculation is not a second gift and does not impose a duty on my executors to retain a particular cash balance. If the estate cannot meet all legacies, my 2022 Will and the applicable abatement rules govern.
## Second change: replacement of one executor
I revoke the appointment of Graham Peter Vaughan as an executor and trustee in clause 2 of my 2022 Will. I appoint Fiona Louise Mercer of 41 Stag Hill, Guildford, Surrey GU1 4TS, email fiona.mercer@example.test, solicitor, to act as an executor and trustee in his place. Graham Peter Vaughan is not removed from any beneficial gift he receives under my 2022 Will merely because he is no longer an executor, and this codicil does not otherwise change his rights.
My continuing executor and trustee under the 2022 Will is Daniel Stephen Vaughan of 3 Lime Tree Gardens, Woking, Surrey GU21 2PF, email daniel.vaughan@example.test. If Daniel cannot or will not act, Fiona may act alone if the law permits. If both appointed persons cannot act, the appointment and replacement process in the 2022 Will applies. Fiona and Daniel must consider any conflict of interest, obtain independent advice where appropriate and administer my estate according to the will, this codicil and the law of England and Wales.
No other executor appointment is revoked. In particular, this codicil does not appoint Miriam Charlotte Dale as an executor and does not authorise either executor to distribute an asset before the grant or other authority required by law. The executor change is intended to operate from my death and not to give Fiona control of my property while I am alive.
## Confirmation of all other provisions
I confirm the gifts of my engagement ring, personal photographs and garden tools in clauses 5 and 6 of my 2022 Will, the residuary gift in clause 7, the survivorship period in every provision not expressly changed by this codicil, and the administrative and trustee powers in clauses 8 and 9. The description in this paragraph is a confirmation, not an attempt to reproduce those clauses. If a description differs from the signed 2022 Will, the signed will and this codicil read together govern.
I do not revoke my 2022 Will as a whole. Any later will or codicil made by me must be read with this codicil and must clearly identify whether it revokes or alters this document. I will keep this original codicil with the original 2022 Will and tell Fiona and Daniel where they are stored. A scan is a record and not necessarily the original required for probate.
## Declaration of capacity and intention
I have read this codicil, understand that it changes one legacy and one executor, and approve its contents. I am over 18. I declare that I am acting freely and that no person has coerced or pressured me to sign. On 9 November 2027 I understand the nature and effect of this codicil, the property of which I am disposing by it, and the people who may reasonably expect to benefit from my estate. I have no reason to believe that a person who would ordinarily be an object of my bounty has been accidentally omitted. My solicitor Adele Warren of Warren & Pike, 2 Castle Street, Guildford GU1 3UW, reference WP-EMV-6022, explained the limited changes in a meeting on 26 October 2027. I understood the explanation and am signing this document as my own decision.
The witnesses must both be present at the same time. I must sign or acknowledge my signature in their presence, and each witness must then attest and sign in my presence. Each witness is an independent adult and must give a current address. For clarity, section 15 of the Wills Act 1837 provides that a gift to a person who attests a will or codicil, or to that person's spouse or civil partner, is void as a gift to that person, although the witness's attestation does not by itself invalidate the execution of the will or codicil. I have therefore chosen witnesses who are not beneficiaries, executors appointed by this codicil, or spouses or civil partners of beneficiaries, so that the gifts are not put at risk. The witnesses do not need to know the contents, but they must see the relevant signing or acknowledgement.
## Execution as a codicil
Signed by me, Eleanor Margaret Vaughan, as my First Codicil to my Will dated 22 June 2022, after I had read and understood it and in the simultaneous presence of both witnesses, who then signed in my presence:
Signature of Eleanor Margaret Vaughan: ______________________________
Date: 9 November 2027
First witness signature: ______________________________
First witness full name: Nadia Louise Shah
First witness address: 12 Foxglove Lane, Guildford, Surrey GU4 7RB
First witness occupation: Chartered accountant
Second witness signature: ______________________________
Second witness full name: Peter John Wilcox
Second witness address: 5 Orchard Gate, Farnham, Surrey GU9 7NX
Second witness occupation: Retired teacher
## Witness attestation
We, Nadia Louise Shah and Peter John Wilcox, each declare that Eleanor Margaret Vaughan signed or acknowledged her signature on this codicil in our simultaneous presence, that we each signed as witness in her presence, and that we were both present when the other witness signed. We confirm that we are independent adult witnesses and that neither of us is a beneficiary, executor appointed by this codicil, or spouse or civil partner of a beneficiary. Our addresses above are our addresses at the date of witnessing. The signature lines and dates in the execution section above are the sole witness signature and attestation set; this paragraph is the attestation wording and must not be signed again.
The witnesses' attestation confirms execution; it does not guarantee testamentary capacity, the validity of the 2022 Will, the value of the estate or the outcome of probate. The person keeping this codicil must not detach it from the 2022 Will, alter any signed page, staple on an unexecuted replacement or add a later date.