What is a mutual will? A mutual will is a will made by two spouses, in which each spouse’s provisions rely on the provisions of the other. Case law has established that not only formally married couples may make a mutual will: common-law couples may do so as well, including same-sex couples. The legal basis for making a mutual will is Section 8A of the Inheritance Law, 5725-1965, enacted and in force since August 2005. To be clear, mutual wills could be made even before Section 8A was enacted, but the section’s provisions apply only to mutual wills made after it came into force.
And this is what Section 8A of the Inheritance Law provides:
The statutory language of Section 8A: mutual wills
(a) Spouses may make wills in reliance on each other’s wills. Such wills may be made whether the beneficiary under each will is the spouse or a third party, and whether in two documents drawn up at the same time or in a single document (in this section, mutual wills).
(b) The revocation of a mutual will has no effect unless one of the following holds:
(1) During the lifetime of both spouses: the testator seeking to revoke his will must deliver written notice of the revocation to the other testator; once such notice is delivered, the mutual wills of both testators are revoked;
After the death of one of the spouses:
(a) So long as the estate has not been divided: the surviving spouse who seeks to revoke his will must renounce any portion or share of the estate due to him under the mutual will of the deceased testator, a renunciation made not in his own favor, but in favor of a child or a sibling of the deceased;
(b) After the estate has been divided: the surviving spouse who seeks to revoke his will must return to the estate everything he inherited under the mutual will, and where return is impossible or unreasonable, return the value of the portion or share of the estate he inherited;
(c) The provisions of subsection (b) apply where the mutual wills contain no provision to the contrary, though a provision that entirely denies the right to revoke the will during the lifetime of both spouses is void.”
How do you make a mutual will?
Spouses can draw up their mutual will in a single document shared by both of them, or in two separate documents, one for each spouse, drawn up at the same time. This follows from the end of Section 8A(a) of the law: “Such wills may be made … either in two documents drawn up at the same time or in one document.”
The spouses can also provide in their mutual will that the beneficiary is the other spouse and/or a third party. For example, they can direct that their estate go to their children.
When should you make a mutual will?
Mutual wills make sense in many circumstances, for example when a couple wants their property to end up with their joint children, including in the event that, heaven forbid, they later separate and each finds a new partner who would have rights of their own in the estate, something that could spark a needless inheritance dispute.
To that end, the spouses can provide, for example, that each leaves their entire estate to the other, and that after the second spouse also passes away, all the property passes to their joint children. A provision like this can also make sure the property reaches the children even if relations with the surviving spouse later break down, heaven forbid.
Can a mutual will be revoked, and how?
Like any ordinary will, a mutual will can be revoked.
But while the revocation of an ordinary will takes effect immediately, as set out in Section 36 of the Inheritance Law, the revocation of a mutual will by one spouse takes effect only subject to the conditions of Section 8A(b) of the law, which protect the rights of the other spouse, above all where that spouse has already passed away before the will is revoked.
Section 8A(b) distinguishes between a revocation made while both spouses are still alive and a revocation made after one of them has died, as follows:
Revoking a mutual will while both spouses are alive
Where the mutual will is revoked while both spouses are alive, the revocation takes effect only after the revoking spouse delivers written notice of the revocation to the other spouse, ensuring the other spouse knows the will has been revoked.
Once written notice of revocation is delivered, the wills of both spouses are revoked simultaneously. That is, not only the revoking spouse’s will is canceled, but the other spouse’s will as well.
Each of them is then free to make a new will, or to make none, in which case their estate will be distributed under the statutory inheritance rules (also set out in the Inheritance Law).
Revoking a mutual will after one spouse has passed away
Where the mutual will is revoked after the other spouse has already passed away, two situations must be distinguished: the deceased spouse’s estate has not yet been divided, or it has already been divided.
If the mutual will is revoked before the deceased spouse’s estate is divided, the revoking spouse must renounce, that is, give up, the entire share the deceased spouse left them under the mutual will, for the revocation to take effect.
If the mutual will is revoked after the deceased spouse’s estate has already been divided, the revoking spouse must return to the estate everything they received under the mutual will, for the revocation to take effect.
Note, however, that Section 8A(c) of the Inheritance Law provides that the rules of Section 8A(b) apply only “where the mutual wills contain no provision to the contrary, though a provision that entirely denies the right to revoke the will during the lifetime of both spouses is void.“
In other words, Section 8A(c) allows the mutual will to include a clause letting each spouse revoke it in a manner different from the one set out in Section 8A(b), on condition that the clause does not entirely deny either spouse’s right to revoke the will while both are still alive.
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* Updated for 2026
