Is it mandatory to cancel old will when making a new one?

Making a will is entirely based on the will of the heir. According to Article 626 of the 2015 Civil Code, the testator has the right to designate an heir, deprive the heir of the right to inherit the estate as well as specify the portions of the estate for each heir...

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The testator also needs to meet the conditions mentioned in Article 630 of the Civil Code to ensure the will is lawful and effective, in which the testator must have a sound mind and wise while making it.

Ngoài ra, người lập di chúc cũng không bị lừa dối, đe doạ, cưỡng ép. Nội dung và hình thức không trái luật và nội dung di chúc còn không được trái đạo đức xã hội...

In addition, the testator is not deceived, threatened or coerced. The content and form must not contravene the law and the content of the will must not contravene social ethics, etc.

Based on Article 640 of the Civil Code, after making a will, the estate leaver has the complete right to amend, supplement, replace or cancel the will previously made. On the other hand, in Clause 3, Article 640 of the Civil Code, it is affirmed that:

3. In case the testator replaces the will with a new one, the previous will will be annulled.

Therefore, there are only regulations on making new wills, the old wills are annulled without regulations requiring the testator to carry out the procedures for annulment of the previous wills.

At the same time, when a person has many wills, Clause 5, Article 643 of the Civil Code clearly states:

5. When a person leaves more than one will on a property, only the last will is valid.

According to the above provisions, it can be affirmed that when making a new will, only the new will will take effect, and the old wills made before will no longer be valid. Additionally, the testator is not required to carry out the procedures for annulment of previously made wills.