People prepare and make new Wills for a wide variety of reasons. However, your new Will is not valid until you have actually Executed that new Will correctly.
The specific requirements of a Will are set out in section 9 of the Wills Act 1837:
"No Will shall be valid unless"
(a) it is in writing, and signed by the testator, or by some other person in his
presence and by his direction;
(b) it appears that the testator intended by his signature to give effect to the Will;
(c) the signature is made or acknowledged by the testator in the presence of two or more witnesses present at the same time;
(d) each witness either:
(i) attests and signs the Will; or
(ii) acknowledges his signature, in the presence of the testator (but not necessarily in the presence of any other witness),
but no form of attestation shall be necessary.
2. For the purposes of paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (1), in relation to Wills made on or after 31 January 2020 and on or before 31 January 2022, “presence” includes presence by means of videoconference or other visual transmission.
Once these requirements have been fulfilled and you are certain that your new Will is valid, you can and should then destroy your previous Will. This may involve you obtaining the original from a former Solicitor and they may need for you to provide two forms of identification to enable them to release the original to you.
It is important to retrieve and destroy your previous Will to ensure that your Executor/ Beneficiary/s do not inadvertently obtain probate on an incorrect version of your Will.
If you are unsure about how to sign your Will, or wish to make sure it has been executed correctly, contact a Solicitor who will be more than happy to check this for you.