Last Will and Testament for Single Person with No Children
Note: This summary is not intended to be an all-inclusive discussion of the law of wills in Alabama, but does provide basic
and other information. This discussion does not include handwritten
wills.
Who may make a will: Any person 18 or more
years of age who is of sound mind may make a will. 43-8-130.
Execution and signature of will; witnesses: Every will
shall be in writing, signed by the testator and shall be signed by at least
two persons each of whom witnessed either the signing or the testator's
acknowledgment of the signature or of the will. 43-8-131.
Self-proved will: Any will may be simultaneously
executed, attested, and made self-proved, by acknowledgment thereof by
the testator and affidavits of the witnesses, each made
before an officer authorized to administer oaths under the laws
of the state where execution occurs and evidenced by the officer'scertificate,
under official seal. The will you have found contains the Alabama
self-proving affidavit. 43-8-132.
Who may witness will: (a) Any person generally
competent to be a witness may act as a witness to a will. (b)
A will or any provision thereof is not invalid because the will is signed
by an interested witness. 43-8-134.
Choice of law as to validity of execution: A
written will is valid if executed in compliance with Alabama law, or if
its execution complies with the law at the time of execution of
the place where the will is executed, or with the law of the place where
at the time of execution or at the time of death the testator is domiciled,
has a place of abode or is a national. 43-8-135.
Revocation by writing or by act; when witnesses required:
(a) A will or any part thereof is revoked by a subsequent will which revokes
the prior will or part expressly or by inconsistency. (b) A will is revoked
by being burned, torn, canceled, obliterated, or destroyed, with the intent and for the purpose
of revoking it by the testator or by another person in his presence by
his consent and direction. If the physical act is by someone other than
the testator, consent and direction of the testator must be proved by at
least two witnesses. 43-8-136.
Revocation by divorce or annulment; revival by remarriage; no
revocation by other changes or circumstances:
If after executing a will the testator is divorced or his marriage annulled,
the divorce or annulment revokes any disposition or appointment of property
made by the will to the former spouse, any provision conferring a general
or special power of appointment on the former spouse, and any nomination
of the former spouse as executor, trustee, or guardian, unless the will
expressly provides otherwise. Property prevented from passing to a former
spouse because of revocation by divorce or annulment passes as if the former
spouse failed to survive the decedent, and other provisions conferring
some power or office on the former spouse are interpreted as if the spouse
failed to survive the decedent. If provisions are revoked solely by this
section, they are revived by testator's remarriage to the former spouse.
43-8-137.
Incorporation by reference: Any writing
in existence when a will is executed may be incorporated by reference if
the language of the will manifests this intent and describes the writing
sufficiently to permit its identification. 43-8-139.
Who may have will probated: Upon the death
of a testator, any executor, devisee, or legatee named in the will, or
any person interested in the estate, or who has custody of such
will may have the will proved before the proper probate court. 43-8-160.
Time limit for probate: Wills shall not
be effective unless filed for probate within five years from the date of
the death of the testator. 43-8-161.
Where will probated: Wills must be proved
in the several probate courts as follows:
(1) When the testator, at the time of his death, was an
inhabitant of the county, in the probate court of such county.
(2) When the testator, not being an inhabitant of the state, dies
in the county, leaving assets therein, in the probate court of such county.
(3) When the testator, not being an inhabitant of the state, dies
out of the county, leaving assets therein, in the probate of the county
in which such assets, or any part thereof, are.
(4) When the testator, not being an inhabitant of the state, dies,
not leaving assets therein, and assets thereafter come into any county,
in the probate court of any county into which such assets are brought.
(5) In the probate court of the county designated by testator in
the will if the testator owns property in such county at the time of his
death. 43-8-162.
Duty of custodian of will after death of testator; liability:
After the death of a testator and on request of an interested person,
any person having custody of a will of the testator shall deliver it with
reasonable promptness to a person able to secure its probate and if none
is known, to an appropriate court. Any person who wilfully fails to deliver
a will is liable to any person aggrieved for the damages which may be sustained
by the failure. Any person who wilfully refuses or fails to deliver a will
after being ordered by the court in a proceeding brought for the purpose
of compelling delivery is subject to the penalty for contempt of court. 43-8-270.
