Last Will and Testament for Single Person with Adult and Minor Children
Note: This summary is not intended to be an all-inclusive
discussion of the law of wills in North Dakota, but does contain basic
and other provisions. Handwritten wills discussion is not included.
Who may make a will: Any adult who is of
sound mind may make a will. 30.1-08-01. (2-501)
Who may witness:
1. Any person generally competent to be a witness may act as a
witness to a will.
2. A will or any provision thereof is not invalid because the will
is signed by an interested witness. 30.1-08-05. (2-505)
Execution: A will must be in writing, signed
by the testator and signed by at least two individuals, each of whom signed
within a reasonable time after witnessing the signing of the will by the
testator. 30.1-08-02. (2-502)
Self-proved will: A 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 in which execution
occurs and evidenced by the officer's certificate, under official seal,
attached or annexed to the will. The will you have found contains
the North Dakota Self proving affidavit. 30.1-08-04. (2-504)
Foreign (other state) Wills: A written
will is valid if executed in compliance with section 30.1-08-02 or if its
execution complies with the law at the time of execution of the place where
the will is executed, or of 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. 30.1-08-06. (2-506).
Revocation of Wills: A will or any part
thereof is revoked:
a. By executing a subsequent will that revokes the previous will
or part expressly or by inconsistency; or
b. By performing a revocatory act on the will, if the testator
performed the act with the intent and for the purpose of revoking the will
or part or if another individual performed the act in the testator's conscious
presence and by the testator's direction. For purposes of this subdivision,
"revocatory act on the will" includes
burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating, or destroying the will
or any part of it. A burning, tearing, or canceling is a "revocatory act
on the will", whether or not the burn, tear, or cancellation touched any
of the words on the will. 30.1-08-07. (2-507)
Separate writing identifying devise of certain types of tangible
personal property: A will may refer to a written statement or list
to dispose of items of tangible personal property not otherwise specifically
disposed of by the will, other than money. To be admissible under this
section as evidence of the intended disposition, the writing must be signed
by the testator and must describe the items and the devisees with reasonable
certainty. The writing may be referred to as one to be in existence at
the time of the testator's death; it may be prepared before or after the
execution of the will; it may be altered by the testator after its preparation;
and it may be a writing that has no significance apart from its effect
on the dispositions made by the will. 30.1-08-13. (2-513)
