Last Will and Testament for a Single Person with Minor Children
Note: This summary is not intended to be an all-inclusive discussion of the law of wills in Utah, but does contain basic
and other provisions. A discussion of handwritten wills is not included.
Who may make will: An individual 18 or
more years of age who is of sound mind may make a will. 75-2-501.
Execution: A will shall be in writing, signed by the testator
and signed by at least two individuals ass witnesses. 75-2-502.
Writings intended as wills: Although a
document or writing added upon a document was not executed in compliance
with law, the document or writing is treated as if it had been executed
in compliance with law if the proponent of the document or writing establishes
by clear and convincing evidence that the decedent intended the document
or writing to constitute: (1) the decedent's will;
(2) a partial or complete revocation of the will; (3) an addition
to or an alteration of the will; or (4) a partial or complete revival
of his formerly revoked will or of a formerly revoked portion of the will.
75-2-503.
Self-Proved: A will may be made self proved
by execution of the appropriate self proving affidavit by the testator
and witnesses. The form you have found contains the Utah self-proving
affidavit. 75-2-504.
Who may witness: An individual generally
competent to be a witness may act as a witness to a will. The signing
of a will by an interested witness does not invalidate the will or any
provision of it. 75-2-505.
Choice of law as to execution: A written will is valid
if executed in compliance with Utah law, 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. 75-2-506.
Revocation by writing or by act: 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. "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. 75-2-507.
Incorporation by reference: A 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. 75-2-510.
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 shall be signed by the testator and shall 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. 75-2-513.
Contracts concerning succession:
(1)
A contract to make a will or devise, or not to revoke a will or devise,
or to die intestate, if executed after July 1, 1998, may be established
only by:
(a) provisions of a will stating
material provisions of the contract;
(b) an express reference in a will to a contract and extrinsic
evidence proving the terms of the contract; or
(c) a writing signed by the decedent evidencing the contract.
(2) The execution of a joint will or mutual wills does not
create a presumption of a contract not to revoke the will or wills. 75-2-514.
Penalty clause for contest: A provision
in a will purporting to penalize an interested person for contesting the
will or instituting other proceedings relating to the estate is unenforceable
if probable cause exists for instituting proceedings. 75-2-515.
