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ALABAMA LEGAL INFORMATION
Last Will and Testament
Link to the Alabama Statutes online, See Title 43, Chapter 8 which contains the Probate Code.
Pamphlet from the Alabama State Bar Association regarding Last Wills
American Bar Association Guide to Wills and Estates
American Bar Association, Estate Planning
Alabama Intestate Succession Laws (The rules of succession for those dying without a last will.)
Selected Alabama Statutes
- Who may make a will. Any person 18 or more years of age who is of sound mind may make a will. Alabama Code Section 43-8-130.
- Execution and signature of will; witnesses. Every will shall be in writing signed by the testator or in the testator's name by some other person in the testator's presence and by his direction, 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. Alabama Code Section 43-8-131.
- Self-proved will — Form and execution; how attested will made self-proved:
(a) 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's certificate, under official seal, in substantially the following form:
"I, _____, the testator, sign my name to this instrument this ______ day of _____, 19__, and being first duly sworn, do hereby declare to the undersigned authority that I sign and execute this instrument as my last will and that I sign it willingly (or willingly direct another to sign for me), that I execute it as my free and voluntary act for the purposes therein expressed, and that I am 18 years of age or older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence."
_________________________________
Testator
"We, _____, the witnesses, sign our names to this instrument, being first duly sworn, and do hereby declare to the undersigned authority that the testator signs and executes this instrument as his last will and that he sings it willingly (or willingly directs another to sign for him), and that each of us, in the presence and hearing of the testator, hereby signs this will as witness to the testator's signing, and that to the best of our knowledge the testator is 18 years of age or older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence."
__________________________ __________________________
Witness Witness
State of Alabama
County of _______________
Subscribed, sworn to and acknowledged before me by _____, the testator and subscribed and sworn to before me by _____, and _____, witnesses, this _____ day of _____, 19__.
__________________________
Notary
(c) If the will is self-proved, as provided in this section, compliance with signature requirements for execution is conclusively presumed, other requirements of execution are presumed subject to rebuttal without the testimony of any witness, and the will shall be probated without further proof, unless there is proof of fraud or forgery affecting the acknowledgment or affidavit.
Alabama Code Section 43-8-132.
- Who may witness will. (a) Any person generally competent [i.e., mentally 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. Alabama Code Section 43-8-134.
- 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. Alabama Code Section 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. Alabama Code Section 43-8-137.
- Testamentary additions to trusts. A devise or bequest, the validity of which is determinable by the law of this state, may be made by a will to the trustee of a trust established or to be established by the testator and some other person or by some other person (including a funded or unfunded life insurance trust, although the trustor has reserved any or all rights of ownership of the insurance contracts) if the trust is identified in the testator's will and its terms are set forth in a written instrument (other than a will) executed before or concurrently with the execution of the testator's will or in the valid last will of a person who has predeceased the testator. Alabama Code Section 43-8-140.
- No sufficient evidence of survivorship; disposition of property of decedents. Where the title to property or the devolution thereof depends upon priority of death and there is no sufficient evidence that the persons have died otherwise than simultaneously, the property of each person shall be disposed of as if he had survived, except as provided otherwise in this chapter. Alabama Code Section 43-7-2.
Library of Informational Legal Articles
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The above is provided for informational purposes only and is NOT to be relied upon as legal advice. This service is not a substitute for the advice of an attorney and we encourage users to have all documents created on our site reviewed by an attorney. No attorney-client relationship is established by use of our online legal forms system and the user is not to rely upon any information found anywhere on our site. THESE FORMS ARE SOLD ON AN "AS IS" BASIS WITH NO WARRANTIES OR GUARANTIES. If you wish personal assistance in deciding whether the document found on our site is right for you or desire representations and warranties upon the legality of the document you are purchasing in the jurisdiction you will be using it, contact an attorney licensed to practice law in your state.
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