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IDAHO LEGAL INFORMATION
Last Will and Testament Statutes
Link to the Idaho Statutes online which contain the portion of the Probate Code dealing with last wills, see Sections 15-2-501, et al.
American Bar Association Guide to Wills and Estates
American Bar Association, Estate Planning
Selected Idaho Statutes
- Who may make a will. Any emancipated minor or any person eighteen (18) or more years of age who is of sound mind may make a will. A married woman may dispose of her property, whether separate or community, in the same manner as any other person subject to the restrictions imposed
by this code.
Idaho Code Section 15-2-501.
- Execution. Except as provided for holographic wills, writings within section 15-2-513 of this Part, and wills within section 15-2-506 of this Part, 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 (2) persons each of whom witnessed either the signing or the testator's acknowledgment of the signature or of the will.
Idaho Code Section 15-2-502.
- holographic will. A will which does not comply with section 15-2-502 of this Part is valid as a holographic will, whether or not witnessed, if the signature and the material provisions are in the handwriting of the testator.
Idaho Code Section 15-2-503.
- Self-proved will. (a) 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, in substantially the following form:
I, _______________, the testator, sign my name to this instrument this _____ day of _________, and being first duly sworn, do hereby declare to the undersigned authority that I sign and execute this instrument as my 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 eighteen 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 the testator's will and that the testator signs it willingly (or willingly directs another to sign for the testator), 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 eighteen years of age or older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.
Witness
Witness
The State of __________
County of _____________
Subscribed, sworn to and acknowledged before me by _______________, the testator, and subscribed and sworn to before me by _______________, and _______________, witness, this _____ day of __________.
(Seal)
(Signed)
(Official capacity of officer)
Idaho Code Section 15-2-504.
- Who may witness. (a) An individual generally competent to be a witness may act as a witness to a will.
(b) The signing of a will by an interested witness does not invalidate the will or any provision of it, including any gift to or appointment of the witness.
Idaho Code Section 15-2-505.
- Revocation by writing or by act. A will or any part thereof is
revoked:
(a) By a subsequent will which revokes the prior will or part expressly
or by inconsistency; or
(b) 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 and by his direction.
(c) The revocation of a will executed in duplicate may be accomplished by
revoking one (1) of the duplicates.
Idaho Code Section 15-2-507.
- Revocation by Divorce -- No Revocation by Other Changes of 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, conservator, 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. For purposes of this section, divorce or annulment means any divorce or annulment which would exclude the spouse as a surviving spouse within the meaning of subsection (b) of section 15-2-802 of this code. A decree of separation which does not terminate the status of husband and wife is not a divorce for purposes of this section. No change of circumstances other than as described in this section revokes a will.
Idaho Code Section 15-2-508.
- Separate writing identifying devise of certain types of tangible personal property. Whether or not the provisions relating to holographic wills apply, 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, evidences of indebtedness, documents of title, and securities,
and property used in trade or business. To be admissible under this section
as evidence of the intended disposition, the writing must either be in the
handwriting of the testator or be signed by him 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 which has no
significance apart from its effect upon the dispositions made by the will.
Idaho Code Section 15-2-513.
- Requirement That Devisee Survive Testator by 120 Hours. A devisee who does not survive the testator by one hundred twenty (120) hours is treated as if he predeceased the testator, unless the will of decedent contains some language dealing explicitly with simultaneous deaths or
deaths in a common disaster, or requiring that the devisee survive the testator or survive the testator for a stated period in order to take under the will.
Idaho Code Section 15-2-601.
Library of Informational Legal Articles
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