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MINNESOTA LEGAL INFORMATION
Last Will and Testament Statutes
Link to the Minnesota Statutes online which contain the portion of the Probate Code dealing with last wills.
Last Will information from the Minnesota Bar Association
American Bar Association Guide to Wills and Estates
American Bar Association, Estate Planning
Selected Minnesota Statutes
- MS Section 524.2-501 Who may make a will. Any person 18 or more years of age who is of sound mind may make a will.
- MS Section 524.2-502 Execution; witnessed wills. Except as provided in sections 524.2-506 and 524.2-513, a will must be:
(1) in writing;
(2) signed by the testator or in the testator's name by some other individual in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction; and
(3) signed by at least two individuals, each of whom signed within a reasonable time after witnessing either the signing of the will as described in clause (2) or the testator's acknowledgment of that signature or acknowledgment of the will.
- MS Section 524.2-504 Self-proved will.
(a) A will may be contemporaneously 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 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 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 18 years of age or older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.
...............................
Witness
...............................
Witness
State of ................
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 ........, .... .
(Seal)
(Signed)......................................
..............................................
(Official capacity of officer)
- MS Section 524.2-505 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.
- MS Section 524.2-507 Revocation by writing or by act.
(a) A will or any part thereof is revoked:
- by executing a subsequent will that revokes the previous will or part expressly or by inconsistency; or
- 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 clause, "revocatory act on the will" includes burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating, or destroying the will or any part of it. A burning, tearing, or canceling may be a "revocatory act on the will," whether or not the burn, tear, or cancellation touched any of the words on the will.
(b) If a subsequent will does not expressly revoke a previous will, the execution of the subsequent will wholly revokes the previous will by inconsistency if the testator intended the subsequent will to replace rather than supplement the previous will.
(c) The testator is presumed to have intended a subsequent will to replace rather than supplement a previous will if the subsequent will makes a complete disposition of the testator's
estate. If this presumption arises and is not rebutted by clear and convincing evidence, the previous will is revoked; only the subsequent will is operative on the testator's death.
(d) The testator is presumed to have intended a subsequent will to supplement rather than replace a previous will if the subsequent will does not make a complete disposition of the
testator's estate. If this presumption arises and is not rebutted by clear and convincing evidence, the subsequent will revokes the previous will only to the extent the subsequent will
is inconsistent with the previous will; each will is fully operative on the testator's death to the extent they are not inconsistent.
- MS Section 524.2-508 Revocation by changes of circumstances. Except as provided in sections 524.2-803 and 524.2-804, a change of circumstances does not revoke a will or any part of it.
- MS Section 524.2-513 Separate writing identifying bequest of tangible 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 and coin collections, and property used in trade or business. To be admissible under this section as evidence of the intended disposition, the writing must be referred to in the will, must be either in the handwriting of the testator or 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 which has no significance apart from its effect upon the dispositions made by the will.
A writing may include multiple writings and if an item of tangible personal property is disposed of to different persons by different writings, the most recent writing controls the disposition of the item.
- MS Section 524.2-802 Effect of dissolution of marriage, annulment, and decree of separation. A person whose marriage to the decedent has been dissolved or annulled is not a surviving spouse unless, by virtue of a subsequent marriage, the person is married to the decedent at the time of death. A decree of separation which does not terminate the status of husband and wife is not a dissolution of marriage for purposes of this section.
- MS Section 524.2-803 Effect of homicide on intestate succession, wills, joint assets, life insurance and beneficiary designations.
(a) A surviving spouse, heir or devisee who feloniously and
intentionally kills the decedent is not entitled to any benefits
under the will or under this article, including an intestate
share, an elective share, an omitted spouse's or child's share,
homestead, exempt property, and a family allowance, and the
estate of decedent passes as if the killer had predeceased the
decedent. Property appointed by the will of the decedent to or
for the benefit of the killer passes as if the killer had
predeceased the decedent.
(b) Any joint tenant who feloniously and intentionally
kills another joint tenant thereby effects a severance of the
interest of the decedent so that the share of the decedent
passes as the decedent's property and the killer has no rights
by survivorship. This provision applies to joint tenancies in
real and personal property, joint accounts in banks, savings
associations, credit unions and other institutions, and any
other form of coownership with survivorship incidents.
(c) A named beneficiary of a bond or other contractual
arrangement who feloniously and intentionally kills the
principal obligee is not entitled to any benefit under the bond
or other contractual arrangement and it becomes payable as
though the killer had predeceased the decedent.
(d) A named beneficiary of a life insurance policy who
feloniously and intentionally kills the person upon whose life
the policy is issued is not entitled to any benefit under the
policy and the proceeds of the policy shall be paid and
distributed by order of the court as hereinafter provided. If a
person who feloniously and intentionally kills a person upon
whose life a life insurance policy is issued is a beneficial
owner as shareholder, partner or beneficiary of a corporation,
partnership, trust or association which is the named beneficiary
of the life insurance policy, to the extent of the killer's
beneficial ownership of the corporation, partnership, trust or
association, the proceeds of the policy shall be paid and
distributed by order of the court as hereinafter provided.
Upon receipt of written notice by the insurance company at
its home office that the insured may have been intentionally and
feloniously killed by one or more named beneficiaries or that
the insured may have been intentionally and feloniously killed
by one or more persons who have a beneficial ownership in a
corporation, partnership, trust or association, which is the
named beneficiary of the life insurance policy, the insurance
company shall, pending court order, withhold payment of the
policy proceeds to all beneficiaries. In the event that the
notice has not been received by the insurance company before
payment of the policy proceeds, the insurance company shall be
fully and finally discharged and released from any and all
responsibility under the policy to the extent that the policy
proceeds have been paid.
The named beneficiary, the insurance company or any other
party claiming an interest in the policy proceeds may commence
an action in the district court to compel payment of the policy
proceeds. The court may order the insurance company to pay the
policy proceeds to any person equitably entitled thereto,
including the deceased insured's spouse, children, issue,
parents, creditors or estate, and may order the insurance
company to pay the proceeds of the policy to the court pending
the final determination of distribution of the proceeds by the
court. The insurance company, upon receipt of a court order,
judgment or decree ordering payment of the policy proceeds,
shall pay the policy proceeds according to the terms of the
order, and upon payment of such proceeds according to the terms
of the court order, shall be fully and completely discharged and
released from any and all responsibility for payment under the
policy.
(e) Any other acquisition of property or interest by the
killer shall be treated in accordance with the principles of
this section.
(f) A final judgment of conviction of felonious and
intentional killing is conclusive for purposes of this section.
In the absence of a conviction of felonious and intentional
killing the court may determine by a preponderance of evidence
whether the killing was felonious and intentional for purposes
of this section.
(g) This section does not affect the rights of any person
who, before rights under this section have been adjudicated,
purchases from the killer for value and without notice property
which the killer would have acquired except for this section,
but the killer is liable for the amount of the proceeds or the
value of the property. Any insurance company, bank, or other
obligor making payment according to the terms of its policy or
obligation is not liable by reason of this section unless prior
to payment it has received at its home office or principal
address written notice of a claim under this section.
- MS Section 524.2-804 Revocation by dissolution of marriage; no
revocation by other changes of circumstances.
Subdivision 1. Revocation upon dissolution. Except
as provided by the express terms of a governing instrument,
other than a trust instrument under section 501B.90, executed
prior to the dissolution or annulment of an individual's
marriage, a court order, a contract relating to the division of
the marital property made between individuals before or after
their marriage, dissolution, or annulment, or a plan document
governing a qualified or nonqualified retirement plan, the
dissolution or annulment of a marriage revokes any revocable:
- disposition, beneficiary designation, or appointment of
property made by an individual to the individual's former spouse
in a governing instrument;
- provision in a governing instrument conferring a
general or nongeneral power of appointment on an individual's
former spouse; and
- nomination in a governing instrument, nominating an
individual's former spouse to serve in any fiduciary or
representative capacity, including a personal representative,
executor, trustee, conservator, agent, or guardian.
Subd. 2. Effect of revocation. Provisions of a
governing instrument are given effect as if the former spouse
died immediately before the dissolution or annulment.
Subd. 3. Revival if dissolution nullified.
Provisions revoked solely by this section are revived by the
individual's remarriage to the former spouse or by a
nullification of the dissolution or annulment.
Subd. 4. No revocation for other change of
circumstances. No change of circumstances other than as
described in this section and in section 524.2-803 effects a
revocation.
Subd. 5. Protection of payors and other third parties.
- A payor or other third party is not liable for having
made a payment or transferred an item of property or any other
benefit to a beneficiary designated in a governing instrument
affected by a dissolution, annulment, or remarriage, or for
having taken any other action in good faith reliance on the
validity of the governing instrument, before the payor or other
third party received written notice of the dissolution,
annulment, or remarriage. A payor or other third party is
liable for a payment made or other action taken after the payor
or other third party received written notice of a claimed
forfeiture or revocation under this section.
- Written notice of the dissolution, annulment, or
remarriage under paragraph (a) must be delivered to the payor's
or other third party's main office or home. Upon receipt of
written notice of the dissolution, annulment, or remarriage, a
payor or other third party may pay any amount owed or transfer
or deposit any item of property held by it to or with the court
having jurisdiction of the probate proceedings relating to the
decedent's estate or, if no proceedings have been commenced, to
or with the court having jurisdiction of probate proceedings
relating to decedents' estates located in the county of the
decedent's residence. The court shall hold the funds or item of
property and, upon its determination under this section, shall
order disbursement or transfer in accordance with the
determination. Payments, transfers, or deposits made to or with
the court discharge the payor or other third party from all
claims for the value of amounts paid to or items of property
transferred to or deposited with the court.
Library of Informational Legal Articles
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