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OKLAHOMA LEGAL INFORMATION
Last Will and Testament Statutes
Link to the Oklahoma Statutes online which contain the portion of the Probate Code dealing with last wills.
Last Will information from the Oklahoma Bar Association
American Bar Association Guide to Wills and Estates
American Bar Association, Estate Planning
Selected Oklahoma Statutes
- §84-41. Persons Who May Make a Will-Persons Subject to Guardianship or Conservatorship.
A. Every person over the age of eighteen (18) years of sound mind may, by last will, dispose of all his estate, real and personal, and such
estate not disposed of by will is succeeded to as provided in this
title, being chargeable in both cases with the payment of all the
decedent's debts, as provided in Title 12 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
B. The appointment of a guardian or a conservator does not prohibit a
person from disposing of his estate, real and personal, by will;
provided, that when any person subject to a guardianship or
conservatorship shall dispose of such estate by will, such will must
be subscribed and acknowledged in the presence of a judge of the
district court. The judge before whom the will is subscribed and
acknowledged shall attest to the execution of the will but shall have
neither the duty nor the authority to approve or disapprove the
contents of the will. Subscribing and acknowledging such will before a
judge shall not render such will valid if it would otherwise be
invalid.
- §84-42. Married Women's Rights as to Wills. A married woman may dispose of all her separate estate by will, without the consent of her husband, and may alter or revoke the will in like manner as if she were single. Her will must be executed and proved in like manner as other wills.
- §84-43. Procurement of Will or Revocation by Duress, Menace, Fraud or Undue Influence. A will or part of a will procured to be made by duress, menace, fraud
or undue influence, may be denied probate; and a revocation procured
by the same means, may be declared void.
- §84-44. Property Acquired by Joint Industry.
A. Every estate in property may be disposed of by will; provided
however, that a will shall be subservient to any antenuptial marriage
contract in writing; but no spouse shall bequeath or devise away from
the other so much of the estate of the testator that the other spouse
would receive less in value than would be obtained through succession
by law; provided, however, that of the property not acquired by joint
industry during coverture the testator be not required to devise or
bequeath more than one-half (1/2) thereof in value to the surviving
spouse; provided further, that no person shall by will dispose of
property which could not be by the testator alienated, encumbered or
conveyed while living, except that the homestead may be devised by one
spouse to the other. This subsection shall not apply to the estate of
a decedent who dies on or after July 1, 1985.
B. This subsection shall apply to the estate of a decedent who dies on
or after July 1, 1985.
- Every estate in property may be disposed of by will except that a
will shall be subservient to any antenuptial marriage contract in
writing. In addition, no spouse shall bequeath or devise away from the
other so much of the estate of the testator that the other spouse
would receive less in value than an undivided one-half (1/2) interest
in the property acquired by the joint industry of the husband and wife
during coverture. No person shall by will dispose of property which
could not be by the testator alienated, encumbered or conveyed while
living, except that the homestead may be devised by one spouse to the
other.
- The spouse of a decedent has a right of election to take the
one-half (1/2) interest in the property as provided in paragraph 1 of
this subsection in lieu of all devises, legacies and bequests for the
benefit of the spouse contained in the last will and testament of the
decedent.
- If the surviving spouse desires to make the election provided in
paragraph 2 of this subsection to take the property specified therein
in lieu of all devises, legacies and bequests for the benefit of the
surviving spouse contained in the last will and testament of a
decedent, then the surviving spouse shall make such election
affirmatively in writing, which writing shall be filed in the district
court in which the estate of the decedent is being administered on or
before the final date for hearing of the petition for final
distribution of the estate. The court clerk shall immediately mail a
copy of such election to the personal representative of the estate and
to all attorneys of record of the estate. Such written election of the
surviving spouse shall be in the form of a writing separate from all
other pleadings and documents filed in the district court in which the
estate is being administered. Failure of the surviving spouse to
substantially comply with the provisions of this subsection shall
render the attempted election by the surviving spouse void and of no
force or effect; provided that such failure shall not prohibit the
surviving spouse from making a subsequent election within the allotted
time period, which substantially complies with this subsection.
- The right of election of the surviving spouse provided for in
paragraph 2 of this subsection is personal to the surviving spouse and
may be exercised only during the lifetime of the surviving spouse.
However, if there has been a guardian or conservator duly appointed by
a court of competent jurisdiction, and such court has judicially
determined the surviving spouse to be incompetent, then such guardian
or conservator may make the election on behalf of the surviving
spouse, but only if the same is approved by the court having
jurisdiction over such guardian or conservator. Further, a certified
copy of the document or documents evidencing the appointment of such
guardian or conservator for the surviving spouse, and a certified copy
of the order of the applicable court approving such guardian's or
conservator's making such election on behalf of the surviving spouse,
shall be attached to the election, which shall also be in substantial
compliance with the provisions of paragraph 3 of this subsection, or
such election shall be void and of no force or effect. The guardian or
conservator may be appointed in any state, and may have been appointed
at any time prior to the expiration of the time permitted for the
election to be made as provided in paragraph 3 of this subsection.
- §84-52. Mutual Wills-Revocation. A conjoint or mutual will is valid, but it may be revoked by any of the testators in like manner with any other will.
- §84-54. Holographic Wills. A holographic will is one that is entirely written, dated and signed by the hand of the testator himself. It is subject to no other form, and may be made in or out of this State, and need not be witnessed.
- §84-55. Formal Requisites in Execution-Self-proved Wills. Every will, other than a nuncupative will, must be in writing; and every will, other than a holographic will and a nuncupative will, must be executed and attested as follows:
- It must be subscribed at the end thereof by the testator himself,
or some person, in his presence and by his direction, must subscribe
his name thereto.
- The subscription must be made in the presence of the attesting
witnesses, or be acknowledged by the testator to them, to have been
made by him or by his authority.
- The testator must, at the time of subscribing or acknowledging the
same, declare to the attesting witnesses that the instrument is his
will.
- There must be two attesting witnesses, each of whom must sign his
name as a witness at the end of the will at the testator's request and
in his presence.
- Every will, other than a holographic and a nuncupative will, and
every codicil to such will or to a holographic will may, at the time
of execution or at any subsequent date during the lifetimes of the
testator and the witnesses, be made self-proved, and the testimony of
the witnesses in the probate thereof may be made unnecessary by:
a. the acknowledgment thereof by the testator and the affidavits of
the attesting witnesses, each made before an officer authorized to
take acknowledgments to deeds of conveyance and to administer oaths
under the laws of this state, such acknowledgments and affidavits
being evidenced by the certificate, with official seal affixed, of
such officer attached or annexed to such testamentary instrument in
form and contents substantially as follows:
THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA
COUNTY OF ___________
Before me, the undersigned authority, on this day personally appeared
__________, __________, and __________, known to me to be the testator
and the witnesses, respectively, whose names are subscribed to the
annexed or foregoing instrument in their respective capacities, and,
all of said persons being by me first duly sworn, said _________,
testator, declared to me and to the said witnesses in my presence that
said instrument is his last will and testament or a codicil to his
last will and testament, and that he had willingly made and executed
it as his free and voluntary act and deed for the purposes therein
expressed; and the said witnesses, each on his oath stated to me, in
the presence and hearing of the said testator, that the said testator
had declared to them that said instrument is his last will and
testament or codicil to his last will and testament, and that he
executed same as such and wanted each of them to sign it as a witness;
and upon their oaths each witness stated further that they did sign
the same as witnesses in the presence of the said testator and at his
request and that said testator was at that time eighteen (18) years of
age or over and was of sound mind.
___________________
Testator
________________
Witness (signature)
____________________________
Name and Residence (printed)
___________________
Witness (signature)
____________________________
Name and Residence (printed)
Subscribed and acknowledged before me by the said __________,
testator, and subscribed and sworn before me by the said __________,
and __________ witnesses, this _____ day of ________, A.D., _______.
(SEAL) (SIGNED)____________________
____________________
(OFFICIAL CAPACITY
OF OFFICER); or
b. the written declaration of the testator and the written
declarations of the attesting witnesses made in substantially the
following form:
We the undersigned are the testator and the witnesses, respectively,
whose names are subscribed to the annexed or foregoing instrument in
their respective capacities, and we do hereby declare that said
__________, testator, declared to said witnesses that said instrument
is his last will and testament or a codicil to his last will and
testament, and that he willingly made and executed it as his free and
voluntary act and deed for the purposes therein expressed; and said
witnesses further declare that the said testator declared to them that
said instrument is his last will and testament or codicil to his last
will and testament, and that he executed same as such and wanted each
of us to sign it as a witness; and that we did sign the same as
witnesses in the presence of the said testator and at his request and
that said testator was at that time eighteen (18) years of age or over
and was of sound mind, all of which we declare and sign under penalty
of perjury this ________ day of ________.
___________________
Testator
___________________
Witness (signature)
____________________________
Name and Residence (printed)
___________________
Witness (signature)
____________________________
Name and Residence (printed)
- §84-56. Witness to Write Name and Place of Residence-Subscription of Testator's Name by Direction.
A witness to a written will must write, with his name, his place of
residence; and a person who subscribed the testator's name, by his
direction, must write his own name as a witness to the will. But a
violation of this section does not affect the validity of the will.
- §84-57. Codicil-Effect of.
The execution of a codicil referring to a previous will has the effect
to republish the will as modified by the codicil.
- §84-71. Execution According to Law of Place Where Made Validates Will or Revocation.
A will, or a revocation thereof, made out of this state by a person not having his domicile in this state; is as valid when executed according to the law of the place in which the same was made, or in which the testator was at the time domiciled, as if it were made in this state, and according to the provisions of this article.
- §84-72. Will or Revocation Executed According to Law. No will or revocation is valid unless executed either according to the provisions of this article, or according to the law of the place in which it was made, or in which the testator was at the time domiciled.
- §84-73. Change of Domicile. Whenever a will or a revocation thereof is duly executed according to the law of the place in which the same was made, or in which the testator was at the time domiciled, the same is regulated as to the validity of its execution, by the law of such place, notwithstanding that the testator subsequently changed his domicile to a place, by the law of which such will would be void.
- §84-101. Revocation or Alteration of Wills. Except in the cases in this article mentioned no written will, nor any part thereof, can be revoked or altered otherwise than:
1. By a written will or other writing of the testator, declaring such revocation or alteration, and executed with the same formalities with which a will should be executed by such testator; or,
2. By being burnt, torn, canceled, obliterated or destroyed, with intent and for the purpose of revoking the same, by the testator himself, or by some person in his presence and by his direction.
- §84-102. Proof of Destruction of a Will. When a will is canceled or destroyed by any other person than the testator, the direction of the testator, and the fact of such injury or destruction, must be proved by two witnesses.
- §84-103. Revocation by Obliteration on Face of the Will-Alteration to Effect New Disposition. A revocation by obliteration on the face of the will may be partial or total, and is complete if the material part is so obliterated as to show an intention to revoke; but where, in order to effect a new disposition the testator attempts to revoke a provision of the will by altering or obliterating it on the face thereof, such revocation is not valid unless the new disposition is legally effected.
- §84-104. Duplicate Wills-Revocation. The revocation of a will, executed in duplicate, may be made by revoking one of the duplicates.
- §84-105. Revocation of Prior Will by Subsequent. A prior will is not revoked by a subsequent will, unless the latter contains an express revocation, or provisions wholly inconsistent with the terms of the former will; but in other cases the prior will remains effectual so far as consistent with the provisions of the subsequent will.
- §84-114. Divorce or Annulment as Revoking Will.
A. If, after making a will, the testator is divorced, all provisions in such will in favor of the testator's spouse so divorced are thereby revoked. Annulment of the testator's marriage shall have the same effect as a divorce. In the event of either divorce or annulment, the testator's former spouse shall be treated for all purposes under the will as having predeceased the testator. Provided, however, this section shall not apply if the decree of divorce or of annulment is vacated or if the testator remarries his former spouse, or following said divorce or annulment, executes a new will or codicil which is not revoked or held invalid.
B. This section shall apply to any will of a decedent dying on or after November 1, 1987.
- §84-143. Bequest to Subscribing Witness Void. All beneficial devises, legacies or gifts whatever, made or given in any will to a subscribing witness thereto, are void unless there are two other competent subscribing witnesses to the same; but a mere charge on the estate of the testator for the payment of debts does not prevent his creditors from being competent witnesses to the will.
Library of Informational Legal Articles
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