Title 43 — Title 43

Jury; Consideration of Witnesses’ Testimony. The circuit court may, in such case, direct an issue to be tried by a jury, and on the trial before the jury, or hearing before the circuit judge, the testimony of the witnesses reduced to writing by the judge of probate, according to …

(a) Where a proceeding under this chapter could be maintained in more than one place in this state, the court in which the proceeding is first commenced has the exclusive right to proceed. (b) If proceedings concerning the same estate are commenced in more than one court of this …

(a) This division applies to both of the following: (1) Wills filed for probate on or after January 1, 2023, and the removal to circuit court of the administration of a decedent’s estate when the administration commenced on or after January 1, 2023. (2) Any probate proceeding, in…

In addition to the rules of evidence in the courts of general jurisdiction, the following rules relating to a determination of death and status apply: (1) Death occurs when an individual is determined to be dead under the Alabama Determination of Death Act, Section 22-31-1, et se…

Unless the context otherwise requires, in this division, a proceeding includes an action at law and a suit in equity. History: (Act 2022-427, §1.)

To the full extent permitted by the Constitution of Alabama of 2022 both of the following apply: (1) The probate court has jurisdiction over all matters set forth in Section 12-13-1. (2) The probate court where a will is offered for probate has original and general jurisdiction o…

(a) Where a proceeding under this division could be maintained in more than one place in this state, the probate court in which the proceeding is first commenced has the exclusive right to proceed. (b) If proceedings concerning the same estate are commenced in more than one proba…

(a) A will, before the probate thereof or at any time within 180 days after the admission of such will to probate, may be contested by any interested person by filing in the court where it is offered for probate, or if the proceedings in that court have been removed to the circui…

2026-226) [Effective until October 1, 2026.] AMENDED BY ACT 2026-226, EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1, 2026. SEE ACT FOR REVISED LANGUAGE. (a) Except for a proceeding pending in a probate court in a county where the probate court or judge exercises equity jurisdiction concurrent with that of…

Except as otherwise specifically provided in this division or by rule, every document filed with the probate court under this division, including applications, petitions, and demands for notice, shall be deemed to include an oath, affirmation, or statement to the effect that repr…

Except as otherwise specifically provided in this chapter or by rule, every document filed with the court under this chapter including applications, petitions, and demands for notice, shall be deemed to include an oath, affirmation, or statement to the effect that its representat…

A devisee who does not survive the testator by five days is treated as if he or she 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 t…

The meaning and legal effect of a disposition in a will shall be determined by the local law of a particular state selected by the testator in his or her instrument unless the application of that law is contrary to the provisions relating to the elective share described in Sectio…

The intention of a testator as expressed in his or her will controls the legal effect of his or her dispositions. The rules of construction expressed in the succeeding sections of this article apply unless a contrary intention is indicated by the will. History: (Acts 1982, No. 82…

Property. A will is construed to pass all property which the testator owns at his or her death including property acquired after the execution of the will. History: (Acts 1982, No. 82-399, §2-604.)

Gifts. If a devisee who is a grandparent or a lineal descendant of a grandparent of the testator is dead at the time of execution of the will, fails to survive the testator, or is treated as if he or she predeceased the testator, the issue of the deceased devisee who survive the …

(a) Except as provided in Section 43-8-224 if a devise other than a residuary devise fails for any reason, it becomes a part of the residue. (b) Except as provided in Section 43-8-224 if the residue is devised to two or more persons and the share of one of the residuary devisees …

Nonademption. (a) If the testator intended a specific devise of certain securities rather than the equivalent value thereof, the specific devisee is entitled only to: (1) As much of the devised securities as is a part of the estate at time of the testator’s death; (2) Any additio…

Condemnation, Insurance or Foreclosure; Sale by Guardian or Curator. (a) A specific devisee has the right to the remaining specifically devised property and: (1) Any balance of the purchase price (together with any security interest) owing from a purchaser to the testator at deat…

A specific devise passes subject to any mortgage interest existing at the date of death, without right of exoneration, regardless of a general directive in the will to pay debts. History: (Acts 1982, No. 82-399, §2-609.)

A general residuary clause in a will, or a will making general disposition of all of the testator’s property, does not exercise a power of appointment held by the testator unless specific reference is made to the power or there is some other indication of intention to include the…

In the event the estate qualifies as a small estate under Section 43-2-691, the summary distribution proceedings for a small estate under Division 10 of Article 18 of Chapter 2 of this title are available to the small estate. History: (Act 2025-431, §2.)

for Intestate Succession; When Person Born Out of Wedlock Treated as Child of Father. Half-bloods, adopted persons, and persons born out of wedlock are included in class gift terminology and terms of relationship in accordance with rules for determining relationships for purposes…

Property which a testator gave in his or her lifetime to a person is treated as a satisfaction of a devise to that person in whole or in part, only if the will provides for deduction of the lifetime gift, or the testator declares in a contemporaneous writing that the gift is to b…

Nonrevocation from Joint or Mutual Wills. A contract to make a will or devise, or not to revoke a will or devise, or to die intestate, if executed after January 1, 1983, can be established only by: (1) Provisions of a will stating material provisions of the contract; (2) An expre…

Renunciation of succession shall be through compliance with Article 11 of this chapter or as otherwise provided by law. History: (Acts 1982, No. 82-399, §2-801.)

(a) An individual who is divorced from the decedent or whose marriage to the decedent has been annulled is not a surviving spouse unless, by virtue of a subsequent marriage, the individual is married to the decedent at the time of death. A decree of separation that does not termi…

Succession, Wills, Joint Assets, Life Insurance and Beneficiary Designations; Effect of Bona Fide Purchase by Third Party or Good Faith Payment by Obligor, Etc. [Effective until October 1, 2026.] AMENDED BY ACT 2026-287, EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1, 2026. SEE ACT FOR REVISED LANGUAGE. (a…

The appointment of a debtor as an executor is not a discharge of the debt, unless it is so directed in the will. History: (Code 1852, §1606; Code 1867, §1927; Code 1876, §2291; Code 1886, §1952; Code 1896, §4258; Code 1907, §6167; Code 1923, §10592; Code 1940, T. 61, §17; Code 19…

Administrators with the will annexed have the same powers and authority over the estates which executors named in the will would have, and their acts are as effectual for all purposes. History: (Code 1923, §10595; Code 1940, T. 61, §22; Code 1975, §43-1-18.)

Executor or Administrator. Whenever any testator, by the terms of his or her will, so provides, no corporation shall be accepted upon the bond of any executor or administrator of such testator. History: (Code 1896, §3097; Code 1907, §1512; Code 1923, §2645; Code 1940, T. 61, §23;…

After the death of a testator and on request of an interested person, any person having custody of a will of the testator shall deliver it with reasonable promptness to a person able to secure its probate and if none is known, to an appropriate court. Any person who wilfully fail…

This article may be cited as the Alabama Uniform Disclaimer of Property Interests Act. History: (Acts 1981, No. 81-156, §1; Code 1975, §35-17-1.)

(a) A person, or the representative of a deceased, incapacitated person, protected person, incompetent or ward, who is an heir, next of kin, devisee, legatee, grantee, donee, surviving joint tenant, person succeeding to a disclaimed interest, beneficiary under a testamentary or n…

(a) Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, if the property or interest has devolved to the disclaimant under a testamentary instrument or by the laws of intestacy, the disclaimer shall be filed, as to a present interest, not later than nine months after the death o…

The disclaimer shall: (1) Be in writing; (2) Describe the property or interest disclaimed; (3) Declare the disclaimer and extent thereof; and (4) Be signed by the disclaimant. History: (Acts 1981, No. 81-156, §4; Code 1975, §35-17-4.)

(a) If the property or interest devolved to a disclaimant under a testamentary instrument or under the laws of intestacy and the deceased owner or donee of a power of appointment has not provided for another disposition, it devolves as if the disclaimant had predeceased the deced…

The right to disclaim property or an interest therein is barred by: (1) An assignment, conveyance, encumbrance, pledge, or transfer of the property or interest, or a contract therefor; (2) A written waiver of the right to disclaim; (3) An acceptance of the property or interest or…

This article does not abridge the right of a person to waive, release, disclaim, or renounce property or an interest therein under any other statute. History: (Acts 1981, No. 81-156, §7; Code 1975, §35-17-7.)

This article shall be applied and construed to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law with respect to the subject of this article among states enacting it. It is the intent of the legislature of the State of Alabama by this article to clarify the laws of this stat…

An interest in property that exists on the effective date of this article as to which, if a present interest, the time for delivering or filing a disclaimer under this article has not expired or, if a future interest, the interest has not become indefeasibly vested or the taker f…

Unless displaced by the particular provisions of this chapter, the principles of law and equity supplement its provisions. History: (Acts 1982, No. 82-399, §1-103.)

This chapter is a general act intended as a unified coverage of its subject matter and no part of it shall be deemed impliedly repealed by subsequent legislation if it can reasonably be avoided. History: (Acts 1982, No. 82-399, §1-105.)

If an estate is not a small estate, as defined in Section 43-2-691, which is being distributed as a summary distribution under Division 10 of Article 18 of Chapter 2 of this title, then any part of the estate of a decedent not effectively disposed of by the decedent’s will passes…

The intestate share of the surviving spouse is as follows: (1) If there is no surviving issue or parent of the decedent, the entire intestate estate; (2) If there is no surviving issue but the decedent is survived by a parent or parents, the first $100,000.00 in value, plus one-h…

The part of the intestate estate not passing to the surviving spouse under Section 43-8-41, or the entire intestate estate if there is no surviving spouse, passes as follows: (1) To the issue of the decedent; if they are all of the same degree of kinship to the decedent they take…

Any person who fails to survive the decedent by five days is deemed to have predeceased the decedent for purposes of homestead allowance, the exempt property, and intestate succession, and the decedent’s heirs are determined accordingly. If the time of death of the decedent or of…

If there is no taker under the provisions of this article, the intestate estate passes to the state of Alabama. History: (Acts 1982, No. 82-399, §2-105.)

If representation is called for by this chapter, the estate is divided into as many shares as there are surviving heirs in the nearest degree of kinship and deceased persons in the same degree who left issue who survive the decedent, each surviving heir in the nearest degree rece…

Relatives of the half blood inherit the same share they would inherit if they were of the whole blood. History: (Acts 1982, No. 82-399, §2-107.)