Disposition of Separate Property and Body by Will

(a) Every adult person of sound mind may dispose of his separate property, real and personal, by will. (b) Every adult person may by will dispose of the whole or any part of his body to a teaching institution, university, college, State or Territorial Director of Public Health or similar official, or any legally licensed hospital, or to or for the use of any nonprofit blood bank, artery bank, eye bank, or other similar therapeutic service operated by any agency approved by the Director of Public Health of Guam under rules and regulations established by such Director, either for use as such institution, university, college, Director or similar official, hospital or therapeutic service may see fit, or for use as expressly designated in such will, in all cases subject to the provisions of the Guam Uniform Anatomical Gifts Act. SOURCE: Subsection (a): Probate Code of Guam (1970), § 20; Guam Law Revision Commission. Subsection (b): California Probate Code, § 20 (as amended); Guam Law Revision Commission. 2025 NOTE: Reference to “territory” in subsection (b) omitted pursuant to 1 GCA § 420. COMMENT: Subsection (a) carries over into this Title the substance of § 20 of the Probate Code of Guam (1970.) The prior section, however, began, “Every person of sound mind, over the age of eighteen (18) years....” This has been altered in subsection (a) to avoid questions about who is an “adult” for the purposes of this Section and Division, on the premise that “adult” is defined in 19 GCA § 1101-§ 1103. As to subsection (b), the Commission believes that one of the overriding principles behind Guam’s wills statutes is to allow a testator to dispose of his property as he sees fit, within reasonable constraints imposed by society in its laws. Given this principle, the Commission believes that there is no reason why a testator should not be allowed to dispose of his body, or any part thereof, if such is the testator’s desire. Statutory authorization for such disposition, as provided in subsection (b) of § 101, may avoid the necessity of judicial determination of the validity of such a provision in a will. Also see 10 GCA Chapter 83 (Uniform Anatomical Gift Act).