Title 15, Estates and Probate

Wills must be proved, and letters testamentary, letters of administration with the will annexed, letters of administration or special letters of administration granted, and administration of estates of decedents had, in the Superior Court of Guam. SOURCE: Probate Code of Guam (19…

In the absence of fraud in its procurement, an order of the Superior Court of Guam granting letters testamentary, letters of administration with the will annexed, or letters of administration, when such order COL120106 becomes final, is a conclusive determination of the jurisdict…

of Proceedings to Other Judge. (a) No will shall be admitted to probate, or letters testamentary, letters of administration with the will annexed or letters of administration granted, or other proceeding had (except the ordering of a transfer as provided in subsection (b) of this…

(a) If the custodian of a will is some person other than the Clerk of the Superior Court of Guam acting as such, the custodian must, within thirty (30) calendar days after being informed that the maker thereof is dead, deliver the same to the Clerk of the Superior Court of Guam o…

Any executor, devisee or legatee named in a will, or any other person interested in the estate, may, at any time after the testator's death, petition the Superior Court of Guam for the probate of the testator's will and that letters testamentary or letters of administration with …

Failure to Petition. If the person named in a will as executor, for thirty (30) calendar days after he has knowledge of the death of the testator and that he is named as executor, fails to petition the Superior Court of Guam for the probate of the testator's will and that letters…

Statement of Jurisdictional Facts Not a Bar to Court's Jurisdiction. (a) A petition for the probate of a will and for the grant of letters testamentary, or of letters of administration with the will annexed in the first instance, must be in writing, signed by the petitioner or th…

COL120106 A will admitted to probate in any State or United States territory, or established or proved in accordance with the laws thereof, may be offered for probate in the Superior Court of Guam if the Superior Court of Guam has jurisdiction under the provisions of Chapter 14 o…

The executor or administrator with the will annexed, or any person interested in a will admitted to probate in any State or United States territory, or established or proved in accordance with the laws thereof, may file a copy of such will and of the order or decree admitting it …

Produce; Court Has Power to Enforce Production of Wills and Attendance of Witnesses. (a) If it is alleged in a petition praying for the admission of a will to probate and for the grant of letters testamentary or for letters of administration with the will annexed that some person…

Letters. When a petition for the probate of a will and for the grant of letters testamentary, or letters of administration with the will annexed, is filed in the first instance, the Clerk of the Superior Court of Guam shall set the same for hearing upon some day not fewer than tw…

Executors. At least ten (10) calendar days before the hearing on a petition for the probate of a will and for the grant of letters testamentary, or for letters of administration with the will annexed, filed in the first instance, a copy of the notice of such hearing must be serve…

(a) If no one appears to contest the probate at the hearing provided in Section 1515 of this Title, and upon proof that due notice of the hearing has been given pursuant to the provisions of Sections 1517 and 3401 of this Title, the Superior Court of Guam may admit a witnessed wi…

If the will of a person who at the time of death was a resident of Guam is detained beyond the jurisdiction of Guam, in a court of any State or United States territory, and cannot be produced for probate in Guam, a photographic copy of the will duly authenticated may be admit- te…

A holographic will may be proved in the same manner as other private writings. SOURCE: Probate Code of Guam (1970), § 331. OFFICIAL FORM: See Official Form No. 5, Appendix "A".

Previously Appointed Administrator Pending Hearing on Petition. (a) No will shall be proved as a lost or destroyed will unless: (1) Such will is proved to have been in physical existence at the time of the testator's death; or (2) Such will is proved to have been destroyed by pub…

of Wills. (a) When the Superior Court of Guam admits a will to probate the will shall be recorded in the permanent records of the Superior Court of Guam by the Clerk of the Superior Court of Guam, with the notation: "Admitted to probate (giving date);" provided, that the provisio…

Perpetuation of Witnesses' Testimony. COL120106 If a lost or destroyed will is established, the provisions thereof shall be set forth in the order admitting the will to probate, and the order shall be entered at length in the permanent records of the Superior Court of Guam. The t…

Elsewhere. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if it appears from the order or decree referred to in Section 1511 of this Title, or if it be otherwise proved in cases in which there is no such order or decree, that a will has been admitted to probate in a State or another…

At any time before the hearing of a petition for probate and for the grant of letters testamentary, or of letters of administration with the will annexed in the first instance, any person interested may contest the will by filing written grounds of opposition to the probate there…

In the trial of a contest filed before the hearing of a petition for probate and for the grant of letters testamentary or of letters of administration with the will annexed, as provided in Section 1601 of this Title, the contestant is the plaintiff and the petitioner is defendant…

Where Subscribing Witnesses are Unavailable. (a) At the trial of a contest filed before the hearing of a petition for probate and for the grant of letters testamentary or of letters of administration with the will annexed, as provided in Section 1601 of this Title, all of the sub…

Upon trial of the issues joined in a contest which was filed before the hearing of a petition for probate and for the grant of letters testamentary or of letters of administration with the will annexed, as provided in Section 1601 of this Title, the Superior Court of Guam shall r…

Such Perpetuated Testimony in Subsequent Contest. The testimony of each subscribing witness who has testified at the trial of a contest which was filed before the hearing of a petition for probate and for the grant of letters testamentary or of letters of administration with the …

to File. When a will has been admitted to probate, any interested person, other than a party to a contest before probate and other than a person who had actual notice of such previous contest in time to have joined therein, may, within one hundred eighty (180) calendar days after…

Heirs. Within ten (10) calendar days following the timely filing of the petition provided in Section 1611 of this Title, the Clerk of the Superior Court of Guam shall issue a citation directed to the executor of the will or to the administrator with the will annexed, and to all t…

Upon Successful Contest. The citation provided in Section 1613 of this Title shall be served in the manner provided by law for service of a summons in a civil action, and proceedings thereunder shall be had as in the case of a contest before probate under the provisions of Subcha…

If, following the filing of the petition provided in Section 1611 of this Title, the probate is not revoked, all costs of trial, including the prevailing party's costs and reasonable attorney's fees incurred for the contest, shall be paid by the contestant. If the probate is revo…

Exceptions. If no person contests the validity of a will or of the probate thereof within the time specified in Section 1611 of this Title, the probate of such COL10312014 will is conclusive; saving to infants and persons of unsound mind who were not made parties to the contest a…

Failure to contest a will under the provisions of this Chapter does not preclude the subsequent probate of another will of the same decedent. SOURCE: Probate Code of Guam (1970), § 385. COMMENT: The premise underlying § 1621 is that the offer of another will to probate is not a c…

(a) Any of the following may be appointed to serve as executors: (1) Natural persons; (2) Territorial banks which are authorized by their charters to exercise trust powers and which have qualified to act as fiduciaries COL120106 ADMINISTRATORS WITH THE WILL ANNEXED pursuant to th…

When it appears, by the terms of a will, that it was the testator's intention to commit the execution thereof and the administration of the testator's estate to any person as executor, such person, although not named executor in the will, is entitled to a grant of letters testame…

Coexecutor, Successor Executor or Successor Coexecutor. The testator may, by will, confer to one or more natural persons the power to designate an executor, to designate himself and some other COL120106 ADMINISTRATORS WITH THE WILL ANNEXED natural person coexecutors, or to design…

Interim Executor or Administrator With the Will Annexed; Effect of Removal of Disability. (a) When a natural person who is incompetent to serve as an execu- tor pursuant to the provisions of Section 1701(c) of this Title is named in a will as an executor, and there is another exe…

Appointment of Attorney for Service of Process. (a) Removal from and residence without Guam by an executor who was formerly a resident, is equivalent to and shall constitute an appointment by such executor of his Guam attorney of record to be his COL120106 ADMINISTRATORS WITH THE…

Permanent Address; Change of Address; Removal for Failure to Comply. (a) Any executor who removes from and resides without Guam shall file in the proceedings relating to the estate of the decedent an original statement signed and acknowledged by such executor, setting forth his p…

Notice of Motion; Proof of Service. (a) Service of process or a notice of motion upon an executor who has removed from and resides without Guam, in any action or proceeding against such executor with respect to the estate or founded upon or arising out of such executor's acts or …

to Answer. Service made under the provisions of Section 1713 of this Title upon an executor who has removed from and resides without Guam shall have the same legal force and validity as if service had been made personally within Guam; provided, however, that when a summons and co…

Those to Whom Letters Are Granted. COL120106 ADMINISTRATORS WITH THE WILL ANNEXED When letters testamentary are not granted by the Superior Court of Guam to all executors named in a will, those to whom such letters are granted have the same authority to act in every respect as ef…

Testamentary. No person has any power as an executor before he qualifies, except that before letters testamentary are granted, the person or persons named in the testator's will as executor or executors may pay the charges for the testator's funeral and take necessary measures fo…

If no person files an objection to the granting of letters testamentary as provided in Section 1723(a) of this Title, the Superior Court of Guam when admitting a will to probate must grant letters testamentary thereon to the person or persons named therein as executor or executor…

for Letters of Administration With the Will Annexed; Circumstances for Appointment of Administrator With Will Annexed. (a) Any person interested in the estate may, at any time prior to the hearing provided in Section 1515 of this Title, file objections in writing to the granting …

the First Instance; Circumstances for and Priority of Appointment; Powers; Security for Faithful Performance of Trust. (a) The Superior Court of Guam shall appoint an administrator with the will annexed in the first instance, and shall grant to such appointee letters of administr…

(a) No person is competent to serve as an administrator who has not the qualifications required of an executor pursuant to the provisions of Section 1701 of this Title. (b) The letters of any natural person appointed to serve as an administrator may, in the discretion of the Supe…

Person Objects to Appointment. The surviving partner of a decedent must not be appointed administrator of the estate if any person interested in the estate objects to such surviving partner's appointment. SOURCE: Probate Code of Guam (1970), § 421.

(a) Letters of administration of the estate of a person dying intestate must be granted to one or more of the following persons, if competent under the provisions of Section 1801 of this Title, who are entitled to letters of administration, upon proper petition therefor, in the f…