Title XV, JUDICIAL BRANCH AND JUDICIAL PROCEDURES (Ch. 595 - 686D)

When the interests of creditors will not thereby be prejudiced, a testator may prescribe the entire manner in which the testator’s estate shall be administered, and, also, the manner in which the testator’s affairs shall be conducted until the testator’s estate is finally settled…

Unless otherwise defined, “adjusted gross estate” in a will means the entire value of the gross estate as determined under the federal estate tax less the aggregate amount of the deductions allowed by sections 2053 and 2054 of the Internal Revenue Code as defined in section 422.3…

1. If a testator fails to provide in the testator’s will for any child of the testator born to or adopted by the testator after the execution of the testator’s last will, such child, whether born before or after the testator’s death, shall receive a share in the estate of the tes…

Where the testator’s spouse is named as a devisee in a will, it shall be presumed, unless the intent is clear and explicit to the contrary, and except as provided in section 633.272 , that such devise is in lieu of the intestate share and homestead rights of the surviving spouse.…

Any property acquired by the testator after the making of the testator’s will shall pass thereby, and in like manner as if title thereto were vested in the testator at the time of making the will, unless the intent is clear and explicit to the contrary. [C51, §1278; R60, §2310; C…

The clerk shall keep an electronic record to be known as the “Probate Docket”, which shall show: 1. The name of every deceased person whose estate is administered or whose will is admitted to probate, and the date of the person’s death. 2. The name of each person as to whom appli…

No will shall be construed to be contractual or mutual, unless in such will the testator shall expressly state the intent that such will shall be so construed. [C66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §633.270 ]

1. If after making a will the testator is divorced or the testator’s marriage is dissolved, all provisions in the will in favor of the testator’s spouse or of a relative of the testator’s spouse, including but not limited to dispositions, appointments of property, and nominations…

If part but not all of the estate of a decedent is validly disposed of by will, the part not disposed of by will shall be distributed as provided herein for intestate estates. If the testator left a surviving spouse, and the spouse does not take an elective share, the spouse shal…

1. If a devisee dies before the testator, leaving issue who survive the testator, the devisee’s issue who survive the testator shall inherit the property devised to the devisee per stirpes, unless from the terms of the will, the intent is clear and explicit to the contrary. 2. A …

Unless from the terms of the will the intent is clear and explicit to the contrary, and except as provided in section 633.273 : 1. A devise, other than a residuary devise, that fails for any reason becomes a part of the residuary estate. 2. If the residuary estate is devised to t…

The devise to a spouse of the testator, where the spouse does not survive the testator, shall lapse notwithstanding the provisions of section 633.273 , unless from the terms of the will, the intent is clear and explicit to the contrary. [C66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §633.274 ]

A devise or bequest, the validity of which is determinable by the law of this state, may be made by a will to the trustee of a trust established, or to be established, by the testator, or by the testator and some other person or persons, or by some other person or persons, includ…

A will may refer to a written statement, letter, or list to dispose of items of tangible personal property not otherwise specifically disposed of by the will, except tangible personal property used in trade or business. Tangible personal property, for purposes of this section , i…

Section 633.275 shall be so construed as to effectuate its general purpose to make uniform the law of those states which have adopted a similar provision. [C66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §633.277 ]

When any property subject to a mortgage, other lien or security interest, is specifically devised, the devisee shall take such property so devised subject to such mortgage, other lien or security interest, unless the will provides expressly or by necessary implication that such m…

1. Formal execution. All wills and codicils, except as provided in section 633.283 , to be valid, must be in writing, signed by the testator, or by some person in the testator’s presence and by the testator’s express direction writing the testator’s name thereto, and declared by …

When a petition is filed for a conservatorship or guardianship, or a combined petition as provided in section 633.627 , the administration thereof shall be treated as one proceeding, with one docket number, from the date of the filing of the petition. The separate reporting requi…

Any person who is sixteen years of age, or older, and who is competent to be a witness generally in this state, may act as an attesting witness to a will. [C66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §633.280 ]

No will is invalidated because attested by an interested witness; but any interested witness shall, unless the will is also attested by two competent and disinterested witnesses, forfeit so much of the provisions therein made for the interested witness as in the aggregate exceeds…

If a codicil to a defectively executed will is duly executed, and such will is clearly identified in said codicil, the will and the codicil shall be considered as one instrument and the execution of both shall be deemed sufficient. [C97, §3274; C24, 27, 31, 35, 39, § 11853; C46, …

A will executed outside this state, in the mode prescribed by the law, either of the place where executed or of the testator’s domicile, shall be deemed to be legally executed, and shall be of the same force and effect as if executed in the mode prescribed by the laws of this sta…

A will can be revoked in whole or in part only by being canceled or destroyed by the act or direction of the testator, with the intention of revoking it, or by the execution of a subsequent will. When done by cancellation, the revocation must be witnessed in the same manner as th…

After being informed of the death of the testator, the person having custody of the testator’s will shall deliver it to the court having jurisdiction of the testator’s estate. Every person who willfully refuses or fails to deliver a will after being ordered by the court to do so …

The clerk shall maintain a file for the safekeeping of wills. There shall be placed therein wills deposited with the clerk by living testators or by persons on their behalf, and wills of deceased testators not accompanied by petitions for the probate thereof, when deposited with …

Every such will shall be enclosed in a sealed wrapper. The clerk shall indorse thereon the name of the testator, the name of the depositor, the date of deposit, and, if provided, the name of the person to be notified of the deposit of such will upon the death of the testator. The…

During the lifetime of the testator, such will shall be delivered only to the testator, or to some person authorized by the testator by an order in writing duly acknowledged. [C66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §633.288 ] Referred to in §633.287 , 633.645

After being informed of the death of a testator, the clerk shall notify the person, if any, named in the indorsement on the wrapper of said will. If no petition for the probate thereof has been filed within thirty days after the death of the testator, it shall be publicly opened,…

1. After the death of the testator, any interested person may file a verified petition in the district court of the proper county for any of the following: a. To have the will admitted to probate. b. For the appointment of the executor. c. To request a hearing before the will is …

A petition for probate of a will shall state: 1. The name, domicile, and date of death of the decedent. 2. If the decedent was not domiciled in the state at the time of the decedent’s death, then, that the decedent had property within the county in which the petition is filed, or…

A petition for the appointment of an executor shall state the name and address of the person nominated or proposed as executor, and that such person is qualified to act as executor. If the person proposed in said petition is not the person nominated in the will, the petition shal…

Upon the filing of a petition for probate of a will, the court or the clerk may, in its or the clerk’s discretion, hear it forthwith, or at such time and place as the court or clerk may direct, with or without requiring notice, and upon proof of due execution of the will, admit t…

Letters testamentary may be granted to one or more persons found to be qualified. Preference for appointment shall be in the following order: 1. The person designated in the will; 2. Any beneficiary named in the will, or a person nominated by the beneficiaries; 3. Any creditor of…

The proof may be made by the oral or written testimony of one or more of the subscribing witnesses to the will. If such testimony is in writing, it shall be substantially in the following form executed and sworn to before or after the death of the decedent: In the District Court …

If it is desired to prove the execution of the will by deposition, rather than by use of the affidavit form provided in section 633.295 , upon application, the clerk shall issue a commission to some officer authorized by the law of this state to take depositions, with the will an…

If all of such witnesses are deceased or otherwise not available, then it shall be permissible to prove said will by the sworn testimony of two credible disinterested witnesses that the signature to the will is in the handwriting of the person whose will it purports to be, and th…

The court or the clerk shall enter an order either admitting said will to probate, or disallowing probate because of insufficient proof thereof. [C66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §633.298 ]

If a petition for appointment of an executor has been filed, the order admitting the will to probate shall include appointment of an executor thereof, unless the court or clerk shall determine that no appointment should be made at such time. [C51, §1299, 1302; R60, §2331, 2334; C…

When used in this probate code, unless otherwise required by the context, or another subchapter of this probate code, the following words and phrases shall be construed as follows: 1. “Administrator” means any person appointed by the court to administer an intestate estate. 2. “A…

When a will has been admitted to probate the clerk shall have a certificate of such fact, endorsed thereon or annexed thereto, signed by the clerk and attested by the seal of the court; and, when so certified, it, or the transcript of the record properly authenticated, may be rea…

Upon request by the executor, when a will has been admitted to probate and certified pursuant to section 633.300 , the clerk shall cause a certified copy thereof to be placed in the hands of the executor to whom letters are issued. The clerk shall retain the will in a separate fi…

When the clerk places an original will in a separate file as provided in section 633.301 , the clerk shall place and keep a true copy of such will in the probate file containing the proceedings in the estate which it governs. [C66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §633.302 ]

1. As used in this section , “heir” means only such person as would, in an intestate estate, be entitled to a share under section 633.219 . 2. On admission of a will to probate, the executor, as soon as letters are issued, shall cause notice to be published once each week for two…

1. On admission of a will to probate, the executor shall, in accordance with section 633.410 , provide by electronic transmission on a form approved by the department of health and human services to the entity designated by the department of health and human services, a notice of…

1. On admission of a will to probate without administration of the estate, the proponent shall cause to be published, in the manner prescribed in section 633.304 , a notice of the admission of the will to probate. As soon as practicable following the admission of the will to prob…

Whenever it shall appear that the testator died seized of real estate located in a county of this state other than that in which probate is granted, a complete transcript, properly authenticated, of the record entry of the order of court admitting the will to probate, and, if a c…