The Uniform Probate Code Authorizes Notarized Wills
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2009
Abstract
Anglo-American law has for centuries required that a formal will - to be validly executed - must be in writing, signed by the testator, and witnessed by a specified number of attesting witnesses. Because these statutory formalities have traditionally been applied strictly, a number of wills have been declared invalid in cases in which there was no question that the decedent intended the document to be his or her will and no question of wrongdoing. In 1990, the Uniform Probate Code (UPC) responded to the overly harsh strict-compliance approach by adopting a harmless-error rule. Under the UPC's harmless-error rule, a will whose execution does not strictly comply with the statutory formalities can nevertheless be treated as valid if the proponent establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the decedent intended the document to be his or her will. In 2008, the UPC took another step toward preventing a will from being declared invalid merely because of a harmless defect in execution. Recognizing that it is an accepted part of our culture that the way to make a document "legal" is to get it notarized, the UPC now authorizes notarization as an optional method of will execution instead of attestation by witnesses. In this short article, the Reporter for the UPC amendments describes the unprecedented provision and explains its rationale.
Recommended Citation
Waggoner, Lawrence W., "The Uniform Probate Code Authorizes Notarized Wills" (2009). Public Law & Legal Theory Working Papers. 665.
https://repository.law.umich.edu/pub_law_archive/665