A.R.S. tit. 14 ch. 2 — Arizona Revised Statutes Title 14 Chapter 2 — Intestate Succession And Wills

14-2101. Intestate estate; modification by will A. Any part of a decedent's estate not effectively disposed of by will passes by intestate succession to the decedent's heirs as prescribed in this chapter, except as modified by the decedent's will. B. A decedent by will may expressly exclude or limit the right of a person or class to succeed to property of the decedent that passes by intestate succession. If that person or a member of that class survives the decedent, the share of the decedent's intestate estate to which that person or class would have succeeded passes as if that person or each member of that class had disclaimed that person's intestate share. 14-2102. Intestate share of surviving spouse The following part of the intestate estate, as to both separate property and the one-half of community property that belongs to the decedent, passes to the surviving spouse: 1. If there is no surviving issue or if there are surviving issue all of whom are issue of the surviving spouse also, the entire intestate estate. 2. If there are surviving issue one or more of whom are not issue of the surviving spouse, one-half of the intestate separate property and no interest in the one-half of the community property that belonged to the decedent. 14-2103. Heirs other than surviving spouse; share in estate Any part of the intestate estate not passing to the decedent's surviving spouse under section 14-2102 or the entire intestate estate if there is no surviving spouse passes in the following order to the following persons who survive the decedent: 1. To the decedent's descendants by representation. 2. If there is no surviving descendant, to the decedent's parents equally if both survive or to the surviving parent. 3. If there is no surviving descendant or parent, to the descendants of the decedent's parents or either of them by representation. 4. If there is no surviving descendant, parent or descendant of a parent, but the decedent is survived by one or more grandparents or descendants of grandparents, half of the estate passes to the decedent's paternal grandparents equally if both survive or to the surviving paternal grandparent or the descendants of the decedent's paternal grandparents or either of them if both are deceased with the descendants taking by representation. The other half passes to the decedent's maternal relatives in the same manner. If there is no surviving grandparent or descendant of a grandparent on either the paternal or the maternal side, the entire estate passes to the decedent's relatives on the other side in the same manner as the half. 14-2104. Heirs; surviving of decedent; time requirement; presumption; exception A. A person who does not survive the decedent by at least one hundred twenty hours is deemed to have predeceased the decedent for purposes of homestead allowance, exempt property and intestate succession, and the decedent's heirs are determined accordingly. B. If it is not established by clear and convincing evidence that a person who would otherwise be an heir survived the decedent by at least one hundred twenty hours, it is deemed that the individual failed to survive for the required period. C. This section does not apply if its application would result in a taking of intestate estate by the state under section 14-2105. 14-2105. Unclaimed estate; passage to state If no one is qualified to claim the estate under this article, the intestate estate passes to the state. 14-2106. Passing of estate by representation; assigning of shares; definitions A. If under section 14-2103, paragraph 1 all or part of a decedent's intestate estate passes by representation to the decedent's descendants, that estate is divided into as many equal shares as there are surviving descendants in the generation nearest to the decedent that contains one or more surviving descendants and to deceased descendants in the same generation who left any surviving descendants. Each surviving descendant in the nearest generation is allocated one share. Any remaining shares are combined and then divided in the same manner among the surviving descendants of the deceased descendants as if the surviving descendants who were allocated a share and their surviving descendants had predeceased the decedent. B. If under section 14-2103, paragraph 3 or 4 all or part of a decedent's intestate estate passes by representation to the descendants of either of the decedent's deceased parents or to the descendants of either of the decedent's deceased paternal or maternal grandparents, all or part of the estate is divided into as many equal shares as there are surviving descendants in the generation nearest the deceased parents or either of them, or the deceased grandparents or either of them, that contains one or more surviving descendants and to deceased descendants in the same generation who left any surviving descendants. Each surviving descendant in the nearest generation is allocated one share. Any remaining shares are combined and then divided in the same manner among the surviving descendants of the deceased descendants as if the surviving descendants who were allocated a share and their surviving descendants had predeceased the decedent. C. For the purposes of this section: 1. "Deceased descendant", "deceased parent" or "deceased grandparent" means a descendant, parent or grandparent who either predeceased the decedent or is deemed to have predeceased the decedent under section 14-2104. 2. "Surviving descendant" means a descendant who neither predeceased the decedent nor is deemed to have predeceased the decedent under section 14-2104. 14-2107. Kindred by half blood; right of inheritance Relatives of the half blood inherit the same share they would inherit if they were of the whole blood. 14-2108. After-born heirs; requirements A child in gestation at a particular time is treated as living at that time if the child lives at least one hundred twenty hours after its birth. 14-2109. Advancements of property during lifetime; effect on distribution of estate A. If a person dies intestate as to all or a portion of that person's estate, property the decedent gave during the decedent's lifetime to a person who, at the decedent's death, is an heir is treated as an advancement against the heir's intestate share only if the decedent declared in a contemporaneous writing or the heir acknowledged in writing that the gift is an advancement or if the decedent's contemporaneous writing or the heir's written acknowledgment otherwise indicates that the gift is to be taken into account in computing the division and distribution of the decedent's intestate estate. B. For the purposes of this section, property advanced during the decedent's lifetime is valued as of the time the heir came into possession or enjoyment of the property or as of the time of the decedent's death, whichever first occurs. C. If the recipient of the property fails to survive the decedent the property is not taken into account in computing the division and distribution of the decedent's intestate estate unless the decedent's contemporaneous writing provides otherwise. 14-2110. Debts owed to a decedent; effect on distribution of estate A debt owed to a decedent is not charged against the intestate share of any person except the debtor. If the debtor fails to survive the decedent, the debt is not taken into account in computing the intestate share of the debtor's descendants. 14-2111. Effect of alienage on distribution of estate No person is disqualified to take as an heir because that person or a person through whom that person claims is or has been an alien. 14-2113. Heirs related to decedent through two lines; single share A person who is related to the decedent through two lines of relationship is entitled to only a single share based on the relationship that would entitle the person to the larger share. 14-2114. Parent and child relationship; intestate succession; adopted children A. Except as provided in subsections B and C of this section, for the purposes of intestate succession, a person is the child of that person's natural parents, regardless of their marital status. If this issue is in dispute the court shall establish that relationship under title 25, chapter 6, article 1. B. An adopted person is the child of that person's adopting parent or parents and not of the natural parents. Adoption of a child by the spouse of either natural parent has no effect on the relationship between the child and that natural parent or on the right of the child or a descendant of the child to inherit from or through the other natural parent. C. Inheritance from or through a child by either natural parent or the natural parent's kindred is precluded unless that natural parent has openly treated the child as a natural child and has not refused to support the child. 14-2207. Rights of surviving spouse; waiver; requirements; effect A. A surviving spouse may waive the person's homestead allowance, exempt property and family allowance rights in whole or in part either before or after marriage by a written contract, agreement or waiver that is signed by the surviving spouse. B. A surviving spouse's waiver is not enforceable if the surviving spouse provides that either of the following is true: 1. That person did not execute the waiver voluntarily. 2. The waiver was unconscionable when it was executed and before its execution that person: (a) Was not provided a fair and reasonable disclosure of the property or financial obligations of the decedent. (b) Did not voluntarily and expressly waive, in writing, any right to disclosure of the property or financial obligations of the decedent beyond the disclosure provided. (c) Did not have, or reasonably could not have had, an adequate knowledge of the property or financial obligations of the decedent. C. The issue of a waiver's unconscionability may only be decided by the court as a matter of law. D. Unless it provides to the contrary, a waiver that contains the words "all rights" or equivalent language, in relation to the property or estate of a present or prospective spouse or a complete property settlement entered into after or in anticipation of separation or divorce, is a waiver of all rights of homestead allowance, exempt property and family allowance by each spouse in the property of the other and a renunciation by each of all benefits that would otherwise pass to each person from the other by intestate succession or by virtue of any will executed before the waiver or property settlement. 14-2301. Entitlement of spouse; premarital will A. If a testator's surviving spouse married the testator after the testator executed a will, the surviving spouse is entitled to receive as an intestate share that is not less than the value of the share of the estate the spouse would have received if the testator had died intestate as to any portion of the testator's estate that neither is devised to a child of the testator who was born before the testator married the surviving spouse and who is not a child of the surviving spouse nor is devised to a descendant of that child or that passes under section 14-2603 or 14-2604 to that child or to a descendant of that child, unless: 1. It appears from the will or other evidence that the will was made in contemplation of the testator's marriage to the surviving spouse. 2. The will expresses the intention that it is to be effective notwithstanding any subsequent marriage. 3. The testator provided for the spouse by transfer outside the will and the intent that the transfer is in lieu of a testamentary provision is shown by the testator's statements or can be reasonably inferred from the amount of the transfer or other evidence. B. In satisfying the share provided by subsection A of this section, any devises made by the will to the testator's surviving spouse are applied first. Other devises abate pursuant to section 14-3902 unless the devise is to a child of the testator who was born before the testator married the surviving spouse and who is not a child of the surviving spouse or is a devise or substitute gift under section 14-2603 or 14-2604 to a descendant of that child. 14-2302. Omitted children; shares; definition A. Except as provided in subsection D of this section, if a testator fails to provide by will for a child who is born or adopted after the testator executes the will, the omitted child receives a share in the estate as follows: 1. If the testator had no child living when the testator executed the will, an omitted child receives a share in the estate equal in value to what the child would have received if the testator had died intestate, unless the will devised all or substantially all of the estate to the other parent of the omitted child and that other parent survives the testator and is entitled to take under the will. 2. If the testator had one or more children living when the testator executed the will and the will devised property or an interest in property to one or more of the then-living children, an omitted child is entitled to share in the testator's estate as follows: (a) The portion of the testator's estate in which the omitted child is entitled to share is limited to devises made to the testator's then-living children under the will. (b) As limited under subdivision (a) of this paragraph, the omitted child is entitled to receive the share of the testator's estate that the child would have received if the testator had included all omitted children with the children to whom devises were made under the will and had given an equal share of the estate to each child. B. To the extent feasible, the interest granted an omitted child under subsection A, paragraph 2 of this section shall be of the same character, whether equitable or legal, present or future, as that devised to the testator's then-living children under the will. C. In satisfying a share prescribed by subsection A, paragraph 2 of this section, devises to the testator's children who were living when the will was executed abate ratably. In abating the devises of the then-living children, the court shall preserve to the maximum extent possible the character of the testamentary plan adopted by the testator. D. Subsection A of this section does not apply if either of the following is true: 1. It appears from the will that the omission was intentional. 2. The testator provided for the omitted child by transfer outside the will and the intent that the transfer be in lieu of a testamentary provision is shown by the testator's statements or can be reasonably inferred from the amount of the transfer or other evidence. E. If at the time the testator executed the will the testator fails to provide by will for a living child solely because the testator believes the child to be dead, the child is entitled to share in the estate as if the child were an omitted after-born or after-adopted child. F. In satisfying a share provided by subsection A, paragraph 1 of this section, devises made by the will abate under section 14-3902. G. For the purposes of this section, "omitted child" means a child who was born or adopted after the testator executed a will. 14-2401. Applicable law This article applies to the estate of a decedent who dies domiciled in this state. Rights to homestead allowance, exempt property and family allowance for a decedent who is not domiciled in this state at the time of death are governed by the law of the decedent's domicile at death. 14-2402. Homestead allowance A. A decedent's surviving spouse is entitled to a homestead allowance of $18,000. If there is no surviving spouse each minor child and each dependent child of the decedent are entitled to a homestead allowance of $18,000 divided by the number of minor and dependent children of the decedent. B. The homestead allowance is exempt from and has priority over all claims against the estate, except expenses of administration. C. The homestead allowance is chargeable against any benefit or share that passes to the surviving spouse or minor or dependent child by the decedent's will, by nonprobate transfer pursuant to section 14-6101 or by intestate succession, unless it is otherwise provided by the decedent's will or by the governing instrument for a nonprobate transfer. To determine the homestead allowance under this section, a survivorship interest in a joint tenancy of real estate is considered a nonprobate transfer pursuant to section 14-6101. 14-2403. Exempt property; value; priority A. In addition to the homestead allowance, the decedent's surviving spouse is entitled from the estate to a value that is not more than seven thousand dollars in excess of any security interests in that estate in the following: 1. Household furniture. 2. Automobiles. 3. Furnishings. 4. Appliances. 5. Personal effects. B. If there is no surviving spouse the decedent's minor and dependent children are entitled jointly to the same value as prescribed in subsection A of this section. C. If encumbered chattels are selected and the value in excess of security interests and that of other exempt property is less than seven thousand dollars or if there is not seven thousand dollars worth of exempt property in the estate, the spouse or minor or dependent children are entitled to any other assets of the estate to the extent necessary to make up the seven thousand dollar value. D. Rights to exempt property and assets needed to make up a deficiency of exempt property have priority over all claims against the estate except expenses of administration. The right to any assets to make up a deficiency of exempt property abates as necessary to permit earlier payment of the homestead allowance and family allowance. These rights are chargeable against any benefit or share passing to the surviving spouse or minor or dependent children by the decedent's will by a nonprobate transfer pursuant to section 14-6102 or by intestate succession, unless otherwise provided by the decedent's will or by the governing instrument for a nonprobate transfer. 14-2404. Family allowance; use; length; priority; termination by death A. The decedent's surviving spouse and minor children whom the decedent was obligated to support and children who were in fact being supported by the decedent are entitled to a reasonable allowance in money out of the estate for their maintenance during the period of administration. This allowance shall not continue for longer than one year if the estate is inadequate to discharge allowed claims. The allowance may be paid as a lump sum or in periodic installments. It is payable to the surviving spouse, if living, for the use of the surviving spouse and minor and dependent children. Otherwise this allowance is payable to the children or to persons who have the care and custody of these children. If a minor child or a dependent child is not living with the surviving spouse, the allowance may be made partially to the child or the child's guardian or other person who has the care and custody of the child and partially to the spouse, as their needs may appear. B. The family allowance is exempt from and has priority over all claims except expenses of administration and except the homestead allowance. C. The family allowance is chargeable against any benefit or share passing to the surviving spouse or children by the decedent's will, by a nonprobate transfer pursuant to section 14-6102 or by intestate succession unless otherwise provided by the decedent's will or by the governing instrument for a nonprobate transfer. D. The death of a person entitled to the family allowance terminates the right to allowances not yet paid. 14-2405. Homestead; exempt property and allowances; restriction; source; determination; documentation A. If the estate is otherwise sufficient, property specifically devised may not be used to satisfy rights to homestead allowance or exempt property. Subject to this restriction, the surviving spouse, guardians of minor children or children who are adults may select property of the estate as homestead allowance and exempt property. The personal representative may make those selections if the surviving spouse, the children or the guardians of the minor children are unable or fail to do so within a reasonable time or if there is no guardian of a minor child. B. The personal representative may execute an instrument or deed of distribution to establish the ownership of property taken as homestead allowance or exempt property. C. The personal representative may determine the family allowance in a lump sum that does not exceed twelve thousand dollars or in periodic installments that do not exceed one thousand dollars per month for one year, and may disburse monies of the estate in payment of the family allowance and any part of the homestead allowance payable in cash. D. The personal representative or an interested person aggrieved by any selection, determination, payment, proposed payment or failure to act under this section may petition the court for appropriate relief including a family allowance other than one that the personal representative determined or could have determined. 14-2501. Who may make a will A person who is eighteen years of age or older and who is of sound mind may make a will. 14-2502. Execution of paper wills; witnessed wills; holographic wills; testamentary intent A. Except as provided in sections 14-2503, 14-2506 and 14-2513, a paper will shall be: 1. In writing. 2. Signed by the testator or in the testator's name by some other individual in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction. 3. Signed by at least two people, each of whom signed within a reasonable time after that person witnessed either the signing of the will as described in paragraph 2 of this subsection or the testator's acknowledgment of that signature or acknowledgment of the will. B. Intent that a tangible medium or an electronic record constitutes the testator's will can be established by extrinsic evidence, including, for holographic wills under section 14-2503, portions of the document that are not in the testator's handwriting. 14-2503. Holographic will A will that does not comply with section 14-2502 is valid as a holographic will, whether or not witnessed, if the signature and the material provisions are in the handwriting of the testator. 14-2504. Self-proved wills; sample form; signature requirements A. A will may be simultaneously executed, attested and made self-proved by its acknowledgment by the testator and by affidavits of the witnesses if the acknowledgment and affidavits are made before an officer authorized to administer oaths under the laws of the state in which execution occurs and are evidenced by the officer's certificate, under official seal, in substantially the following form: I, _______________, the testator, sign my name to this instrument this _____ day of _______________, and being first duly sworn, do declare to the undersigned authority that I sign and execute this instrument as my will and that I sign it willingly, or willingly direct another to sign for me, that I execute it as my free and voluntary act for the purposes expressed in that document and that I am eighteen years of age or older, of sound mind and under no constraint or undue influence. _______________________ Testator We, _______________, _______________, the witnesses, sign our names to this instrument being first duly sworn and do declare to the undersigned authority that the testator signs and executes this instrument as his/her will and that he/she signs it willingly, or willingly directs another to sign for him/her, and that each of us, in the presence and hearing of the testator, signs this will as witness to the testator's signing and that to the best of our knowledge the testator is eighteen years of age or older, of sound mind and under no constraint or undue influence. ____________________ Witness ____________________ Witness The State of ______________ County of _________________ Subscribed, sworn to and acknowledged before me by ______________, the testator, and subscribed and sworn to before me by _______________ and _______________, witnesses, this _____ day of _______________. (Seal) (Signed)______________________ ______________________________ (Official capacity of officer) B. An attested will may be made self-proved at any time after its execution by its acknowledgment by the testator and the affidavits of the witnesses, each made before an officer authorized to administer oaths under the laws of the state in which the acknowledgment occurs and evidenced by the officer's certificate, under the official seal, attached or annexed to the will in substantially the following form: The State of _______________ County of __________________ We, ________________, _________________ and _____________, the testator and the witnesses, respectively, whose names are signed to the attached or foregoing instrument being first duly sworn do declare to the undersigned authority that the testator signed and executed the instrument as the testator's will and that he/she signed willingly, or willingly directed another to sign for him/her, and that he/she executed it as his/her free and voluntary act for the purposes expressed in that document, and that each of the witnesses, in the presence and hearing of the testator, signed the will as witness and that to the best of his/her knowledge the testator was at that time eighteen years of age or older, of sound mind and under no constraint or undue influence. _________________________ Testator _________________________ Witness _________________________ Witness Subscribed, sworn to and acknowledged before me by _____________, the testator, and subscribed and sworn to before me by ____________ and ____________, witnesses, this _____ day of _______________. (Seal) (Signed)______________________ ______________________________ (Official capacity of officer) C. A signature affixed to a self-proving affidavit attached to a will is considered a signature affixed to the will, if necessary to prove the will's due execution. 14-2505. Witnesses; requirements; definition A. A person who is generally competent to be a witness may act as a witness to a will. B. For any will executed on or after October 1, 2019, unless the will is made self-proved as prescribed in section 14-2504 or 14-2519, a person may not act as a witness to a will if that person is a devisee under that will or is related by blood, marriage or adoption to a devisee under that will. C. For the purposes of this section, "devisee" means a person who is designated in the will to receive a devise or who is a beneficiary of a trust that is designated in the will to receive a devise. 14-2506. Execution; choice of law A. A paper will is valid if it is executed in compliance with section 14-2502. An electronic will is valid if it is executed in compliance with section 14-2518. B. Notwithstanding subsection A of this section, a paper will or an electronic will is valid if its execution complies with the law at the time of execution of the place where the testator is physically present when the testator executes the will, or of the law of the place where at the time of execution or at the time of death the testator is domiciled, has a place of abode or is a national. 14-2507. Revocation of will; requirements A. A testator may revoke a will in whole or in part: 1. By executing a subsequent will that revokes the previous will or part expressly or by inconsistency. 2. By performing a revocatory act on the will if the testator performs the act with this intent or if another person performs the act in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction. For the purposes of this paragraph, "revocatory act on the will" includes burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating, rendering unreadable or destroying the will or any part of it. A burning, tearing or canceling is a revocatory act on the will whether or not the burn, tear or cancellation touched any of the words on the will. B. If a subsequent will does not expressly revoke a previous will, the execution of the subsequent will wholly revokes the previous will by inconsistency if the testator intended the subsequent will to replace rather than supplement the previous will. C. The testator is presumed to have intended a subsequent will to replace rather than supplement a previous will if the subsequent will makes a complete disposition of the testator's estate. If this presumption arises and is not rebutted by clear and convincing evidence, the previous will is revoked and only the subsequent will is operative on the testator's death. D. The testator is presumed to have intended a subsequent will to supplement rather than replace a previous will if the subsequent will does not make a complete disposition of the testator's estate. If this presumption arises and is not rebutted by clear and convincing evidence, the subsequent will revokes the previous will only to the extent the subsequent will is inconsistent with the previous will and each will is fully operative on the testator's death to the extent the wills are not inconsistent. 14-2508. Change of circumstances; effect on will Except as provided in sections 14-2803 and 14-2804, a change of circumstances does not revoke a will or any part of it. 14-2509. Revoking a subsequent will; effect; reviving a revoked will; requirements A. If a testator revokes a subsequent will that wholly revoked a previous will under section 14-2507, subsection A, paragraph 2, the previous will remains revoked unless it is revived. The previous will is revived if it is evident from the circumstances of the revocation of the subsequent will or from the testator's contemporary or subsequent declarations that the testator intended the previous will to take effect as executed. B. If a testator revokes a subsequent will that partly revoked a previous will under section 14-2507, subsection A, paragraph 2, the revoked part of the previous will is revived unless it is evident from the circumstances of the revocation of the subsequent will or from the testator's contemporary or subsequent declarations that the testator did not intend the revoked part to take effect as executed. C. If a testator revokes a subsequent will that revoked a previous will in whole or in part by another later will, the previous will remains revoked in whole or in part, unless the testator revives it or its revoked part. The previous will or its revoked part is revived to the extent it appears from the terms of the later will that the testator intended the previous will to take effect. 14-2510. Incorporating outside document into a will; requirements A testator may incorporate a written document into the testator's will by reference if the following requirements are met: 1. The document exists at the time the testator executes the will. 2. The will's language manifests the testator's intent to incorporate this document. 3. The will's language describes the document with enough specificity to allow its identification. 14-2511. Testamentary additions to trusts; requirements; effect of revocation A. A will may validly devise property to the trustee of a trust established or to be established: 1. During the testator's lifetime by the testator alone, by the testator and some other person or by some other person, including a funded or unfunded life insurance trust, even if the settlor has reserved any or all rights of ownership of the insurance contracts. 2. At the testator's death by the testator's devise to the trustee if the trust is identified in the testator's will and its terms are set forth in a written instrument other than a will executed before, concurrently with or after the execution of the testator's will or in another individual's will if that other individual has predeceased the testator, regardless of the existence, size or character of the corpus of the trust. The devise is not invalid because the trust is amendable or revocable or because the trust was amended after the execution of the will or after the testator's death. B. Unless the testator's will provides otherwise, property devised to a trust described in subsection A is not held under a testamentary trust of the testator but becomes a part of the trust to which it is devised and must be administered and disposed of in accordance with the provisions of the governing instrument that states the terms of the trust, including any amendments made before or after the testator's death. C. Unless the testator's will provides otherwise, a revocation or termination of the trust before the testator's death causes the devise to lapse. 14-2512. Disposition of property by reference to acts of independent significance A will may dispose of property by reference to acts, such as the execution or revocation of another person's will, that have significance apart from their effect on the dispositions made by the will whether they occur before or after the execution of the will or before or after the testator's death. 14-2513. References to separate lists; requirements A. Notwithstanding section 14-2503 relating to holographic wills, a will may refer to a written statement or list to dispose of items of tangible personal property other than money and not otherwise specifically disposed of by the will. B. To be admissible under this section as evidence of the intended disposition, the writing shall either be in the testator's handwriting or be signed by the testator and shall describe the items and the devisees with reasonable certainty. C. The writing may be: 1. Referred to as one to be in existence at the time of the testator's death. 2. Prepared before or after the execution of the will. 3. Altered by the testator after its preparation. 4. A writing that has no significance apart from its effect on the dispositions made by the will. 14-2514. Contracts regarding wills; requirements; effect A. After December 31, 1994, a person may enter into a contract to make a will or devise or not to revoke a will or devise or to die intestate only by: 1. Provisions of a will that state the material provisions of the contract. 2. An express reference in a will to a contract and extrinsic evidence proving the terms of the contract. 3. A writing signed by the decedent evidencing the contract. B. The execution of a joint will or mutual wills does not create a presumption of a contract not to revoke the will or wills. 14-2516. Custodian of will; duties; liability A. After the death of a testator and on request of an interested person, a person having custody of a will of the testator shall deliver it with reasonable promptness to a person able to secure its probate or, if none is known, to an appropriate court. B. A person who wilfully fails to deliver a will as required by this section is liable to any person aggrieved for any damages caused by this failure. C. A person who wilfully refuses or fails to deliver a will after being ordered by the court in a proceeding brought for the purpose of compelling delivery is subject to penalty for contempt of court. 14-2517. Penalty clause for contest; restriction A provision in a will purporting to penalize an interested person for contesting the will or instituting other proceedings or actions relating to the estate is unenforceable if probable cause exists for the contest, proceedings or actions. 14-2518. Electronic will; requirements; interpretation A. An electronic will must meet all of the following requirements: 1. Be created and maintained in an electronic record that is readable as text at the time of signing. 2. Contain the electronic signature of the testator or the testator's electronic signature made by some other individual in the testator's conscious presence and by the testator's direction. 3. Contain the electronic signatures of at least two persons, each of whom met all of the following requirements: (a) Was physically present or electronically present with the testator when the testator electronically signed the will, acknowledged the testator's signature or acknowledged the will. (b) Electronically signed the will within a reasonable time after the person witnessed the testator signing the will, acknowledging the testator's signature or acknowledging the will as described in subdivision (a) of this paragraph. (c) If electronically present with the testator when the testator electronically signed the will, acknowledged the testator's signature or acknowledged the will, was physically located within the United States at the time of serving as a witness. 4. State the date that the testator and each of the witnesses electronically signed the will. 5. Contain a copy of a government-issued identification card of the testator that was current at the time of execution of the will. B. Except as provided in this section and sections 14-2519, 14-2520, 14-2521, 14-2522 and 14-2523, any question raised about the force, effect, validity and interpretation of an electronic will shall be determined in the same manner as a question regarding a paper will executed pursuant to section 14-2502. C. This section does not apply to a trust except a testamentary trust created in an electronic will. 14-2519. Self-proved electronic will A. In addition to the requirements of section 14-2504, to be self-proved, an electronic will must meet all of the following requirements: 1. Contain the electronic signature and electronic seal of a notary public placed on the will in accordance with applicable law. 2. Designate a qualified custodian to maintain custody of the electronic will. 3. Before being offered for probate or being reduced to a certified paper original, be under the exclusive control of a qualified custodian at all times. B. Notwithstanding section 14-2504, subsection B, the affidavits for an attested self-proving electronic will shall be in substantially the following form: We, ______________, _______________ and _______________, the testator and the witnesses, respectively, whose names are signed to the attached or foregoing instrument, being first duly sworn do declare to the undersigned authority that the testator signed and executed the instrument as the testator's will and that he/she signed willingly, or willingly directed another to sign for him/her, and that he/she executed it as his/her free and voluntary act for the purposes expressed in this document, and that each of the witnesses, in the physical or electronic presence and hearing of the testator, signed the will as witness and that to the best of his/her knowledge the testator was at the time of signing eighteen years of age or older, of sound mind and under no constraint or undue influence. ____________________ Testator ____________________ Witness ____________________ Witness The State of _________________ County of ____________________ Subscribed, sworn to and acknowledged before me by ____________, the testator, and subscribed and sworn to before me by ____________ and ____________, witnesses, this _____ day of _____________. (Seal) (Signed)______________________ ______________________________ (official capacity of officer) 14-2520. Qualified custodian A qualified custodian of an electronic will: 1. May not be related to the testator by blood, marriage or adoption. 2. May not be a devisee under the electronic will or related by blood, marriage or adoption to a devisee under the electronic will. 3. Shall consistently employ and store electronic records of electronic wills in a system that protects electronic records from destruction, alteration or unauthorized access and detects any change to an electronic record. 4. Shall store in the electronic record of an electronic will each of the following: (a) A photograph or other visual record of the testator and the attesting witnesses that was taken contemporaneously with the execution of the electronic will. (b) A photocopy, photograph, facsimile or other visual record of any documentation that was taken contemporaneously with the execution of the electronic will and provides satisfactory evidence of the identities of the testator and the attesting witnesses, including documentation of the methods of identification used. (c) An audio and video recording of the testator, attesting witnesses and notary public, as applicable, taken at the time the testator, each attesting witness and notary public, as applicable, placed the person's electronic signature on the electronic will. 5. Shall provide to any court that is hearing a matter involving an electronic will that is currently or was previously stored by the qualified custodian any information requested by the court pertaining to the qualifications of the qualified custodian and the policies and practices of the qualified custodian concerning the maintenance, storage and production of electronic wills and may be called by an interested party to serve as a fact witness regarding the maintenance, storage and production of electronic wills. 14-2521. Qualified custodian; agreement to serve; ceasing service A. A person shall execute a written statement affirmatively agreeing to serve as the qualified custodian of an electronic will before the person may serve as a qualified custodian. The written statement may be executed by an electronic signature and maintained as an electronic record. B. Except for a person ceasing to serve as provided in subsection C, paragraph 1 of this section, a person may not cease serving as a qualified custodian until a successor qualified custodian executes the written statement prescribed by subsection A of this section. C. A person serving as a qualified custodian may cease serving as a qualified custodian: 1. If the person does not designate a successor qualified custodian, by providing the testator with both of the following: (a) A thirty-day written notice that the person will cease to serve as a qualified custodian. (b) The certified paper original of the electronic will and all records concerning the electronic will. 2. If the person designates a successor qualified custodian, by providing all of the following: (a) A thirty-day written notice that the person will cease to serve as a qualified custodian to the testator and the successor qualified custodian. (b) To the successor qualified custodian, the electronic record of the electronic will and an affidavit that states all of the following: (i) That the person is eligible to act as a qualified custodian in this state and is the qualified custodian designated by the testator in the electronic will or was designated to act in that capacity by another qualified custodian pursuant to this paragraph. (ii) That an electronic record of the electronic will was created at the time the testator executed the electronic will. (iii) That the electronic record of the electronic will has been in the custody of one or more qualified custodians since the execution of the electronic will and has not been altered since the time it was created. (iv) The identity of all qualified custodians who have had custody of the electronic record of the electronic will since the execution of the electronic will. D. For the purposes of making the affidavit prescribed by subsection C, paragraph 2, subdivision (b) of this section, the person may rely conclusively on any affidavits provided by a predecessor qualified custodian if all of these affidavits are provided to the successor qualified custodian. E. If a testator designates a successor qualified custodian in a writing executed with the same formalities required for the execution of an electronic will and the successor qualified custodian executes the written statement prescribed by subsection A of this section, the person serving as qualified custodian shall cease serving in that capacity and shall provide the successor qualified custodian with both of the following: 1. The electronic record of the electronic will. 2. The affidavit prescribed by subsection C, paragraph 2, subdivision (b) of this section. F. If a qualified custodian is an entity, an affidavit of a duly authorized officer or agent of the entity constitutes the affidavit of the qualified custodian. G. A qualified custodian maintains an electronic will as a bailee, and the electronic will is the property of the testator and not the qualified custodian. 14-2522. Electronic record; access; destruction A. A qualified custodian shall provide access to or information concerning the electronic will in the electronic record or the certified paper original of the electronic will only to: 1. The testator or another person as directed by the written instructions of the testator. 2. After the death of the testator, the nominated personal representative of the testator or any interested person. B. A qualified custodian may destroy the electronic record at the earlier of: 1. One hundred years after the testator's death. 2. Five years after the testator's last will is admitted to probate and all appellate opportunities have been exhausted. C. A qualified custodian shall cancel, render unreadable or obliterate the electronic record if the testator directs the qualified custodian to do so in a writing executed with the same formalities required for the execution of an electronic will. 14-2523. Certified paper original of electronic will; affidavits A. On the creation of a certified paper original of an electronic will, if the electronic will has always been in the custody of a qualified custodian, the qualified custodian shall state in an affidavit all of the following: 1. That the qualified custodian is eligible to act as a qualified custodian in this state and is the qualified custodian designated by the testator in the electronic will or was designated to act in that capacity by another qualified custodian pursuant to section 14-2521, subsection C, paragraph 2. 2. That an electronic record was created at the time the testator executed the electronic will. 3. That the electronic record has been under the exclusive control of one or more qualified custodians since the execution of the electronic will and has not been altered since the time it was created. 4. The identity of all qualified custodians who have had custody of the electronic record since the execution of the electronic will. 5. That the certified paper original is a true, correct and complete tangible manifestation of the electronic will. 6. That the records described in section 14-2520, paragraph 4 are under the exclusive control of the qualified custodian. B. On the creation of a certified paper original of an electronic will, if the electronic will has not always been under the exclusive control of a qualified custodian, the person who discovered the electronic will and the person who reduced the electronic will to the certified paper original shall each state in an affidavit all of the following to the best of each person's knowledge: 1. When the electronic will was created, if not indicated in the electronic will. 2. When, how and by whom the electronic will was discovered. 3. The identity of each person who has had access to the electronic will. 4. The method in which the electronic will was stored and the safeguards in place to prevent alterations to the electronic will. 5. Whether the electronic will has been altered since its execution. 6. That the certified paper original is a true, correct and complete tangible manifestation of the electronic will. C. For the purposes of making the affidavit prescribed by subsection A of this section, the qualified custodian may rely conclusively on any affidavits provided by a predecessor qualified custodian. 14-2601. Scope of article In the absence of a finding of a contrary intention, the rules of construction in this article control the construction of a will. 14-2602. Passage of existing and after-acquired property by will A will may provide for the passage of all property the testator owns at death and all property acquired by the estate after the testator's death. 14-2603. Substitute gifts; class gifts; definitions A. If a devisee fails to survive the testator and is a grandparent, a descendant of a grandparent or a stepchild of either the testator or the donor of a power of appointment exercised by the testator's will, the following apply: 1. Except as provided in paragraph 3 of this subsection, if the devise is not in the form of a class gift and the deceased devisee leaves surviving descendants, a substitute gift is created in the devisee's surviving descendants and they take, by representation, the property to which the devisee would have been entitled if the devisee had survived the testator. 2. Except as provided in paragraph 3 of this subsection, if the devise is in the form of a class gift, other than a devise to issue, descendants, heirs of the body, heirs, next of kin, relatives or family or a class described by similar language, a substitute gift is created in the surviving descendants of the deceased devisee. The property to which the devisees would have been entitled if all of them had survived the testator passes to the surviving devisees and the surviving descendants of the deceased devisees. Each surviving devisee takes the share to which that person would have been entitled if the deceased devisees had survived the testator. Each deceased devisee's surviving descendants who are substituted for the deceased devisee take by representation the share to which the deceased devisee would have been entitled if the deceased devisee had survived the testator. For the purposes of this paragraph, "deceased devisee" means a class member who failed to survive the testator and left one or more surviving descendants. 3. If the will creates an alternative devise with respect to a devise for which a substitute gift is created by paragraph 1 or 2 of this subsection, the substitute gift is superseded by the alternative devise, whether or not an expressly designated devisee of the alternative devise is entitled to take under the will. B. Unless the language that creates a power of appointment expressly prohibits the substitution of the appointee's descendants for the appointee, a surviving descendant of a deceased appointee can be substituted for the appointee, whether or not the descendant is an object of the power of appointment. C. For the purposes of section 14-2601, words of survivorship, such as in a devise to an individual "if he survives me", or in a devise to "my surviving children", are, in the absence of clear and convincing evidence to the contrary, a sufficient indication of an intent contrary to the application of this section. D. For the purposes of this section: 1. "Alternative devise" means a devise that is expressly created by the will and under the terms of the will can take effect instead of another devise on the happening of one or more events, including the survival of the testator or the failure to survive the testator, whether an event is expressed in condition-precedent, condition-subsequent or any other form. A residuary clause may constitute an alternative devise with respect to a nonresiduary devise, whether or not the will specifically provides that, on lapse or failure, the nonresiduary devise or nonresiduary devises in general pass under the residuary clause. 2. "Class member" includes a person who fails to survive the testator but who would have taken under a devise in the form of a class gift if that person had survived the testator. 3. "Devise" includes an alternative devise, a devise in the form of a class gift and an exercise of a power of appointment. 4. "Devisee" includes: (a) A class member if the devise is in the form of a class gift. (b) A person or class member who was deceased at the time the testator executed the will as well as a person or class member who was then living but who failed to survive the testator. (c) An appointee under a power of appointment exercised by the testator's will. 5. "Stepchild" means a child of the surviving, deceased or former spouse of the testator or of the donor of a power of appointment and not of the testator or donor. 6. "Surviving devisee" or "surviving descendant" means a devisee or a descendant who neither predeceased the testator nor is deemed to have predeceased the testator under section 14-2702. 7. "Testator" includes the donee of a power of appointment if the power is exercised in the testator's will. 14-2604. Failure of testamentary provision; effect A. Except as provided in section 14-2603, a devise, other than a residuary devise, that fails for any reason becomes a part of the residue. B. Except as provided in section 14-2603, if the residue is devised to two or more persons, the share of a residuary devisee that fails for any reason passes to the other residuary devisee or to other residuary devisees in proportion to the interest of each in the remaining part of the residue. 14-2605. Securities increase in value after death; effect; exception A. If a testator executes a will that devises securities and the testator then owned securities that meet the description in the will, the devise includes additional securities owned by the testator at death to the extent the additional securities were acquired by the testator after the will was executed as a result of the testator's ownership of the described securities and are securities of any of the following types: 1. Securities of the same organization acquired by reason of action initiated by the organization or any successor, related or acquiring organization, excluding any acquired by exercise of purchase options. 2. Securities of another organization acquired as a result of any merger, consolidation, reorganization or other distribution by the organization or any successor, related or acquiring organization. 3. Securities of the same organization acquired as a result of a plan of reinvestment. B. Distributions in cash before death with respect to a described security are not part of the devise. 14-2606. Right to specific devises; unpaid proceeds of sale, condemnation or insurance; sale by conservator or agent A. A specific devisee has a right to the specifically devised property in the testator's estate at death and to the following: 1. Any balance of the purchase price, together with any security agreement, owing from a purchaser to the testator at death by reason of sale of the property. 2. Any amount of a condemnation award for the taking of the property unpaid at death. 3. Any proceeds unpaid at death on fire or casualty insurance on or other recovery for injury to the property. 4. Property owned by the testator at death and acquired as a result of foreclosure or obtained in lieu of foreclosure of the security interest for a specifically devised obligation. B. If specifically devised property is sold or mortgaged by a conservator or by an agent acting within the authority of a durable power of attorney for an incapacitated principal or if a condemnation award, insurance proceeds or recovery for injury to the property are paid to a conservator or to an agent acting within the authority of a durable power of attorney for an incapacitated principal, the specific devisee has the right to a general pecuniary devise equal to the net sale price, the amount of the unpaid loan, the condemnation award, the insurance proceeds or the recovery. It is not necessary to adjudicate the issue of incapacity for an agent to act under this subsection. An agent's actions that are within the authority of a durable power of attorney are presumed to be on behalf of the incapacitated principal. For the purposes of this subsection, "incapacitated principal" means a principal who is an incapacitated person. C. The right of a specific devisee under subsection B is reduced by any right the devisee has under subsection A. D. The provisions in subsection B that relate to the actions of a conservator do not apply if, after the sale, mortgage, condemnation, casualty or recovery, it was adjudicated that the testator's incapacity ceased and the testator survived the adjudication by one year. 14-2607. Specific devise; nonexoneration Subject to any mortgage interest existing at the date of death, a specific devise passes without right of exoneration, regardless of a general directive in the will to pay debts. 14-2608. Exercise of power of appointment In the absence of a requirement that a power of appointment be exercised by a reference or by an express or specific reference to that power, a general residuary clause in a will or a will making general disposition of all of the testator's property expresses an intention to exercise a power of appointment held by the testator only if the power is a general power and the creating instrument does not contain a gift if the power is not exercised or the testator's will manifests an intention to include the property subject to the power. 14-2609. Satisfaction of a devise during the testator's life; requirements; valuation A. Property a testator gave to a person while the testator was alive is treated as a satisfaction of a devise in whole or in part if any of the following requirements are met: 1. The will provides for deduction of the gift. 2. The testator declared in a contemporaneous writing that the gift is in satisfaction of the devise or that its value is to be deducted from the value of the devise. 3. The devisee acknowledged in writing that the gift is in satisfaction of the devise or that its value is to be deducted from the value of the devise. B. For purposes of partial satisfaction, property given while the testator was alive is valued as of the time the devisee came into possession or enjoyment of the property or at the testator's death, whichever occurs first. C. To satisfy the requirements of sections 14-2603 and 14-2604 if the devisee fails to survive the testator, the gift is treated as a full or partial satisfaction of the devise, as appropriate, unless the testator's contemporaneous writing provides otherwise. 14-2701. Scope of article In the absence of a finding of a contrary intention, the rules of construction in this article control the construction of a governing instrument. The rules of construction in this article apply to a governing instrument of any type, except as the application of a particular section is limited by its terms to a specific type or types of provision or governing instrument. 14-2702. Devisees; surviving of testator; requirement; exception A. For the purposes of this article, except as provided in subsection D of this section, a person who is not established by clear and convincing evidence to have survived an event, including the death of another person, by one hundred twenty hours is deemed to have predeceased the event. B. Except as provided in subsection D of this section, for purposes of a provision of a governing instrument that relates to a person surviving an event, including the death of another person, a person who is not established by clear and convincing evidence to have survived the event by one hundred twenty hours is deemed to have predeceased the event. C. Except as provided in subsection D of this section, if it is not established by clear and convincing evidence that one of two co-owners with right of survivorship survived the other co-owner by one hundred twenty hours, one-half of the property passes as if one had survived by one hundred twenty hours and one-half as if the other had survived by one hundred twenty hours, and if there are more than two co-owne