72-2-524. Self-proved will. - Montana Statutes

     72-2-524. Self-proved will. (1) A will may be simultaneously executed, attested, and made self-proved by acknowledgment by the testator and affidavits of the witnesses, each made before an officer authorized to administer oaths under the laws of the state in which execution occurs and 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 ......, 20..., and being first duly sworn, do hereby declare to the undersigned authority that I sign and execute this instrument as my will, 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 it, and that I am 18 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 hereby declare to the undersigned authority that the testator signs and executes this instrument as the testator's will, that the testator signs it willingly (or willingly directs another to sign for the testator), that each of us, in the presence and hearing of the testator, hereby signs this will as witness to the testator's signing, and that to the best of our knowledge the testator is 18 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 ......, 20...
     (SEAL) (Signed)................
      (Official capacity of officer)
      ....................
     (2) An attested will may be made self-proved at any time after its execution by the acknowledgment thereof 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 hereby declare to the undersigned authority that the testator signed and executed the instrument as the testator's will, that the testator signed willingly (or willingly directed another to sign for the testator), that the testator executed it as the testator's free and voluntary act for the purposes expressed in it, that each of the witnesses, in the presence and hearing of the testator, signed the will as witness, and that to the best of the witness's knowledge the testator was at that time 18 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 ......, 20...
     (SEAL) (Signed) ............
      (Official capacity of officer)
      .....................
     (3) 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.

     History: En. 91A-2-504 by Sec. 1, Ch. 365, L. 1974; R.C.M. 1947, 91A-2-504; amd. Sec. 5, Ch. 52, L. 1981; amd. Sec. 24, Ch. 494, L. 1993; Sec. 72-2-304, MCA 1991; redes. 72-2-524 by Code Commissioner, 1993; amd. Sec. 92, Ch. 51, L. 1999.