Also known as:self-prove · self-proving · self-proving will · self proving · self-proved will
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A will executed with attesting witnesses that satisfies additional statutory requirements for admission to probate without live testimony from the witnesses. The testator acknowledges the instrument and the witnesses execute affidavits before an officer authorized to administer oaths under the law of the state where execution occurs. The officer's certificate under official seal in substantially the statutory form completes the process.
Sources & Authorities
How it applies
Common Examples
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Notary Oath in Company Lab
Sylvia Santos signed her will in the company clinical lab while two lab technicians signed as attesting witnesses. The research compliance officer administered the required oath and signed a self-proving affidavit stapled to the will that substantially followed the statutory form. Because the officer lacked authority under state law to administer oaths for estate documents and used no official seal, the will failed to qualify as self-proved and required witness testimony at probate.
Defective Self-Proof Affidavit
Stella Shapiro executed a will before two subscribing witnesses. The next day she took a separate document titled Affidavit of Subscribing Witnesses to a notary. The affidavit bore her signature and the notary stamp yet incorrectly stated that she had served as a witness to her own will execution while the actual witnesses never signed the affidavit. The probate court therefore refused to treat the will as self-proved.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Uniform Acts
Casebooks
Bitetzakis v. Bitetzakis264 So. 3d 297 (Fla. App. 2019)
Common questions
Frequently Asked
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What officer authorization is required to make a will self-proved?+
The officer must be authorized to administer oaths under the laws of the state where execution occurs. Limited company-internal authority or a commission from another state does not suffice even if the affidavit form is otherwise correct.
Supporting sources
Does a self-proving affidavit attached to the will count as part of the will itself?+
A signature on an attached self-proving affidavit is treated as a signature on the will when necessary to prove due execution. The affidavit must still contain the required acknowledgments and declarations in substantially the statutory form.
Supporting sources
What happens at probate if a will is properly self-proved?+
The will satisfies execution requirements without any attesting witness testimony upon filing the will and the attached acknowledgment and affidavits. Evidence of fraud or forgery affecting the affidavit can still rebut the presumption.
Supporting sources
Can execution and self-proving occur simultaneously?+
Yes. The statute expressly permits the will to be executed, attested, and made self-proved at the same time before an authorized officer who completes the certificate under seal.
Supporting sources
156 Ariz. 326, 751 P.2d 986 (1987)Wills Trusts and Estates
…thereof. In addition, the purported will does not meet Arizona’s statutory requirements for a “self-proved” will. The self-proving affidavit fails to conform to the statutory formality in that it does not state that the testator signed or acknowledged his signature, or the will, in the presence of the witnesses. See…
Trusts and Estates Trusts and Future InterestsTrusts · Types of trustsUBEFoundational