Bill Text: MS HB157 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Uniform laws; create uniform international wills act.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2010-02-02 - Died In Committee [HB157 Detail]
Download: Mississippi-2010-HB157-Introduced.html
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2010 Regular Session
To: Judiciary A
By: Representative Moak
House Bill 157
AN ACT TO CREATE THE INTERNATIONAL WILLS ACT; TO DEFINE CERTAIN TERMS; TO PROVIDE FOR THE VALIDITY OF INTERNATIONAL WILLS; TO SPECIFY REQUIREMENTS OF INTERNATIONAL WILLS; TO PROVIDE POINTS OF FORM OF SUCH WILLS; TO REQUIRE A CERTIFICATE FOR SUCH WILLS AND THE EFFECT OF SUCH CERTIFICATE; TO PROVIDE FOR REVOCATION; TO PROVIDE THAT PERSONS ADMITTED TO PRACTICE LAW IN THIS STATE ARE AUTHORIZED PERSONS UNDER THIS ACT; TO PROVIDE AN INTERNATIONAL WILLS REGISTRY; TO AMEND SECTION 91-5-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. In this act:
(1) "International will" means a will executed in conformity with Sections 2 through 5 of this act.
(2) "Authorized person" and "person authorized to act in connection with international wills" mean a person who by Section 9 of this act, or by the laws of the United States including members of the diplomatic and consular service of the United States designated by Foreign Service Regulations, is empowered to supervise the execution of international wills.
SECTION 2. (a) A will is valid as regards form, irrespective particularly of the place where it is made, of the location of the assets and of the nationality, domicile, or residence of the testator, if it is made in the form of an international will complying with the requirements of this act.
(b) The invalidity of the will as an international will does not affect its formal validity as a will of another kind.
(c) This act does not apply to the form of testamentary dispositions made by two (2) or more persons in one instrument.
SECTION 3. (a) The will must be made in writing. It need not be written by the testator himself. It may be written in any language, by hand or by any other means.
(b) The testator shall declare in the presence of two (2) witnesses and of a person authorized to act in connection with international wills that the document is his will and that he knows the contents thereof. The testator need not inform the witnesses, or the authorized person, of the contents of the will.
(c) In the presence of the witnesses, and of the authorized person, the testator shall sign the will or, if he has previously signed it, shall acknowledge his signature.
(d) If the testator is unable to sign, the absence of his signature does not affect the validity of the international will if the testator indicates the reason for his inability to sign and the authorized person makes note thereof on the will. In that case, it is permissible for any other person present, including the authorized person or one of the witnesses, at the direction of the testator, to sign the testator's name for him, if the authorized person makes note of this on the will, but it is not required that any person sign the testator's name for him.
(e) The witnesses and the authorized person shall there and then attest the will by signing in the presence of the testator.
SECTION 4. (a) The signatures must be placed at the end of the will. If the will consists of several sheets, each sheet must be signed by the testator or, if he is unable to sign, by the person signing on his behalf or, if there is no such person, by the authorized person. In addition, each sheet must be numbered.
(b) The date of the will must be the date of its signature by the authorized person. That date must be noted at the end of the will by the authorized person.
(c) The authorized person shall ask the testator whether he wishes to make a declaration concerning the safekeeping of his will. If so and at the express request of the testator, the place where he intends to have his will kept must be mentioned in the certificate provided for in Section 5 of this act.
(d) A will executed in compliance with Section 3 of this act is not invalid merely because it does not comply with this section.
SECTION 5. The authorized person shall attach to the will a certificate to be signed by him establishing that the requirements of this act for valid execution of an international will have been fulfilled. The authorized person shall keep a copy of the certificate and deliver another to the testator. The certificate must be substantially in the following form:
CERTIFICATE
(Convention of October 26, 1973)
1. I, _______________________ (name, address and capacity), a person authorized to act in connection with international wills.
2. Certify that on ___________ (date) at ______________ (place).
3. (Testator) ____________________ (name, address, date and place of birth) in my presence and that of the witnesses.
4. (a) ______________________ (name, address, date and place of birth).
(b) ______________________ (name, address, date and place of birth) has declared that the attached document is his will and that he knows the contents thereof.
5. I furthermore certify that:
6. (a) In my presence and in that of the witnesses:
(1) The testator has signed the will or has acknowledged his signature previously affixed;
(2) Following a declaration of the testator stating that he was unable to sign his will for the following reason ______________________, I have mentioned this declaration on the will and the signature has been affixed by ____________________ (name and address);
(b) The witnesses and I have signed the will;
(c) Each page of the will has been signed by ________________________ and numbered;
(d) I have satisfied myself as to the identity of the testator and of the witnesses as designated above;
(e) The witnesses met the conditions requisite to act as such according to the law under which I am acting;
(f) The testator has requested me to include the following statement concerning the safekeeping of his will:
_________________________________________________________________.
7. PLACE OF EXECUTION _____________________________________.
8. DATE ___________________________________________________.
9. SIGNATURE ______________________________________________
and, if necessary, SEAL to be completed if appropriate.
SECTION 6. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, the certificate of the authorized person is conclusive of the formal validity of the instrument as a will under this act. The absence or irregularity of a certificate does not affect the formal validity of a will under this act.
SECTION 7. An international will is subject to the ordinary rules of revocation of wills.
SECTION 8. Sections 1 through 7 of this act derive from Annex to Convention of October 26, 1973, providing a Uniform Law on the Form of an International Will. In interpreting and applying this act, regard shall be had to its international origin and to the need for uniformity in its interpretation.
SECTION 9. Individuals who have been admitted to practice law before the courts of this state and are currently licensed so to do are authorized persons in relation to international wills.
SECTION 10. The Secretary of State shall establish a registry system by which authorized persons may register in a central information center, information regarding the execution of international wills, keeping that information in strictest confidence until the death of the maker and then making it available to any person desiring information about any will who presents a death certificate or other satisfactory evidence of the testator's death to the center. Information that may be received, preserved in confidence until death, and reported as indicated is limited to the name, social security or any other individual-identifying number established by law, address, and date and place of birth of the testator, and the intended place of deposit or safekeeping of the instrument pending the death of the maker. The Secretary of State, at the request of the authorized person, may cause the information it receives about execution of any international will to be transmitted to the registry system of another jurisdiction as identified by the testator, if that other system adheres to rules protecting the confidentiality of the information similar to those established in this state.
SECTION 11. Section 91-5-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
91-5-1. (1) Every person eighteen (18) years of age or older, being of sound and disposing mind, shall have power, by last will and testament, or codicil in writing, to devise all the estate, right, title and interest in possession, reversion, or remainder, which he or she hath, or at the time of his or her death shall have, of, in, or to lands, tenements, hereditaments, or annuities, or rents charged upon or issuing out of them, or goods and chattels, and personal estate of any description whatever, provided such last will and testament, or codicil, be signed by the testator or testatrix, or by some other person in his or her presence and by his or her express direction. Moreover, if not wholly written and subscribed by himself or herself, it shall be attested by two (2) or more credible witnesses in the presence of the testator or testatrix.
(2) A will may be executed as provided in Section 1 through 10 of this act.
SECTION 12. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2010.
