CHAPTER 55
HOUSE BILL No. 2154
An Act concerning probate; relating to execution and
attestation of wills; self-proved wills;
amending K.S.A. 59-606 and repealing the existing
section.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. K.S.A. 59-606 is hereby
amended to read as follows: 59-
606. Every will, except an oral will as provided in K.S.A. 59-608
and
amendments thereto, shall be in writing, and signed at the end
thereof
by the party making the same will, or by
some other person in the pres-
ence and by the express direction of the testator
and. Such will shall be
attested and subscribed in the presence of such party by two or
more
competent witnesses, who saw the testator subscribe or heard the
testator
acknowledge the same will. Such will, at
the time of its execution or at
any subsequent date during the lifetimes of the testator and the
witnesses,
may be made self-proved, and the testimony of the witnesses in the
pro-
bate thereof of the will may be made
unnecessary by the acknowledg-
ments thereof of the will and the
affidavits of the testator and the attesting
witnesses, each. Such acknowledgments and
affidavits shall be made be-
fore an officer authorized to take acknowledgments to deeds of
convey-
ance and to administer oaths under the laws of this
state,. Such acknowl-
edgments and affidavits being shall be
evidenced by the certificate, with
official seal affixed, of such officer attached or annexed to such
will in
form and contents substantially as follows:
State of Kansas ____________
County of ____________ ss.
Before me, the undersigned authority, on this
day personally appeared ________,
________, and ________, known to me to be the testator and the
witnesses, re-
spectively, whose names are subscribed to the annexed or foregoing
instrument in their
respective capacities, and, all of said
such persons being by me first duly sworn,
said such
________, testator, declared to me and to the said
witnesses in my presence that said
such instrument is the testator's last will and testament,
and that the testator had willingly
made and executed it as the testator's free and voluntary act and
deed for the purposes
therein expressed; and the said. Such
witnesses, each on the witness' oath stated
to me, in the presence and hearing of the said
testator, that the said testator had declared
to them that said such instrument is the
testator's last will and testament, and that the testator
executed same as such and wanted each witness to sign it as a
witness; and. Upon their
oaths each witness stated further that they did sign the
same will as witnesses in the presence
of each other and in the presence of the testator and at the
testator's request, and that said
the testator at that time possessed the rights of majority,
was of sound mind and under no
restraint.
Subscribed, acknowledged and sworn to before
me by ____, testator, and
and ________, witnesses, this ______ day of ______, A.D.______.
(seal)
(Official
capacity of officer)
If an affidavit substantially in conformance with the
affidavit described
herein in this section is executed at the
time of the execution of the will,
no other signatures of the witnesses or any other attestation
clause is
required.
A self-proved will, unless contested, shall be
admitted to probate with-
out the testimony of any subscribing witness, but otherwise it
shall be
treated no differently than a will not self-proved. A self-proved
will may
be contested or be revoked, or be amended by a codicil in the
same
fashion as a will not self-proved. A codicil or the consent to take
under
the will by the spouse may be self-proved in the same manner as a
will
may be self-proved.
Sec. 2. K.S.A. 59-606 is hereby repealed.
Sec. 3. This act shall take effect and be in force
from and after its
publication in the statute book.
Approved April 3, 1999.
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