Wyo. Stat. § 2-6-205

Current through the 2024 legislative session

Section 2-6-205 - Proof; wills not self-proving

(a) If the will is not self-proving, proof of a will may be made by the oral or written testimony of one or more of the subscribing witnesses to the will. If the testimony is in writing, it shall be substantially in the following form, executed and sworn to contemporaneously with the execution of the will or at any time thereafter, whether before or after the date of death of the testator:

In the District Court of Wyoming In and for ....................County In the Matter of the Estate of) Probate No.....

....Deceased ) Testimony of Subscribing State of )ss Witness on Probate of Will

.... County )

I, ...., being first duly sworn, state:

I reside in the County of ...., State of ....; I knew the testator on the ... day of ..., (year), the date of the instrument, the original or exact reproduction of which is attached hereto, now shown to me, and purporting to be the last will and testament of the said ....; I am one of the subscribing witnesses to said instrument; and on the said date of said instrument, I knew ...., the other subscribing witness; and said instrument was exhibited to me and to the other subscribing witness by the testator, who declared the same to be his last will and testament, and was signed by the testator at ...., in the County of ...., State of ...., on the date shown in said instrument, in the presence of myself and the other subscribing witness; and the other subscribing witness and I then and there, at the request of the testator, in the presence of said testator and in the presence of each other, subscribed our names thereto as witnesses.

Name of witness ....

Address ....

Subscribed and sworn to before me this ....day of...., (year).

Notary Public in and for ....

County of ....

State of ....

(SEAL)

(b) If it is desired to prove the execution of the will by deposition rather than by use of the affidavit form provided in subsection (a) of this section, upon application the clerk shall issue a commission to some officer authorized by the law of this state to take depositions, with the will annexed, and the officer taking the deposition shall exhibit it to the witness for identification, and, when identified by him, shall mark it as "Exhibit ...." and cause the witness to connect his identification with it as such exhibit. Before sending out the commission the clerk shall make and retain in his office a true copy of the will.

(c) If all of the witnesses are deceased or otherwise not available, it is permissible to prove the will by the sworn testimony of two (2) credible disinterested witnesses that the signature to the will is in the handwriting of the person whose will it purports to be, and that the signatures of the witnesses are in the handwriting of the witnesses, or it may be proved by other sufficient evidence of the execution of the will.

W.S. 2-6-205