29A-3-401. Formal testacy proceedings--Nature--When commenced.

297 words·~1 min read·/sd/title-29/chapter-29-3/29a-3-401

A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

(a)A formal testacy proceeding is a proceeding conducted before the court to establish a will or determine intestacy. A formal testacy proceeding may be commenced by an interested person filing a petition as described in § 29A-3-402 requesting that the court, after notice and hearing, enter an order probating a will, an order setting aside an informal probate of a will, an order preventing informal probate of a will which is the subject of a pending application, or an order that the decedent died intestate.

(b)A petition may request formal probate of a will without regard to whether the same or a conflicting will has been informally probated. A formal testacy proceeding may, but need not, involve a request for appointment of a personal representative.

(c)During the pendency of a formal testacy proceeding, the clerk shall not act upon any application for informal probate of any will of the decedent or any application for informal appointment of a personal representative.

(d)Unless a petition in a formal testacy proceeding also requests confirmation of the previous informal appointment, a previously appointed personal representative, after receipt of notice of the commencement of a formal testacy proceeding, shall refrain from exercising the power to make any further distribution of the estate during the pendency of the formal proceeding. A petitioner who requests the appointment of a different personal representative in a formal proceeding also may request an order restraining the acting personal representative from exercising any of the powers of office and requesting the appointment of a special administrator. In the absence of a request, or if the request is denied, the commencement of a formal proceeding has no effect on the powers and duties of a previously appointed personal representative other than those relating to distribution.