Make a Minnesota Will

Who Can Make a Minnesota Will?

Any person over the age of 18 with sufficient mental capacity may make a Minnesota Will.

What Level of Mental Capacity is Required to Make a Minnesota Will?

When making a Minnesota Will, a person must have sufficient testamentary capacity – which is the mental state when a person understands the nature and extent of his or her property – and is able to:

• identify those family members who would normally be expected to receive such property upon the Will maker’s death, and
• make an informed decision regarding the proposed recipients of the Will maker’s

What is Required In Order to Make a Minnesota Will?

In order to make a Minnesota Will, the Will must be:

(1)       in writing;

(2)       signed by the Will maker in a certain manner, and

(3)       witnessed by at least two qualified persons.

Making a Minnesota Will – Number of Witnesses 

A Minnesota Will must be signed by at least two witnesses, each of whom signed the Minnesota Will within a reasonable time after witnessing:

• the signing of the Will by its maker, or by someone else on the Will maker’s behalf, and
• the Will maker’s acknowledgment of his or her own signature on the Minnesota Will, or the signature of someone else signing the Will on the Will maker’s behalf.

Who Can Serve as Witnesses for a Minnesota Will?

Adults of sound mental capacity – who are competent to testify as witnesses at trial – may act as witnesses to the signing of a Minnesota Will.

While there is no statutory restriction against Will beneficiaries – including spouses – serving as witnesses to the signing of a Minnesota Will, it is generally advisable to have witnesses to the execution of a Minnesota Will who are not also Will beneficiaries.

Is Any In-Court Witness Testimony Required After Death?

In most situations, witnesses to the signing of a Minnesota Will are not required to appear in court to provide testimony with respect to the circumstances surrounding the execution of a Minnesota Will.

However, in the absence of a Minnesota Self-proved Affidavit, it’s possible that such witnesses may be requested to testify in court if they are competent, and available at the time that the Minnesota Will is submitted for probate.

Making a Minnesota Will Self-proved Affidavit

A Minnesota Self-proved Affidavit is a supplemental document – usually executed together with a Minnesota Will – which:

• was signed by the Will maker and the witnesses in the presence of a notary public, and
• provides evidence that the execution of the Will was properly made.

While a Will without an accompanying Minnesota Self-proved Affidavit can be valid – even in an informal probate proceeding – providing a Minnesota Self-proved Affidavit to the probate court at the time that the Will is offered for probate may excuse the proponent of the Will from having to:

• locate one or more of the witnesses to the Will, and
• have them sign an affidavit at that time which makes declarations which are similar to those which were made in a Minnesota Self-proved Affidavit.

Non Minnesota Will Signed in Another State

A Last Will and Testament which is prepared and signed in another state is valid in Minnesota if it satisfies the Will execution and witnessing requirements of:

• the State of Minnesota,
• the state where the Last Will and Testament was signed, or
• the state where the Will maker permanently resided at the time of his or her death.

Changes to a Minnesota Will

In general, any changes or alterations to a Minnesota Will must be signed and witnessed in the same manner as the original Will.

Therefore, it is not advisable to:

• cross out an original name, term, or provision in the Will, and
• replace it with a different name, term, or provision,

since the signature and witnessing requirements for a Minnesota Will can create doubt as to the effectiveness of such changes.

Rather, a Will maker should execute a new Minnesota Will any time that changes are desired to be made to an existing Will.

Make a Minnesota Will – Conclusion

Please contact Minnesota Attorney Gary C. Dahle for assistance with making a Minnesota Will, or with the preparation, or probate, of any Minnesota Last Will and Testament.

Copyright 2018 – All Rights Reserved.

No claim to original government works.

Gary C. Dahle – Attorney at Law

2704 Mounds View Blvd., Mounds View, MN 55112

Phone:  763-780-8390     Fax: 763-780-1735

[email protected]

North Dakota Probate, Mineral Rights, and Real Estate

In addition to Minnesota Probate Law, Attorney Gary C. Dahle also provides services with respect to North Dakota probate law.

• North Dakota Probate
• North Dakota Ancillary Probate
• North Dakota real estate, and mineral rights issues .

Legal Disclaimer

Information provided herein is only for general informational and educational purposes. The laws relating to Minnesota Wills involve many complex legal issues. If you have a specific legal problem about which you are seeking advice, either consult with your own attorney, or retain an attorney of your choice.

Gary C. Dahle, Attorney at Law, is licensed to practice law only in the State of Minnesota, and in the State of North Dakota, in the United States of America. Therefore, only those persons interested in matters governed by the laws of the State of Minnesota or North Dakota should consult with, or provide information to, Gary C. Dahle, Attorney at Law, or take note of information provided herein.

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Nothing herein will be deemed to be the practice of law or the provision of legal advice. Clients are accepted by Gary C. Dahle, Attorney at Law, only after preliminary personal communications with him, and subject to mutual agreement on terms of representation.

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