Missouri Laws 474.510 – Deposit of will in court in testator’s lifetime
1. A will may be deposited by the person making it, or by such person’s agent, with the probate division of any circuit court, to be safely kept until delivered or disposed of as hereinafter provided. The clerk of the court shall receive and keep the will, and give a certificate of deposit for it.
2. Every will intended to be deposited shall be sealed in an appropriate manner approved by the circuit court, en banc, subject to administrative rules of the supreme court, which shall have endorsed thereon “Will of”, followed by the name of the testator. The clerk of the court shall endorse thereon the day when, and the person by whom, it was delivered. The wrapper may also be endorsed with the name of the person to whom the will is to be delivered after the death of the testator. It shall not be opened or read until delivered to a person entitled to receive it, or otherwise disposed of as hereinafter provided.
Terms Used In Missouri Laws 474.510
- En banc: In the bench or "full bench." Refers to court sessions with the entire membership of a court participating rather than the usual quorum. U.S. courts of appeals usually sit in panels of three judges, but may expand to a larger number in certain cases. They are then said to be sitting en banc.
- Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
- person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, and to partnerships and other unincorporated associations. See Missouri Laws 1.020
- Probate: Proving a will
- Testator: A male person who leaves a will at death.
- Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
3. During the lifetime of the testator, the will shall be delivered only to such testator, or to some person authorized by such testator by an order in writing duly proved by the oath of a subscribing witness. After the testator’s death, the clerk shall notify the person named in the endorsement on the wrapper of the will, if there is a person so named, and deliver it to such person.
4. If the will is not delivered to a person named in the endorsement on the wrapper, it shall be publicly opened in the court within thirty days after notice of the testator’s death, and be retained by the court until offered for probate. Notice shall be given to the executor named therein and to such other persons as the court may designate. If the proper venue is in another court, the will shall be transmitted to such court; but before such transmission a true copy thereof shall be made and retained in the court in which the will was deposited.