Arkansas Code of 1987 (2023) › Title 28 - WILLS, ESTATES, AND FIDUCIARY RELATIONSHIPS (§§ 28-1-101 — 28) › Subtitle 3 - WILLS (§§ 28-24-101 — 28-27-106) › Chapter 25 - EXECUTION AND REVOCATION (§§ 28-25-101 — 28-25-111) › Section 28-25-108 - Deposit of will with court in testator's lifetime - Disposition

(a)
Deposit of Will.
A will may be deposited by the person making it, or by some person for him or her, with the circuit court of the county of his or her residence, to be safely kept until delivered or disposed of as provided in this section. On being paid the fee of five dollars ($5.00), as established under §
21-6-413(a)(4)
, the clerk of the court shall receive and keep the will and give a certificate of deposit for it.
(b)
How Enclosed.
Every will intended to be deposited as provided in subsection (a) of this section shall be enclosed in a sealed wrapper, 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 shall 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 provided in this section.
(c)
To Whom Delivered.
(1)
During the lifetime of the testator, the will shall be delivered only to him or her, or to some person authorized by him or her by an order in writing duly signed by him or her and acknowledged before an officer authorized to administer oaths or attested by the signatures of two (2) persons competent to witness the will.
(2)
After the testator's death, the clerk shall deliver the will to the person named in the endorsement on the wrapper of the will if that person requests the will either in person or in writing.
(3)
If the request under subdivision (c)(2) of this section is in person, the clerk shall require proof of identification before delivering the will.
(4)
If the request under subdivision (c)(2) of this section is in writing, the clerk shall require an affidavit of the person requesting the will in substantially the following form:
"STATE OF ARKANSAS
COUNTY OF ____________
BE IT KNOWN THAT on this ...............day of ..............., ..., before me, the undersigned notary, personally came and appeared:
...............
who after being duly sworn by me, a notary, deposed and stated his or her name and address.
SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO BEFORE ME THIS DAY OF ..............., ...............
...............
...............
NOTARY PUBLIC"
(d)
When Will to Be Opened.
(1)
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 (30) days after notice of the testator's death, and be retained by the court until offered for probate.
(2)
Notice shall be given to the executor, if any, named therein and to such other persons as the court may designate.
(3)
If the proper venue is in another court, the will shall be transmitted to that court, but, before such a transmission, a true copy shall be made and retained in the court in which the will was deposited.
Amended by Act 2023, No. 272,§ 1, eff. 8/1/2023.
Acts 1949, No. 140, § 31; 1983, No. 898, § 2; A.S.A. 1947, §§ 22-523, 60-415; Acts 2007, No. 652, § 1.