§ 28-1-101. Title

This act may be cited as the “Probate Code”.

§ 28-1-102. Definitions

(a) As used in the Probate Code: (1) “Child” denotes a natural or adopted child, but does not include a grandchild or other more remote descendant or an illegitimate child except such as would inherit under the law of descent and distribution; (2) “Claims” includes liabilities of the decedent which survive, whether arising in contract […]

§ 28-1-103. Effect of code

(a) Effective Date. The Probate Code shall take effect on July 1, 1949, except that, when its application, or parts thereof, would not be feasible or would work injustice in particular proceedings then pending, the former procedure shall apply. (b) Rights Not Affected. Acts done and rights accrued prior to July 1, 1949, shall not […]

§ 28-1-104. Probate proceedings

The circuit court shall have jurisdiction over: (1) The administration, settlement, and distribution of estates of decedents; (2) The probate of wills; (3) The persons and estates of minors; (4) Persons of unsound mind and their estates; (5) The determination of heirship or of adoption; (6) The restoration of lost wills and the construction of […]

§ 28-1-106. Referees and probate clerks

(a) Circuit courts shall have the authority to appoint referees in probate in the respective counties in the manner and with the powers and duties as provided by Supreme Court rule. (b) (1) In the absence of the circuit judge or a referee within a county, the probate clerk of the circuit court may appoint […]

§ 28-1-108. Records

The following records of the court shall be maintained: (1) An index in which files pertaining to estates of deceased persons shall be indexed under the name of the decedent, and those pertaining to guardianships under the name of the ward. The file and docket number shall be shown after the name of each file; […]

§ 28-1-109. Petition — Verification

(a) Unless otherwise provided, every application to the court shall be by petition signed and verified by or on behalf of the petitioner. (b) This requirement shall be mandatory but not jurisdictional, and noncompliance therewith shall not alone be grounds for appeal.

§ 28-1-110. Filing objections to petition

(a) On or before the day set for hearing, an interested person may file written objections to a petition previously filed. (b) Upon special order or general rule of the court, objections to a petition must be filed in writing as a prerequisite to being heard by the court.

§ 28-1-111. Guardians and attorneys ad litem

(a) Circuit courts shall have the power and duty to appoint a guardian ad litem to a proceeding to represent an incompetent party who is not represented by a guardian or next friend and, for the protection of the interests of a nonresident party who is not represented before the court and has not been […]

§ 28-1-112. Notice — Service — Proof — Costs

(a) When Notice to Be Given. Notice to interested persons need be given only when and as specifically provided for in the Probate Code or as ordered by the court. When no notice is required by the Probate Code, the court, by rule or by order in a particular case, may require such notice as […]

§ 28-1-113. Waiver of notice

(a) A person who submits to the jurisdiction of the court in any hearing shall be deemed to have waived notice. (b) A waiver in writing, executed in person or by attorney, in behalf of a person who is interested in a hearing in a probate proceeding, shall be effective if made by: (1) A […]

§ 28-1-115. Vacation and modification of orders

(a) For good cause and at any time within the period allowed for appeal after the final termination of the administration of the estate of a decedent or ward, the court may vacate or modify an order or grant a rehearing. However, no such power shall exist as to any order from which an appeal […]

§ 28-1-116. Appeals

(a) Appeal Permitted. Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, a person aggrieved by an order of the circuit court in probate proceedings under the provisions of the Probate Code may obtain a review of the order by the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals. (b) Orders Which Are Not Appealable. There […]

§ 28-1-117. Use of certified mail permitted

Anything permitted or required by the Probate Code to be served or transmitted by registered mail may be served or transmitted either by registered mail or by certified mail, and return receipts for the delivery of certified mail shall be received in the courts as prima facie evidence of the delivery to the same extent […]

§ 28-1-118. Deceased viable fetus

(a) For purposes of the Probate Code, a “deceased viable fetus” is considered a person and decedent so that the probate division of circuit court may have jurisdiction for the administration, settlement, and distribution of the deceased fetus’s estate. (b) No person shall be liable under subsection (a) of this section when the death of […]

§ 28-1-119. Access to decedent’s autopsy records

(a) As used in this section, “healthcare provider” means a person, corporation, facility, or institution licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized by the law of this state to administer health care in the ordinary course of business or practice of a profession. (b) A healthcare provider who, in good faith, releases copies of a decedent’s autopsy […]