Petition to Probate a Will Requirements in Alabama

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law, court, and venue

Alabama uses an application in probate court for the ordinary original probate of a domestic will. Section 43-8-160 lets a named executor, devisee, legatee, interested person, or will custodian offer the will. Section 43-8-162 ordinarily places the case in the probate court of the Alabama county where the decedent was an inhabitant at death. It then supplies nonresident death-and-assets routes, a later-arriving-assets route, and a will-designated county route when the decedent owned property there.

If more than one Alabama probate court could hear a proceeding, § 43-8-214 gives the first-commenced court the exclusive right to proceed unless venue is transferred.

Petition contents and the filed will

The current ordinary probate article does not enumerate a detailed statewide petition-field checklist. The official Legislative Services Agency model is a sworn petition that identifies the death, domicile and Alabama assets; states whether the will is attested or self-proved; identifies the nominee, spouse and next of kin; surrenders the will to the court; and asks for probate and letters. Those model fields are a useful statewide reference, but county filing forms and local requirements can add mechanics not stated in the Code.

The ordinary route files the will itself. Section 43-8-173 says a will filed for probate cannot be removed from the office before probate until the judge records it as “Recorded Before Being Probated.” The complete ordinary article supplies no general permission to replace a missing domestic original with an ordinary photocopy; a lost-will issue falls outside this ordinary route.

Filing deadline and purchaser protection

Section 43-8-161 makes the five-year clock substantive: a will is not effective unless filed for probate within five years after death. A separate one-year rule protects certain third parties. Under § 43-8-172, a will first propounded more than twelve months after death is inoperative against a bona fide purchaser, mortgagee, or pledgee who acquired the interest before probate without actual notice. The ordinary article states no separate custodian-delivery countdown.

Proof and self-proof

A will satisfying § 43-8-132's self-proof procedure is probated without further proof unless fraud or forgery affects the acknowledgment or affidavit.

For a will that is not self-proved, § 43-8-167 calls for one or more subscribing witnesses; one witness is enough when no contest is filed. If the statutory unavailability conditions are established, the fallback is proof of the testator's handwriting and at least one witness's handwriting. Section 43-8-168 also lets the probate judge commission testimony when a subscribing witness is out of state, physically unable, or otherwise eligible for a deposition.

Notice, hearing, and objections

The application is heard only after the applicable notice. Section 43-8-164 requires at least ten days' notice to an in-state surviving spouse and next of kin. If next of kin are minors, § 43-8-165 also requires a disinterested attorney guardian ad litem who accepts in writing before probate. For a spouse or next of kin outside Alabama, § 43-8-166 uses publication once a week for three successive weeks—or courthouse posting three weeks before the hearing if the county has no newspaper—and permits Alabama Rules of Civil Procedure service instead.

An interested person may contest before probate or within 180 days after admission under § 43-8-215. Since October 1, 2026, Ala. Code § 43-8-216(a) expressly permits an interested person to remove a qualifying will contest or estate administration to circuit court without assigning special equity. A will contest must comply with § 43-8-215; estate administration cannot be removed before letters issue or after the probate court begins final settlement. 2026 Ala. Act 226 (SB 195), § 2, supplies the effective date. Removal does not replace the ordinary notice and proof rules above.

Executor, bond, and letters

After the will is admitted, § 43-2-20 permits letters testamentary to the named executor if that person is fit. Section 43-2-22 disqualifies a person under nineteen, a person convicted of an infamous crime, and a person unable to discharge the trust because of intemperance, improvidence, or want of understanding. A nonresident named executor may serve on the same bond and terms as an Alabama resident under § 43-2-191. Section 43-2-190 requires the nonresident application to state the applicant's name and post-office address.

Renunciation must be entered of record or made by an acknowledged written instrument that is filed and recorded. If a named executor renounces or does not apply within thirty days after probate, §§ 43-2-26 to -27 shift issuance to another fit nominee or, if necessary, to the will-annexed priority route.

Alabama Code §§ 43-2-190 to -191 and 43-2-851 supply the nonresident-application, nonresident-service, and bond rules. Section 43-2-851 generally requires bond. An express will provision may waive it, but the court must require security if an interested person makes the statutory endangerment showing or the court believes the estate is likely to be wasted. Letters issue only after admission and compliance with the applicable statutory requirements.

What trips people up

• Five years and twelve months do different work. Five years governs whether the will is effective; filing after twelve months can separately leave a qualifying earlier purchaser or lender protected.
• Notice is not owed to every person listed in the will under these sections. The opening notice statutes name the surviving spouse and next of kin and add special routes for minors and people outside Alabama.
• One witness is enough only in an uncontested probate. If proof cannot come from a subscribing witness, the statutory unavailability showing and handwriting route matter.
• Nomination does not guarantee letters. The nominee must be fit, address any bond, and apply before the thirty-day post-probate shift changes who may receive authority.

Common questions

Can someone other than the named executor offer the will?

Yes. Section 43-8-160 also permits a devisee, legatee, interested person, or the person who has custody of the will to have it proved.

Does a self-proved will eliminate the notice hearing?

No. Self-proof eliminates further execution proof unless fraud or forgery is shown. Sections 43-8-164 to -166 separately require notice before the application is heard.

Can an out-of-state nominee serve?

Yes. Section 43-2-191 permits a nonresident named executor to receive letters on the same bond, terms, conditions, and requirements imposed on Alabama residents.

Statutes and sources

• Ala. Code §§ 43-8-160 to -162 — authorized applicants, five-year filing limit, and probate-court venue. Official Alabama Code endpoint (accessed 2026-10-02).
• Ala. Code §§ 43-8-164 to -168 — notice, minors, out-of-state recipients, witness proof, handwriting fallback, and depositions. Official Alabama Code endpoint (accessed 2026-10-02).
• Ala. Code § 43-8-132(c) — self-proof and the fraud-or-forgery exception. Official section 43-8-132 (accessed 2026-10-02).
• Ala. Code §§ 43-8-172 to -173 — twelve-month third-party protection and handling a filed will before probate. Official Alabama Code endpoint (accessed 2026-10-02).
• Ala. Code §§ 43-8-213 to -215 — probate-court jurisdiction, competing venue, and the 180-day contest route. Official Alabama Code endpoint (accessed 2026-10-02).
• Ala. Code §§ 43-2-20 to -22, -25 to -27, -190 to -191, and -851 — named executor, fitness, renunciation, thirty-day shift, nonresidents, bond, and letters. Official Alabama Code endpoint (accessed 2026-10-02).
• Alabama Legislative Services Agency, Handbook for Alabama Probate Judges — official model petition and verification. Official handbook (accessed 2026-10-02).
• Ala. Code § 43-8-216(a) — current circuit-court-removal rule. Official Alabama Code (accessed 2026-10-02).
• 2026 Ala. Act 226 (SB 195) — October 1, 2026 circuit-court-removal amendment. Official enrolled act (accessed 2026-10-02).