North Carolina § 31-3 - 3. Attested written will.

§ 31-3. 3. Attested written will.

An attested written will is a written will signed by the testator and attested by at least two competent witnesses as provided by this section. The testator must, with intent to sign the will, do so by actually signing the will or by having someone else in the testator's presence and at the testator's direction sign the testator's name thereon. The testator must signify to the attesting witnesses that the instrument is the testator's instrument by signing it in their presence or by acknowledging to them the testator's signature previously affixed thereto, either of which may be done before the attesting witnesses separately. The attesting witnesses must sign the will in the presence of the testator but need not sign in the presence of each other. History (1953, c. 1098, s. 2; 2011-344, s. 8.) Cross References. - As to manner of probate of attested written will, see G.S. 28A-2A-8. As to witnesses to will, see G.S. 31-8.1 through 31-10. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2011-344, s. 8, effective January 1, 2012, and applicable to estates of decedents dying on or after that date, substituted "by actually signing the will or" for "by signing the will himself or" and "the testator's" for "his" in subsection (b), and substituted "the testator's" for "his" twice in subsection (c). Legal Periodicals. - For comment on the necessity for proof of due execution of a will, see 3 Wake Forest Intra. L. Rev. 12 (1967). For comment, "Over My Dead Body: The Legal Nightmare and Medical Phenomenon of Posthumous Conception Through Postmortem Sperm Retrieval," see 34 Campbell L. Rev. 181 (2011).