State Ex Rel. Unnerstall Ex Rel. Leighton v. Berkemeyer

MICHAEL A. WOLFF, Judge.

Introduction

Where there’s a will, there’s a way, as the saying goes. In probate law, however, unless the will is as prescribed by statute, there is no will — no way.

The question here is whether the decedent’s purported will can be admitted to probate, under the applicable statute, when it was not presented to the probate division within one. year of decedent’s death, as the statute requires.

When a person dies, Missouri’s statutes specify how the person’s assets are to be distributed unless there is a valid will that is admitted timely to probate. Hence, the ability of…