Notice of right to elect
When a married person dies and leaves a will, the court clerk sends a letter to the surviving husband or wife. The letter says that if the spouse wants to go against what the will says, they have to file a paper saying so before a certain deadline. If the clerk forgets to send the letter, or the spouse never gets it, the deadline still stands. If the surviving spouse has been ruled unable to make decisions and has no one legally in charge of them, the court can appoint someone to make that choice for them.
474.170. Notice of right to elect. — The , after the will of a married person is , shall, within one month thereafter, mail by ordinary mail a written notice, directed to the 's at his last known residence address, informing him that a written must be filed by or on behalf of the surviving spouse in to , within ten days after the expiration of the time limited for of the , unless the time is extended law. Failure of the clerk to mail or of any surviving spouse to receive the notice herein required does not affect the time for making an election as prescribed by section 474.180. If the court is informed that a surviving spouse has been a but has no or the notice need not be given but the court may appoint a to make the election.
Tap any gold-underlined word to see what it means.
Red section numbers link to that law.
Source & history notes
(L. 1955 p. 385 § 253, A.L. 1957 p. 829, A.L. 1983 S.B. 44 & 45)
Legal information, not legal advice. Always confirm with the official source at revisor.mo.gov.