The subsequent incompetency from whatever cause of one or more of the subscribing witnesses, or their inability to testify in open court or pursuant to commission, or their absence from the state, shall not prevent the probate of the will. In such cases the court shall admit the will to probate upon satisfactory testimony that the handwriting of the testator and of an incompetent or absent subscribing witness is genuine or the court may consider such other facts and circumstances, if any, as would tend to prove such will.
RCW 11.20.040
Proof where one or more witnesses are unable or incompetent to testify, or absent from state.
Applied in 7 court decisions — leading case In Re Estate of Black (2004)
Most recently applied in In Re Estate of Black (December 2004)
1967 c 168 s 5; 1965 c 145 s 11.20.040
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Official source: Washington State Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Washington statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.