As used in this chapter:

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Terms Used In North Dakota Code 30.1-37-01

  • Codicil: An addition, change, or supplement to a will executed with the same formalities required for the will itself.
  • Decedent: A deceased person.
  • Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
  • Individual: means a human being. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • Intestate: Dying without leaving a will.
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • Property: includes property, real and personal. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49

1.    “Electronic” means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities.

2.    “Electronic will” means a will executed electronically in compliance with subsection 1 of section 30.1-37-04.

3.    “Record” means information inscribed on a tangible medium or stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.

4.    “Sign” means, with present intent to authenticate or adopt a record to:

a.    Execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or

b.    Affix to or logically associate with the record an electronic symbol or process.

5.    “State” means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. The term includes a federally recognized Indian tribe.

6.    “Will” includes a codicil and any testamentary instrument that merely appoints an executor, revokes or revises another will, nominates a guardian, or expressly excludes or limits the right of an individual or class to succeed to property of the decedent passing by intestate succession.