30-2402.

Necessity of order of probate for will; certified; evidence.

Except as provided in sections 30-24,125 and 30-24,129, to be effective to prove the transfer of any property or to nominate an executor, a will must be declared to be valid by an order of informal probate by the registrar or an adjudication of probate by the court, except that a duly executed and unrevoked will which has not been probated may be admitted as evidence of a devise if (1) no court proceeding concerning the succession or administration of the estate has occurred and (2) either the devisee or his or her successors and assigns possessed the property devised in accordance with the provisions of the will, or the property devised was not possessed or claimed by anyone by virtue of the decedent's title during the time period for testacy proceedings. Every will, when proved as provided in the Nebraska Probate Code, shall have a certificate of such proof endorsed thereon or annexed thereto, signed by the registrar, judge, or clerk magistrate of the county court and attested by the seal of the court. Every will so certified, and the record thereof, or a transcript of such record, certified by the judge or clerk magistrate of the county court and attested by the seal of the court, may be read in evidence in all courts of this state without further proof. An affidavit executed pursuant to section 30-24,129 prior to September 1, 2001, is valid and effective to prove such transfer.