Proceeding to compel production of will Whenever it shall appear to the court, sua sponte, or by the petition of a person authorized unde... · as in force on May 31, 2026
§ 1401. Proceeding to compel production of will
Whenever it shall appear to the court, sua sponte, or by the petition of a person authorized under the succeeding section of this act to present a petition for the probate of a will, that there is reasonable ground to believe that any person has knowledge of the whereabouts or destruction of a will of a decedent the court may make an order requiring the person or persons named therein to attend and be examined in the premises. Service of the order must be made by delivery of a certified copy thereof to the person or persons named therein either personally or in such manner as the court shall direct. The court may either in the order or otherwise in the proceeding require the production and filing in court of any will of the decedent which it finds is in the possession or under the control of the respondent. The court may impose the reasonable attorneys fees of the petitioner in such a proceeding against a respondent when the court determines the respondent did not have good cause to withhold production of such will or codicil.
When the court has reasonable grounds to believe someone knows where a decedent’s will is or what happened to it, the court may order that person to appear and be examined, on its own or after an authorized person petitions. A certified copy of the order must be served personally or as the court directs. The court may require production and filing of a will under the respondent’s control and may charge the petitioner’s reasonable attorney’s fees to a respondent who lacked good cause for withholding the will or codicil. ★
Marked in the text: penalties, time limits, sums of money. Editorial emphasis added by this edition; it does not appear in the statute as enacted.
This provision appears in Volume 1 — The Surrogate's Court in Plain English; Volume 2 — The Surrogate's Court Procedure Act; Volume 5 — Your Career: Surrogate's Court in Plain English.