{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-58-58-43","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 58, § 58-43","heading":"Witnesses on trial of contest - Depositions","body":"If the will is contested, all the subscribing witnesses who are\n\npresent in the county, and who are of sound mind, must be produced\n\nand examined; and the death, absence or insanity of any of them must\n\nbe satisfactorily shown to the court. If none of the subscribing\n\nwitnesses reside in the county, and are not present at the time\n\nappointed for proving the will, or although such witnesses reside in\n\nthe county and are insane or incompetent, and such facts are first\n\nmade to appear to the court, either in contested or noncontested\n\nwill cases, the court may admit the testimony of other witnesses to\n\nprove the sanity of the testator and the execution of the will and,\n\nas evidence of the execution, it may admit proof of the handwriting\n\nof the testator and of the subscribing witnesses, or any of them.\n\nProvided that when the testimony of any nonresident witness or\n\nwitnesses residing out of the county wherein any will is sought to\n\nbe admitted to probate, may be desired, touching the execution of\n\nsuch will, either in contested or noncontested will cases, it shall\n\nbe lawful for the party seeking to have such will admitted to\n\nprobate, or resisting the same in the district court, to cause the\n\ndeposition of such witness to be taken in like manner, as now is or\n\nhereafter may be provided in civil cases; and the court may, in its\n\ndiscretion, direct the original of such will to be attached to any\n\ncommission issued in such case; and the deposition of any such\n\nwitness taken, certified and returned, according to law, shall be of\n\nlike force and effect as if his testimony had been heard in the\n\ncourt; provided, that before any such original will shall be\n\nsuffered to be attached to any such commission, a photostatic or\n\ncertified copy thereof shall be made and examined, and certified by\n\nthe judge to be a true copy of the original, and until the return of\n\nsuch original, such copy shall be retained in the office of the\n\njudge, in lieu of such original will; and if such will be admitted\n\nto probate, the same may, in case of the loss or destruction of the\n\noriginal thereof, be recorded from such certified copy. Provided,\n\nfurther, that in all cases where wills have heretofore been proved\n\nin substantial compliance with the provisions hereof, such proof is\n\nhereby validated.","path":["OK Code","Title 58"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os58.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"f46eee93f20db091783379ae1d29a06365f154561a9d21fb48bb0cff7c19f571","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-58-58-429","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-58-58-430"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}