On November 9, 1998, testatrix Elva Tatum executed a will in which she left her home, its contents, and its 27-acre site to appellees Mattie and Oval Moore, neither of whom was related to the testatrix. Ms. Tatum died May 27, 1999, at the age of 82, without a spouse or children. The Moores filed a petition to probate the will and appellants, several nieces and nephews of the testatrix, filed a caveat. The probate judge sustained the caveat after finding the Moores had exercised undue influence over the testatrix to the extent that the will offered for probate was not the product of the testatrix’s free and voluntary act. Appellees appealed the probate court’s decision to the Superior Court of Dade County, which held a jury trial on the issue in April 2001. The jury returned a verdict in favor of the propounders of the will, and the trial court entered a judgment in accordance with the verdict. The relatives then filed this appeal.
1. Appellants contend the trial court committed reversible error by admitting the will into evidence before the testimony of the witnesses to the will and before it was established that the will was executed with the proper formalities. Attached to the will offered for probate was a self-proving affidavit and certificate executed by the testatrix, the two witnesses to the will, and a notary public. See OCGA § 53-4-24. The self-proving affidavit, which is a sworn statement that the will has been duly executed, creates a rebuttable presumption that the requirements of signature and attestation were met without the need for live testimony or affidavits from the will’s witnesses. Westmoreland v. Tallent, 274 Ga. 172 1 549 SE2d 113 2001; Singelmann v. Singelmann, 273 Ga. 894 1 548 SE2d 343 2001; Radford, Redfearn Wills and Administration in Georgia, 6th Ed. 2000 §5-8, pp. 96-97. In light of the presence of the self-proving affidavit, the will could be admitted to probate and into evidence without the testimony of the subscribing witnesses or other proof that the formalities of execution were met. Id. See also OCGA § 53-4-24 c, which states that “a self-proved will or codicil may be admitted to probate without the testimony of any subscribing witness. . . .”
