Rule 1261 (a) Evidence of a statement is not made inadmissible by the hearsay rule when offered in an action upon a claim or demand against the estate of the de…

When someone dies and a legal claim is made against their estate, statements they made while alive can sometimes be used as evidence in court. Normally, statements from people who are not present to testify are blocked by the hearsay rule. This rule creates an exception for those situations.

The statement can be used in court if the person who made it had direct, personal knowledge of what they were talking about, remembered it clearly at the time, and made the statement soon after the event happened. The idea is that a fresh, firsthand account is likely to be reliable even if the person can no longer testify.

However, if the statement seems untrustworthy for any reason, the court will not allow it. A judge can look at the circumstances around how and why the statement was made to decide if it should be trusted.