teams, are behind the current push to
permit citizens to create and store estate
planning documents entirely online
without the need for physical interaction
with any other person during the
creation or execution phases.
In 2017, these companies quickly
introduced electronic will legislation in
at least seven states. Legislatures in New
Hampshire, Arizona, Virginia, Indiana
and Washington, D.C. did not pass the
bills last year. Florida's bill did pass but
was ultimately vetoed by its governor.
Nevada's comprehensive legislation
became law on July 1, 2017, and its
controversial provisions reach beyond
Nevada's borders.
is that people who have no nexus at
all with Nevada can now create a will
entirely online before remote witnesses
and notaries, and such electronic wills
are deemed to have been executed in
Nevada and can be probated there.
Given the speed at which electronic
will legislation was introduced in various
and the initial lack of collaboration with
state bar associations, the Uniform Law
Commission has responded by forming
an electronic wills committee. This
committee bypassed its research phase
and immediately held its first drafting
meeting in October 2017 and will meet
again in March 2018.
The committee is tasked with
drafting a model law addressing the
formation, validity and recognition
of electronic wills and is considering
expansion of its charge to include
electronic powers of attorney for health
care and finance.
Commission is also currently
undertaking a significant project to
modernize its law of wills, citing "the
emergence of and increasing reliance
upon digital technology" as one reason.
on electronic signatures in the global
marketplace, the growing acceptance
of the harmless error doctrine, the
rapid invention and adoption of new
of remote notarization in certain
jurisdictions, and the influential
lobbying efforts of technology
companies, we can expect to see more
legislative activity to modernize laws
governing the creation, execution
and storage of wills, trusts, powers
of attorney and other estate planning
documents.
4 THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE OF
uniformlaws.org/Committee.aspx?title=Electronic%20
Wills (last visited January 12, 2018).