December 2, 2019

Most of your organization today is probably digitized. There’s a good chance you own a scanner and have taken every effort to store what you can online.

But even though electronic wills might be a wave of the future in estate planning, they’re not here in full yet since most states don’t have a method for electronic will filing.

A true electronic will is one that can be drafted, reviewed, and validated all in electronic form. As of right now, e-wills don’t eliminate the current need for a traditional will. Over time, however, state legislatures might review the requirements for electronic wills to provide insight about how this might work.

It’s very likely that future versions of an electronic will still require the formal creation of the document as well as signatures by witnesses. Some state courts have already begun to analyze and recognition electronic wills, but those circumstances are limited up to this point.

Recently, the Uniform Law Commission has accepted an e-wills act known as the Uniform Electronic Wills Act. This organization is a group of legal professors and practitioners who are often the first voice of change in various practice areas. Many states tend to adopt similar laws after the ULC releases information about laws they’ve accepted.  

If you’d like to talk about how to create a will that works for your life circumstances now and in the future, set up a time to speak with an experienced and dedicated estate planning lawyer. A lawyer can guide you through how to incorporate the most appropriate estate planning strategies for your needs and your family.