Article: Electronic Wills: The Changing Future of the Estate Practice

Gerry W. Beyer recently published an article entitled, Electronic Wills: The Changing Future of the Estate Practice, Wills, Trusts, & Estates Law ejournal (2021). Provided below is the abstract to the Article: 

As of September 15, 2021, four states have enacted the Uniform Electronic Wills Act: Colorado (effective July 2, 2021), North Dakota (effective August 1, 2021), Utah (effective August 31, 2020), and Washington (effective January 1, 2022). Six states have enacted other electronic will statutes: Nevada (effective July 1, 2017), Indiana (effective July 1, 2018), Arizona (effective July 1, 2019), Florida (effective July 1, 2020), Illinois (effective July 26, 2021), and Maryland (effective October 1, 2021).

This article discusses the development of electronic wills, the Uniform Electronic Wills Act and the e-will statutes of the six non-uniform states, and the situations where e-wills may be a valuable part of the estate planner's toolbox.

The article also contains the complete text of all state statutes and detailed comparison charts which set forth the key features of each state's e-will statutes.