Simplifying estate planning

State COVID-19

States should simplify estate planning. This includes allowing the use of electronic wills or trusts to govern the distribution of property at death. Provisions should be made to ensure the safe and secure storage of all wills and trusts. States should enact legislation that authorizes transfer-on-death (or beneficiary) deeds to enable revocable non-probate real property transfers.

States should allow the use of technology to expand the availability and convenience of estate planning services. This should include electronic execution of wills and electronic and remote notarization of documents. Any legislation should include appropriate protections to prevent fraud, abuse, exploitation, and coercion. Legislation should:

  • include safeguards to protect against fraud, exploitation, and coercion that are at least as stringent as those in the Uniform Electronic Wills Act; and
  • ensure the integrity and reliability of notarized estate planning documents that are at least as strong as the Uniform Law Commission’s Revised Uniform Law on Notarial Acts.

States should enact legislation that authorizes digital assets to be treated in the same manner as tangible assets, such as the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act.