Utah Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act

As I discussed in a prior post, Utah was an early adopter of an electronic Wills act, and testamentary instruments electronically executed pursuant to that act are still allowed. In addition, pursuant to the Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act ("UEEPDA"), any "electronic non-testamentary estate planning document created, signed, generated, sent, communicated, received, or stored before, on, or after May 6, 2026" pursuant to the requirements of UEEPDA is also valid.

A non-testamentary estate planning document covered by UEEPDA expressly includes all standard estate planning documents other than a Will, deed, or vehicle title. Any requirement that a document be in "writing" is satisfied if the document is in an electronic record "inscribed on a tangible medium" or "stored in an electronic or other medium and retrievable in perceivable form." This assumes that the record is "readable as text at the time of signing." As with electronic Wills, a video or audio recording of the testator's wishes does not qualify under UEEPDA because it would not be readable as text.

A non-testamentary estate planning document must still be signed by the person, but under UEEPDA, "signing" includes executing or adopting a tangible symbol or logically associating with the record an electronic signature. UEEPDA is intended to be interpreted "consistent with reasonable practices concerning electronic documents and signatures and continued expansion of those practices." UEEPDA confirms electronic notarizations as well, which have been permitted in Utah since 2019 pursuant to H.B. 52, Remote Notarization Standards.

Electronic presence is sufficient for any document required to be witnessed. Under UEEPDA, "electronic presence" is defined to mean that "two or more individuals in different locations are able to communicate in real time to the same extent as if the individuals were physically present in the same location." No document is required to be signed electronically, even if prior documents were created or signed electronically. Electronically-signed documents will not be free from contests or other estate controversy, but there does not appear to be a fundamental reason why testamentary or non-testamentary documents cannot be executed electronically when so many aspects of our lives are already digital.

Posted in: Estate Planning