It is well established law in New York, even going back to our colonial days, that to be valid in our state, a will, with minor exceptions, must be in writing. Indeed, before it is admitted to probate, a will traditionally has been described as a "paper writing." Attorneys who practice in this area have been confident in their knowledge surrounding this aspect of wills.

It appears this is about to change. A bill has been introduced in the New York Assembly (A. 7702), which adds a new Part 6 authorizing "electronic wills" to Article 3 of the Estates, Powers and Trusts Law.

Before we discuss the proposed statute, it is noted that the bill is an enactment of the Uniform Electronic Wills Act approved by the Uniform Law Commission in 2019 and enacted in six states (Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, North Dakota, Utah and Washington), the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands. Six other states (Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland and Nevada) have enacted non-uniform legislation authorizing electronic wills. All these statutes are still so recently enacted that there appear to be no reported cases dealing with their provisions.