Your Cookies are Disabled! NationalNotary.org sets cookies on your computer to help improve performance and provide a more engaging user experience. By using this site, you accept the terms of our cookie policy. Learn more.

Menu
National Notary Association

Knowledge Center

KY Senate Bill 50

Legislation

State: Kentucky
Signed: April 13, 2026

Effective: July 14, 2026
Chapter: TBD

Summary

Senate Bill 50 authorizes electronic last wills to be self-proved in the manner that paper wills are today and enacts the Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act.

Affects

Creates as yet uncodified sections in Chapter 394 of the Kentucky Revised Statutes.

Changes
  1. Provides that an electronic will may be simultaneously executed, attested, and made self-proving by acknowledgment of the testator and affidavits of witnesses.
  2. Provides that the acknowledgment and affidavits to make an electronic will self-proving must be: (a) Made before a Notary authorized to administer oaths under the law of the state in which execution occurs or, if fewer than two (2) attesting witnesses are physically present in the same location as the testator at the time of signing under subsection (1)(b) of Section 35 of this Act, before a Notary public authorized under KRS 423.455 (remotely). (b) Evidenced by the Notary's certificate under official seal affixed to or logically associated with the electronic will; and (c) In a form substantially similar to KRS 394.225(1)-(2).
  3. Clarifies that a signature physically or electronically affixed to a self-proving affidavit that is affixed to or logically associated with an electronic will is deemed a signature of the electronic will.
  4. Enacts the Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act.
  5. Lists, as specified, the documents that are considered "nontestamentary estate planning documents.
  6. Provides that if other law of Kentucky requires a signature or record to be notarized, acknowledged, verified, or made under oath, the requirement is satisfied with respect to an electronic nontestamentary estate planning document if an individual authorized to perform the notarization, acknowledgment, verification, or oath attaches or logically associates the individual's electronic signature on the document together with all other information required to be included under the other law.
Analysis

Senate Bill 50 modernizes Kentucky’s estate‑planning laws by authorizing the execution, attestation, and self‑proving of electronic wills and by adopting the Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act. It clarifies that electronic wills may be simultaneously executed and made self‑proving through acknowledgments and affidavits that are notarized either in person or, when required, through remote online notarization. By treating electronic signatures on properly associated self‑proving affidavits as signatures on the will itself, the bill removes uncertainty about the legal effect of electronic execution.

The bill also resolves longstanding gaps created by the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act by expressly authorizing electronic execution and notarization of nontestamentary estate planning documents, such as powers of attorney and trusts. When other Kentucky law requires notarization, acknowledgment, or an oath, those requirements may now be satisfied electronically so long as the Notary’s electronic signature and required information are affixed to or logically associated with the document.

Overall, the bill promotes clarity, accessibility, and technological neutrality in estate planning while preserving Notary oversight and evidentiary safeguards. By aligning Kentucky law with uniform national standards, it facilitates broader acceptance of electronic estate planning documents while maintaining the formalities necessary to protect testators, beneficiaries, and the integrity of testamentary intent.

Read Senate Bill 50.

Close