Legislation
State: North Dakota
Signed: March 09, 2021
Effective: August 01, 2021
Chapter: 257
Summary
House Bill 1077 authorizes an individual to create their last will using electronic records and to electronically sign the will before a Notary or other officer authorized to take acknowledgments.
Affects
Creates Chapter 30.1-37 in the North Dakota Century Code.
Changes
- Defines terms.
- Authorizes a last will to be created using electronic records and signed electronically.
- Authorizes an electronic will to be acknowledged by the testator before a Notary or other individual authorized to take acknowledgments.
- Authorizes an electronic will to be made self-proving at the time of execution by the testator acknowledging the will and the witnesses signing affidavits before a Notary.
AnalysisHouse Bill 1077 allows an individual to create an electronic will and provides rules for the due form and execution of electronic wills patterned after the Uniform Law Commission’s Uniform Electronic Wills Act. Of most importance to Notaries, House Bill 1077 authorizes an electronic will to be acknowledged before a Notary Public or other officer authorized to take acknowledgments. Also important to Notaries is the authorization for a testator to make an electronic will “self-proving” through acknowledgment by the testator and affidavits of the witnesses before a Notary Public.
Read House Bill 1077.