Electronic wills set to come online under Florida law

Newswire: May 15, 2017

Dateline: Tallahassee, Fla.

Florida’s legislature has passed a bill authorizing electronic will and electronic will execution in the state. The bill is expected to be signed by the governor and become law.

The new legislation should facilitate the business of Internet-based will preparation companies, who see a fertile market in Florida’s well known population of retirees and senior citizens. The legislation sought to include several requirements and controls to reduce fraud or misfeasance.

The legislation requires all witnesses to sign the will electronically if the testator does so. The state’s two witness requirement remains in effect.

However, the testator and witnesses must be in the presence of one another. In 2018, this requirement may be satisfied by a live video conference among all the signatories. These conferences must also satisfy several statutory requirements.

The legislation passed applies only to electronic wills. Wills drafted on paper documents are still enforced through the existing law.

Several more of the Florida bill’s very technical requirements are available at the link. Read the full story here.