AN ACT to create and enact chapter 59-22 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act; and to provide for application.
SB 2127 creates a new chapter in North Dakota law adopting the Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act. The bill authorizes certain non-testamentary estate planning documents to be created, signed, stored, notarized, witnessed, and retained electronically, and provides that electronic records and electronic signatures may not be denied legal effect solely because they are electronic. It defines the types of documents covered, including trusts, powers of attorney, advance directives, health care powers of attorney, living wills, mental health treatment declarations, guardian nominations, and related estate-planning records, while excluding deeds and vehicle/aircraft/watercraft title certificates.
The bill also establishes rules for attribution, security procedures, certified paper copies, admissibility of electronic evidence, and the use of electronic presence for witnessing and attestation. It applies existing state law and equity principles except where modified, and it is designed to align North Dakota with uniform law standards and federal electronic-signature law. The act applies to covered electronic documents created or stored before, on, or after July 31, 2025.
The bill would add chapter 59-22 to the North Dakota Century Code and change how estate-planning documents outside of wills are treated under state law by expressly validating electronic forms and signatures. It affects probate-adjacent and incapacity-planning instruments such as trusts, durable powers of attorney, advance directives, and guardian nominations, while leaving deeds and certain title documents outside its scope. It also interacts with existing law by allowing electronic notarization, electronic witnessing, and electronic record retention to satisfy otherwise applicable writing, signature, and original-document requirements for covered documents.
The available legislative record suggests broad support and little visible opposition. The bill passed the Senate 45-1 and the House 90-2, indicating strong bipartisan approval. No committee transcript was provided, but the request from the Commission on Uniform State Laws and the near-unanimous votes suggest the measure was viewed as a modernization and administrative convenience bill rather than a controversial policy change.
The main potential points of contention are the shift from traditional paper execution to electronic execution for sensitive estate-planning and incapacity documents, and the use of electronic presence in place of physical presence for witnessing and attestation. Concerns could also arise around authentication, fraud prevention, record retention, and whether electronic copies are sufficiently reliable for documents affecting health care, property management, and guardianship nominations. However, the voting history indicates these concerns did not generate significant opposition in the Legislature.