EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
and is intended to be omitted in the law.
FIRST REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 289
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR BURGER.
0423S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal sections 456.1-108 and 456.10-1005, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof sixteen new
sections relating to estate planning.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Sections 456.1 -108 and 456.10-1005, RSMo, are 1
repealed and sixteen new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to 2
be known as sections 456.1 -108, 456.10-1005, 474.540, 474.542, 3
474.544, 474.546, 474.548, 474.550, 474.552, 474.554, 474.556, 4
474.558, 474.560, 474.562, 474.564, and 474.600, to read as 5
follows:6
456.1-108. 1. Without precluding other means for 1
establishing a sufficient connection with the de signated 2
jurisdiction, terms of a trust designating the principal 3
place of administration are valid and controlling if: 4
(1) a trustee's principal place of business is located 5
in or a trustee is a resident of the designated 6
jurisdiction; or 7
(2) all or part of the administration occurs in the 8
designated jurisdiction. 9
2. Without precluding the right of the court to order, 10
approve, or disapprove a transfer, the trustee may transfer 11
the trust's principal place of administration to anothe r 12
state or to a jurisdiction outside of the United States that 13
is appropriate to the trust's purposes, its administration, 14
and the interests of the beneficiaries. 15 SB 289 2
3. The trustee shall notify the qualified 16
beneficiaries of a proposed transfer of a trust's principal 17
place of administration not less than sixty days before 18
initiating the transfer. The notice of proposed transfer 19
must include: 20
(1) the name of the jurisdiction to which the 21
principal place of administration is to be transferre d; 22
(2) the address and telephone number at the new 23
location at which the trustee can be contacted; 24
(3) an explanation of the reasons for the proposed 25
transfer; 26
(4) a notice that states a change in the place of 27
administration may result in a change of the governing law, 28
which may affect the rights of any beneficiaries in ways 29
that are different from the current governing law; 30
(5) the date on which the proposed transfer is 31
anticipated to occur; and 32
[(5)] (6) the date, not less than sixty days after the 33
giving of the notice, by which the qualified beneficiary 34
must notify the trustee of an objection to the proposed 35
transfer. 36
4. The authority of a trustee under this section to 37
transfer a trust's principal place of adm inistration without 38
an order of a court terminates if a qualified beneficiary 39
notifies the trustee of an objection to the proposed 40
transfer on or before the date specified in the notice. 41
5. In connection with a transfer of the trust's 42
principal place of administration, the trustee may transfer 43
some or all of the trust property to a successor trustee 44
designated in the terms of the trust or appointed pursuant 45
to section 456.7-704. 46 SB 289 3
456.10-1005. 1. A beneficiary [may] shall not 1
commence a proceeding against a trustee for breach of trust 2
more than one year after the last to occur of the date the 3
beneficiary or a representative of the beneficiary was sent 4
a report that adequately disclosed the existence of a 5
potential claim for breach of trust and the date the trustee 6
informed the beneficiary of the time allowed for commencing 7
a proceeding with respect to any potential claim adequately 8
disclosed on the report. 9
2. A report adequately discloses the existence of a 10
potential claim for breach of trust if it provides 11
sufficient information so that the beneficiary or 12
representative knows of the potential claim or should have 13
inquired into its existence. 14
3. If subsection 1 of this section does not apply, a 15
judicial proceeding by a beneficiary against a trustee for 16
breach of trust [must] shall be commenced within five years 17
after the first to occur of: 18
(1) the removal, resignation, or death of the trustee; 19
(2) the occurrence of the event causing a termination 20
of the beneficiary's interest in the trust; or 21
(3) the occurrence of the event causing a termination 22
of the trust. 23
474.540. The provisions of sections 474.540 to 474.564 1
shall be known and may be cited as the "Missouri El ectronic 2
Wills and Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act". 3
474.542. As used in sections 474.540 to 474.564, the 1
following terms mean: 2
(1) "Electronic", technology having electrical, 3
digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, elec tromagnetic, or 4
similar capabilities; 5 SB 289 4
(2) "Electronic presence", the relationship of two or 6
more individuals in different locations in real time using 7
technology enabling live, interactive audio -visual 8
communication that allows for observation, d irect 9
interaction, and communication between or among the 10
individuals; 11
(3) "Electronic will", a will executed electronically 12
in compliance with subsection 1 of section 474.548; 13
(4) "Record", information that is inscribed on a 14
tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other 15
medium and is retrievable in perceivable form; 16
(5) "Security procedure", a procedure to verify that 17
an electronic signature, record, or performance is that of a 18
specific person or to detect a change or error in an 19
electronic record, including a procedure that uses an 20
algorithm, code, identifying word or number, encryption, or 21
callback or other acknowledgment procedure; 22
(6) "Sign", with present intent to authenticate or 23
adopt a record to: 24
(a) Execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or 25
(b) Affix to or logically associate with the record an 26
electronic symbol or process; 27
(7) "State", a state of the United States, the 28
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin 29
Islands, a federally recognized Indian tribe, or any 30
territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction 31
of the United States; 32
(8) "Will", a codicil and any testamentary instrument 33
that appoints an executor, revokes or revises another will, 34
nominates a guardian, or expressly excludes or limits the 35
right of an individual or class to succeed to property of 36
the decedent passing by intestate succession. 37 SB 289 5
474.544. An electronic will shall be a will for all 1
purposes of the laws of this state. The provisions of law 2
applicable to wills and principles of equity shall apply to 3
an electronic will, except as modified by sections 474.540 4
to 474.564. 5
474.546. A will executed electronically, but not in 1
compliance with subsection 1 of section 474.548, shall be an 2
electronic will under the provisions of sections 474.540 to 3
474.564 if executed in compliance with the law of the 4
jurisdiction where the testator is: 5
(1) Physically located when the will is signed; or 6
(2) Domiciled, or where the testator resides, when the 7
will is signed or when the testator dies. 8
474.548. 1. An electronic will shall be: 1
(1) A record that is readable as text at the time of 2
signing as provided in sub division (2) of this subsection 3
and remains accessible as text for later reference; 4
(2) Signed by: 5
(a) The testator; or 6
(b) Another individual in the testator's name, in the 7
testator's physical presence, and by the testator's 8
direction; and 9
(3) Signed in the physical or electronic presence of 10
the testator by at least two individuals after witnessing: 11
(a) The signing of the will pursuant to subdivision 12
(2) of this subsection; or 13
(b) The testator's acknowledgment of th e signing of 14
the will pursuant to subdivision (2) of this subsection or 15
acknowledgment of the will. 16
2. The intent of a testator that the record in 17
subdivision (1) of subsection 1 of this section be the 18 SB 289 6
testator's electronic will may be establishe d by extrinsic 19
evidence. 20
3. In accordance with the provisions of sections 21
474.337 or 474.550, a witness to a will shall be a resident 22
of a state and physically located in a state at the time of 23
signing if no self-proving affidavit is signed 24
contemporaneously with the execution of the electronic will. 25
474.550. At the time of its execution or at any 1
subsequent date, an electronic will may be made self -proved 2
in the same manner as specified in section 474.337 or, if 3
fewer than two witnesses are physically present in the same 4
location as the testator at the time of such 5
acknowledgments, before a remote online notary authorized to 6
perform a remote online notarization in this state under the 7
law of any state or the United Stat es, and evidenced by a 8
remote online notarial certificate, in form and content 9
substantially as follows, subject to the additional 10
requirements under section 486.1165: 11
12 State of _____
13 County (and/or City) of _____
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
I, the undersigned notary, certify that _____, the
testator, and the witnesses, whose names are signed to
the attached or foregoing instrument, having personally
appeared before me by remote online mea ns, and having
been first duly sworn, each then declared to me that
the testator signed and executed the instrument as the
testator's last will, and that the testator had
willingly signed or willingly directed another to sign
for the testator, and that the testator executed it as
the testator's free and voluntary act for the purposes
therein expressed; and that each of the witnesses, in
the presence and hearing of the testator, signed the
will as witness and that to the best of the witnesses'
knowledge the testator was at that time eighteen or
SB 289 7
474.552. 1. An electronic will may revoke all or part 1
of a previous will. 2
2. All or part of an electronic will shall be revoked 3
by: 4
(1) A subsequent will that revokes all or part of the 5
electronic will expressly or by inconsistency; 6
(2) A written instrument signed by the testator 7
declaring the revocation; or 8
(3) A physical act, if it is established by a 9
preponderance of the evidence that the testator, with the 10
intent of revoking all or part of the will, performed the 11
act or directed another individual who performed the act in 12
the testator's physical presence. 13
3. If there is evidence that a testator signed an 14
electronic will and neit her the electronic will nor a 15
certified paper copy of the electronic will can be located 16
after a testator's death, there shall be a presumption that 17
the testator revoked the electronic will, even if no 18
instrument or later will revoking the electronic w ill can be 19
located. 20
474.554. Without further notice, at any time during 1
the administration of the estate or, if there is no grant of 2
administration, upon such notice and in such manner as the 3
court directs, the court may issue an or der pursuant to 4
sections 472.400 to 472.490 for a custodian of an account 5
29
30
more years of age, of sound mind, and under no
constraint or undue influence.
31
32
In witness thereof I have hereunto subscribed my name
and affixed my official seal this _____ (date).
33
34
____________________ (official signature and seal of
notary)
SB 289 8
held under a terms-of-service agreement to disclose digital 6
assets for the purposes of obtaining an electronic will from 7
the account of a deceased user. If there is no grant of 8
administration at the time the court issues the order, the 9
court's order shall grant disclosure to the petitioner who 10
is deemed a personal representative for sections 472.400 to 11
472.490. 12
474.556. 1. An individual may create a certi fied 1
paper copy of an electronic will by affirming under penalty 2
of perjury that a paper copy of the electronic will is a 3
complete, true, and accurate copy of the electronic will. 4
If the electronic will is made self -proving, the certified 5
paper copy of the will shall include a self -proving 6
affidavit as provided in sections 474.337 or 474.550. 7
2. If a provision of law or rule of procedure requires 8
a will to be presented or retained in its original form or 9
provides legal consequences for the in formation not being 10
presented or retained in its original form, that provision 11
or rule shall be satisfied by a certified paper copy of an 12
electronic will. 13
474.558. In applying and construing the provisions of 1
sections 474.540 to 474 .564, consideration shall be given to 2
the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to 3
its subject matter among states that enact similar 4
provisions. 5
474.560. 1. Any written estate planning document may 1
be executed electronically, and no such estate planning 2
document shall be invalid or void solely because it is in 3
electronic form or because it is signed electronically by a 4
settlor, trustee, principal, grantor, declarant, or owner, 5
or by a witness to any such person's s ignature. For 6 SB 289 9
purposes of this section, "estate planning document" shall 7
include, but not be limited to: 8
(1) A power of attorney or durable power of attorney; 9
(2) A health care declaration; 10
(3) An advance directive; 11
(4) A power of attorney for health care or durable 12
power of attorney for health care; 13
(5) A revocable trust or amendment thereto, or 14
modification or revocation thereof; 15
(6) An irrevocable trust; 16
(7) A beneficiary deed; 17
(8) A nonprobate transfe r; or 18
(9) A document modifying, amending, correcting, or 19
revoking any written estate planning document. 20
2. (1) An electronic estate planning document or an 21
electronic signature on such document shall be attributable 22
to a person if it was th e act of the person. The act of the 23
person may be shown in any manner, including a showing of 24
the efficacy of a security procedure applied to determine 25
the person to which the electronic record or signature was 26
attributable. 27
(2) The effect of attribution of a document or 28
signature to a person pursuant to subdivision (1) of this 29
subsection shall be determined from the context and 30
surrounding circumstances at the time of its creation, 31
execution, or adoption and as provided by other provisions 32
of law. 33
3. (1) Unless otherwise provided under its terms, any 34
electronic estate planning document may be signed in one or 35
more counterparts, and each separate counterpart may be an 36
electronic document or a paper document, provided that all 37 SB 289 10
signed counterpart pages of each document are incorporated 38
into, or attached to, the document. 39
(2) An individual may create a certified paper copy of 40
any such electronic estate planning document by affirming 41
under penalty of perjury that a paper copy o f the electronic 42
estate planning document is a complete, true, and accurate 43
copy of such document. If a provision of law or rule of 44
procedure requires an estate planning document to be 45
presented or retained in its original form or provides legal 46
consequences for the information not being presented or 47
retained in its original form, such provision or rule shall 48
be satisfied by a certified paper copy of an electronic 49
document. 50
4. Any written estate planning document, other than a 51
will, that requires one or more witnesses to the signature 52
of a principal may be witnessed by any individual or 53
individuals in the electronic presence of the principal. 54
5. A person who acts in reliance upon an 55
electronically executed written estate planning doc ument 56
shall not be liable to any person for so relying and may 57
assume without inquiry the valid execution of the 58
electronically executed written estate planning document. 59
6. This section does not require a written estate 60
planning document to be e lectronically signed. 61
7. The laws of this state and principles of equity 62
applicable to any estate planning document shall apply to 63
any electronic estate planning document except as modified 64
by this section. 65
474.562. The provisions of sections 474.540 to 474.564 1
modify, limit, and supersede the federal Electronic 2
Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 U.S.C. 3
Section 7001, et seq., but do not modify, limit, or 4 SB 289 11
supersede Section 101(c) of that act, 15 U.S.C. Section 5
7001(c), or authorize electronic delivery of any of the 6
notices described in Section 103(b) of that act, 15 U.S.C. 7
Section 7003(b). 8
474.564. The provisions of sections 474.540 to 474.564 1
shall apply to any will of a decedent who di es on or after 2
August 28, 2025, and to each written estate planning 3
document, as that term is defined in section 474.560, signed 4
or remotely witnessed on or after August 28, 2025. 5
474.600. 1. As used in this section, the following 1
terms mean: 2
(1) "Applicable state of emergency", the period 3
between April 6, 2020, and December 31, 2021, during which a 4
state of emergency existed due to a COVID -19 public health 5
threat, as proclaimed by the governor, and during which 6
executive orders 20-08, 20-10, 20-12, 20-14, 20-19, 21-07, 7
and 21-09 temporarily suspended the physical appearance 8
requirements in this chapter and authorized the use of audio - 9
visual technology to the extent that any Missouri statute 10
required the physical presen ce of any testator, settlor, 11
principal, witness, notary, or other person necessary for 12
the effective execution of any estate planning document such 13
as a will, trust, or power of attorney, or a self -proving 14
affidavit of the execution of such document, i f the 15
conditions set forth in the executive orders were met; 16
(2) "Estate planning document", includes, but is not 17
limited to: 18
(a) A will; 19
(b) A codicil; 20
(c) A power of attorney or durable power of attorney; 21
(d) A health care declaration; 22
(e) An advance directive; 23 SB 289 12
(f) A power of attorney for health care or a durable 24
power of attorney for health care; 25
(g) A revocable trust or amendment thereto, or 26
modification or revocation thereof; 27
(h) An irrevocable trust; 28
(i) A beneficiary deed; 29
(j) A nonprobate transfer; or 30
(k) A document modifying, amending, correcting, or 31
revoking any written estate planning document; 32
(3) "Necessary person", any testator, settlor, 33
grantor, principal, decl arant, witness, notary, or other 34
person required for the effective execution of any estate 35
planning document in this state; 36
(4) "Physical presence requirement", includes, but is 37
not limited to, any requirement of physical presence under 38
section 404.705, 459.015, 474.320, or 474.337, or chapter 39
486. 40
2. With respect to the execution of an estate planning 41
document, a necessary person shall be deemed to have 42
satisfied any physical presence requirement under Missouri 43
law during the applicable state of emergency if the 44
following requirements were met: 45
(1) The signer affirmatively represented that the 46
signer was physically situated in the state of Missouri; 47
(2) The notary was physically located in the state of 48
Missouri and stated in which county the notary was 49
physically located for the jurisdiction on the 50
acknowledgment; 51
(3) The notary identified the signers to the 52
satisfaction of the notary and Missouri law; 53
(4) Any person whose signature was required appeared 54
using video conference software where live, interactive 55 SB 289 13
audio-visual communication between the principal, notary, 56
and other necessary person allowed for observation, direct 57
interaction, and communication at the time of signing; and 58
(5) The notary recorded in the notary's journal the 59
exact time and means used to perform the notarial act, along 60
with all other required information, absent the wet 61
signatures. 62
3. The requirements of subdivisions (1) to (5) of 63
subsection 2 of this section shall be deemed satisfied if an 64
attorney who is licensed or authorized to practice law in 65
Missouri and who was present at the remote execution signs a 66
written acknowledgment made before an officer authorized to 67
administer oaths under the laws of this state, an d evidenced 68
by the officer's certificate, under official seal, affixed 69
to or logically associated with the acknowledgment. The 70
form and content of the acknowledgment shall be 71
substantially as follows: 72
73 State of ______
74 County of _____
75 AFFIDAVIT OF REMOTE EXECUTION OF DOCUMENTS
76
77
I, __________, am an attorney licensed or authorized to
practice law in the state of Missouri.
78
79
80
81
82
83
On _____ (date), I convened with the following
individuals via video conference software that allowed
for live, interactive audio -visual communication between
the parties to the conference and that also allowed for
observation, direction, interaction, and communication
between:
84
85
__________, the (testator, settlor, grantor, principal,
or declarant);
86 __________, a witness;
87 __________, a second witness; and SB 289 14
88 __________, a notary public.
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
During the conference, __________, the (testator,
settlor, grantor, principal, or declarant) signed the
following estate planning document or documents: (a
will, codicil, power of attorney, durable power of
attorney, health care declaration, advance direct ive,
health care power of attorney, revocable trust,
irrevocable trust, beneficiary deed, nonprobate
transfer, self-proving affidavit of the execution of a
will, or a document modifying, amending, correcting, or
revoking one of these estate planning docume nts).
99
100
101
All the parties to the conference represented that they
were physically located in the state of Missouri at the
time of the signing.
102
103
104
105
106
107
I have reviewed and am familiar with the requirements of
the applicable executive order or orders in effect at
the time and affirm that the remote execution of the
estate planning document or documents met all the
requirements of the applicable executive o rder or
orders.
108
109
110
In witness whereof I, an officer authorized to
administer oaths, have hereunto subscribed my name and
affixed my official seal this _____ (date).
111 (Signed) __________________________________________
112 (SEAL) __________________________________________
113 (Official capacity of officer)