An Act
ENROLLED SENATE
BILL NO. 468 By: Howard of the Senate
and
Kannady and Swope of the
House
An Act relating to estate planning; creating the
Oklahoma Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents
Act; defining terms; providing when an electronic
will is valid; providing requirements for an
electronic will; providing that the intent of a
testator’s electronic will may be established by
extrinsic evidence; providing for revocation;
providing that an electronic will may be
simultaneously executed, attes ted, and made self-
proving by acknowledgment of the testator and
affidavits of the witnesses ; providing requirements
for acknowledgment and affidavits ; providing sample
acknowledgment and affidavit form; providing for
electronic signature; providing for a certified paper
copy of an electronic will ; providing for applying
and construing act; providing when act is applicable;
creating the Uniform Electronic Estate Planning
Documents Act; providing short title; defining terms;
construing provisions; stating sc ope of act;
providing exception; providing for applicability of
principles of law and equity; clarifying that use of
electronic record or signature is not required;
prohibiting certain waiver; requiring recognition of
electronic non-testamentary estate pla nning document
or signature; establishing attribution and effect of
electronic record and signature; establishing
requirements for notarization and acknowledgement;
authorizing electronic witnessing and attestation for
certain documents; establishing requi rements for
retention of certain electronic records; providing
exception; allowing additional requirements imposed
by governmental agency; authorizing creation of
ENR. S. B. NO. 468 Page 2
certified paper copy of certain electronic documents;
providing for admissibility of certain electronic
documents or signatures; providing for uniformity of
application and construction; clarifying relation to
certain federal provisions; specifying applicability
of provisions to certain electronic documents;
providing for severability; providing for
codification; and providing an effective date.
SUBJECT: Estate planning documents
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Sect ion 901 of Title 84, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
Sections 1 through 10 of this act shall be known and may be
cited as the “Oklahoma Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents
Act”.
SECTION 2. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 902 of Title 84, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
As used in the Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act:
1. “Communication technology” means an electronic device or
process that:
a. allows two or more individuals to communicate with
each other simultaneously by sight and sound , or
b. when necessary and consistent with other applicable
law, facilitates communication with a remotely located
individual who has a vision, hearing, or speech
impairment;
ENR. S. B. NO. 468 Page 3
2. “Electronic” means relating to technology having electrical,
digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar
capabilities;
3. “Electronic presence” means the relationship of two or more
individuals in different locations communicating in real time by
means of communication technology, to the same extent as if the
individuals were physically present in the same location ;
4. “Electronic will” means a will executed electronically in
compliance with subsection A of Section 5 of this act;
5. “Record” means information that is inscribed on a tangible
medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is
retrievable in perceivable form ;
6. “Sign” means, with present intent to authenticate or adopt a
record:
a. to execute or adopt a tangible symbol , or
b. to affix to or logically associate with the record an
electronic symbol or process ;
7. “State” means a state of the United States, the Distric t of
Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any
territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the
United States. The term includes property located within the
reservation of a federally recognized Indian tribe ; and
8. “Will” includes a codicil and any testamentary instrument
that merely appoints an executor, revokes or revises another will,
nominates a guardian, or expressly excludes or limits the right of
an individual or class to succeed to property of the decedent
passing by intestate succession.
SECTION 3. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 903 of Title 84, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
An electronic will is a will for all purposes of the law s of
this state. The laws of this state applicable to wills and
ENR. S. B. NO. 468 Page 4
principles of equity apply to an electronic will, except as modified
by this act.
SECTION 4. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 904 of Title 84, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A will executed electronically but not in compliance with
subsection A of Section 5 of this act is an electronic will under
this act if executed in compliance with the law of the jurisdiction
where the testator is:
1. Physically located when the will is signed; or
2. Domiciled or resides when the will is signed or when the
testator dies.
SECTION 5. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 905 of Title 84, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. Subject to subsection D of Section 7 of this act, an
electronic will must be:
1. A record that is readable as text at the time of signing
under paragraph 2 of this subsection ;
2. Signed by:
a. the testator, or
b. another individual in the testator’s name, in the
testator’s physical presence and by the testator’s
direction in a manner recognized by Oklahoma law; and
3. Signed in the physical or electronic presence of the
testator by at least two individuals, each of whom is a resident of
a state and physically located in a state at the time of signing,
within a reasonable time afte r witnessing:
a. the signing of the will under paragraph 2 of this
subsection, or
ENR. S. B. NO. 468 Page 5
b. the testator’s acknowledgment of the signing of the
will under paragraph 2 of this subsection or
acknowledgement of the will.
B. Intent of a testator that the record u nder paragraph 1 of
subsection A of this section be the testator’s electronic will may
be established by extrinsic evidence.
SECTION 6. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 906 of Title 84 , unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. An electronic will may revoke all or part of a previous
will.
B. All or part of an electronic will is revoked by:
1. A subsequent will that revokes all or part of the electron ic
will expressly or by inconsistency; or
2. A physical act, if it is established by a preponderance of
the evidence that the testator, with the intent of revoking all or
part of the will, performed the act or directed another individual
who performed the act in the testator’s physical presence.
SECTION 7. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 907 of Title 84, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. An electronic will may be simultaneously executed, attested,
and made self-proving by acknowledgment of the testator and
affidavits of the witnesses.
B. The acknowledgment and affidavits under subsection A of this
section must be:
1. Made before an officer authorized to administer oaths under
law of the state in which execution occurs or before an officer
authorized under and in the manner provided by the Oklahoma Remote
Online Notary Act; and
ENR. S. B. NO. 468 Page 6
2. Evidenced by the officer’s certificate under official seal
affixed to or logically associated with the electronic will.
C. The acknowledgment and affidavits under subsection A of this
section must be in substantially the following form:
I, ___________________________, the testator, and, being sworn,
(name)
declare to the undersigned officer that I sign this instrument as my
electronic will, I willingly sign it or willingly direct another
individual to sign it for me, I execute it as my voluntary act for
the purposes expressed in this instrument, and I am 18 ye ars of age
or older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.
_______________________ __________________________
Testator City and state where located when signing
We, ___________________________ and ___________________________,
(name) (name)
witnesses, being sworn, declare to the undersigned officer that the
testator signed this instrument as the testator’s electronic will,
that the testator willingly signed it or willingly directed another
individual to sign for the testato r, and that each of us, in the
physical [or electronic] presence of the testator, signs this
instrument as witness to the testator’s signing, and to the best of
our knowledge the testator is 18 years of age or older, of sound
mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.
___________________________
Witness signature
________________________
Name and Residence (printed)
________________________
City and state where located when signing
________________________
Witness signature
________________________
Name and Residence (printed)
ENR. S. B. NO. 468 Page 7
________________________
City and state where located when signing
Certificate of officer:
State of __________
County of __________
Subscribed, sworn to, and acknowledged before me by
__________________,
(name)
the testator, and subscribed and sworn to before me by
__________________ and
(name)
__________________, witnesses, this ______ day of ______, ___.
(name)
(Seal)
___________________________________
(Signed)
___________________________________
(Capacity of officer)
D. A signature physically or electronically affixed to an
affidavit that is affixed to or logically associated with an
electronic will under this act is deemed a signature of the
electronic will under subsection A of Section 5 of this act.
SECTION 8. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 908 of Title 84, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
An individual may create a certified paper copy of an electronic
will by affirming under penalty of perjury that a paper copy of the
electronic will is a complete, true, and accurate copy of the
electronic will. If the electronic will is made self -proving, the
ENR. S. B. NO. 468 Page 8
certified paper copy of the will must include the self -proving
affidavits.
SECTION 9. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 909 of Title 84, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads a s follows:
A. In applying and construing this uniform act, consideration
must be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with
respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.
B. Nothing in this act is intended to alter Oklahoma law
regarding testamentary instruments executed under other provisions
of Title 84 of the Oklahoma Statutes .
SECTION 10. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 910 of Title 84, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
This act applies to the will of a decedent who dies on or after
the effective date of this act.
SECTION 11. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 911 of Title 84, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
Sections 11 through 27 of this act shall be known and may be
cited as the “Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act”.
SECTION 12. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 9 12 of Title 84, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
As used in the Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act:
1. “Electronic” means relating to technology having electrical,
digital, magnetic, wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar
capabilities;
2. “Electronic record” means a record created, generated, sent,
communicated, received, or stored by electronic means;
ENR. S. B. NO. 468 Page 9
3. “Electronic signature” means an electronic symbol or process
attached to or logically associated with a record and executed or
adopted by a person with the intent to sign the record;
4. “Information” includes data, text, images, codes, computer
programs, software, and databases;
5. “Non-testamentary estate planning document” means a record
relating to estate planning that is readable as text at the time of
signing and is not a will or contained in a will. Non -testamentary
estate planning document includes:
a. a record readable as text at the time of signing that
creates, exercises, modifies, releases, or revokes:
(1) a trust instrument,
(2) a trust power that under the terms of the trust
requires a signed record,
(3) a memorandum or certification of a t rust,
(4) a durable power of attorney,
(5) an agent’s certification of the validity of a
power of attorney and the agent’s authority,
(6) a power of appointment,
(7) an advance directive including a health -care
power of attorney, directive to physician s,
natural death statement, living will, and medical
or physician order for life -sustaining treatment,
(8) a record directing disposition of an individual’s
body after death,
(9) a nomination of a guardian for the signing
individual,
(10) a nomination of a guardian for a minor child or
disabled adult child,
ENR. S. B. NO. 468 Page 10
(11) a mental health treatment declaration, or
(12) any other record intended to carry out an
individual’s intent regarding property or health
care while incapacitated or on death, and
b. Non-testamentary estate planning document does not
include a deed of real property or certificate of
title for a motor vehicle, watercraft, or aircraft;
6. “Person” means an individual, estate, business or nonprofit
entity, government or governmental subdivision, agency, or
instrumentality, or other legal entity;
7. “Power of attorney” means a record that grants authority to
an agent to act in place of the principal, even if the term is not
used in the record;
8. “Record” means information:
a. inscribed on a tangible medium, or
b. stored in an electronic or other medium and
retrievable in perceivable form;
9. “Security procedure” means a procedure to verify that an
electronic signature, record, or performance is that of a specific
person or to detect a chan ge or error in an electronic record,
including a procedure that uses an algorithm, code, identifying word
or number, encryption, callback, or other acknowledgment procedure;
10. “Settlor” means a person, including a testator, that
creates or contributes property to a trust;
11. “Sign” means, with present intent to authenticate or adopt
a record:
a. execute or adopt a tangible symbol, or
b. attach to or logically associate with the record an
electronic signature;
ENR. S. B. NO. 468 Page 11
12. “State” means a state of the Unit ed States, the District of
Columbia, Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or other
territory or possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United
States. The term includes a federally recognized Indian tribe;
13. “Terms of a trust” means:
a. except as provided in subparagraph b of this
paragraph, the manifestation of the settlor’s intent
regarding a trust’s provisions as:
(1) expressed in the trust instrument, or
(2) established by other evidence that would be
admissible in a judicial pro ceeding; or
b. the trust’s provisions as established, determined, or
amended by:
(1) a trustee or other person in accordance with
applicable law,
(2) a court order, or
(3) a nonjudicial settlement agreement;
14. “Trust instrument” means an instrument executed by the
settlor or other person authorized by law that contains terms of the
trust including any amendments; and
15. “Will” includes a codicil and a testamentary instrument
that appoints an executor, revokes or revises another will,
nominates a guardian, or expressly excludes or limits the right of
an individual or class to succeed to property of the decedent
passing by intestate succession.
SECTION 13. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes a s Section 913 of Title 84, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
ENR. S. B. NO. 468 Page 12
This act shall be construed and applied to facilitate electronic
estate planning documents and signatures consistent with other law
and be consistent with rea sonable practices concerning electronic
documents and signatures and continued expansion of those practices.
SECTION 14. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 9 14 of Title 84, unless there i s
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. Except as provided in subsection B of this section, this act
shall apply to an electronic non -testamentary estate planning
document and an electronic signature on a non -testamentary estate
planning document.
B. This act shall not apply to a non -testamentary estate
planning document if the document precludes use of an electronic
record or electronic signature.
C. This act shall not affect the validity of an electronic
record or electronic signa ture that is valid under the Uniform
Electronic Transactions Act, Section 15 -101 et seq. of Title 12A of
the Oklahoma Statutes or other law of this state authorizing the use
of electronic records or electronic signatures.
SECTION 15. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 9 15 of Title 84, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
The law of this state and principles of equity applicable to a
non-testamentary estate planning document shall apply to an
electronic non-testamentary estate planning document except as
modified by this act.
SECTION 16. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 9 16 of Title 84, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. This act shall not require a non -testamentary estate
planning document or signature on a non -testamentary estate planning
document to be created, generated, sent, communicated, recei ved,
stored, or otherwise processed or used by electronic means or in
electronic form.
ENR. S. B. NO. 468 Page 13
B. A person shall not be required to have a non -testamentary
estate planning document in electronic form or signed electronically
even if the person previously created or signed a non-testamentary
estate planning document by electronic means.
C. No person shall waive the provisions of this section.
SECTION 17. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 9 17 of Title 84, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. A non-testamentary estate planning document or a signature
on a non-testamentary estate planning document may not be denied
legal effect or enforceability solely because it is in electronic
form.
B. If other laws of this state require a non -testamentary
estate planning document to be in writing, an electronic record of
the document shall satisfy such requirement.
C. If other laws of this state require a signature on a non-
testamentary estate planning document, an electronic signature shall
satisfy such requirement.
SECTION 18. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 9 18 of Title 84, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. An electronic non -testamentary estate planning document or
electronic signature on an electronic non -testamentary estate
planning document is attributable to a person if it was the act of
the person. The act of the person may be shown in any manner
including by showing the efficacy of a security procedure applied to
determine the person to which the electronic record or electronic
signature was attributable.
B. The effect of attribution to a person unde r subsection A of
this section of a document or signature is determined from the
context and surrounding circumstances at the time of its creation,
execution, or adoption and as provided by law.
ENR. S. B. NO. 468 Page 14
SECTION 19. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 9 19 of Title 84, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
If the laws of this state require a signature or record to be
notarized, acknowledged, verified, or made under oa th, the
requirement shall be satisfied with respect to an electronic non -
testamentary 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 law.
SECTION 20. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 9 20 of Title 84, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. If the laws of this state base the validity of a non -
testamentary estate planning document on whether it is signed,
witnessed, or attested by another individual, the signature,
witnessing, or attestation of that individual may be electronic.
B. For the purposes of this subsection, “electronic presence”
means that two or more individuals in different locations are able
to communicate in real time to the same extent as if the individuals
were physically present in the same location. If the laws of this
state base the validity of a non -testamentary estate planning
document on whether it is signed, witnessed, or attested by another
individual in the presence of the individual signing the document,
the presence requirement shall be satisfied if the individuals are
in each other’s electronic presence.
SECTION 21. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 9 21 of Title 84, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
A. Except as provided in subsection B of this section, if the
laws of this state require an electronic non -testamentary estate
planning document to be retained, transmitted, copied, or filed, the
requirement is satisfied by retaining, transmitting, copying, or
filing an electronic record that:
ENR. S. B. NO. 468 Page 15
1. Accurately reflects the information in the document after it
was first generated in final form as an electronic record or under
Section 22 of this act; and
2. Remains accessible to the extent required by the other law.
B. A requirement under subsection A of this section to retain a
record does not apply to information the sole purpose of which is to
enable the record to be sent, communicated, or received.
C. A person may satisfy the requirements of subsection A of
this section by using the services of another person.
D. If the laws of this state require a non -testamentary estate
planning document to be presented or retained in its original form
or provides consequences if a non -testamentary estate planning
document is not presented or retained in its original form, an
electronic record retained in accordance with subsection A of this
section satisfies such requirement.
E. The provisions of this section do not preclude a
governmental agency from specifying requirements for the retention
of a record subject to the agency’s jurisdiction in addition to the
requirements provided in this section. For the purposes of this
section, “governmental agency” means an e xecutive, legislative, or
judicial agency, department, board, commission, authority,
institution, or instrumentality of the federal government or of a
state or of a county, municipality, or other political subdivision
of a state.
SECTION 22. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 9 22 of Title 84, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
An individual may create a certified paper copy of an electronic
non-testamentary estate planning document by affirming under penalty
of perjury that the paper copy is a complete and accurate copy of
the document.
SECTION 23. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 9 23 of Title 84, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
ENR. S. B. NO. 468 Page 16
Evidence relating to an electronic non -testamentary estate
planning document or an electronic signature on the document may not
be excluded in a proceeding solely because s uch evidence is in
electronic form.
SECTION 24. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 9 24 of Title 84, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
In applying and construing this uniform act, a court shall
consider the promotion of uniformity of the law among jurisdictions
that enact it.
SECTION 25. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 9 25 of Title 84, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
This act modifies, limits, or supersedes the Electronic
Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 U.S.C. Section
7001 et seq., as amended, but does not modify, limit, or sup ersede
15 U.S.C. Section 7001(c), or authorize electronic delivery of any
of the notices described in 15 U.S.C. Section 7003(b).
SECTION 26. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 9 26 of Title 84, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
This act shall apply to an electronic non -testamentary estate
planning document created, signed, generated, sent, communicated,
received, or stored prior to, on, or after the effe ctive date of
this act.
SECTION 27. NEW LAW A new section of law to be codified
in the Oklahoma Statutes as Section 9 27 of Title 84, unless there is
created a duplication in numbering, reads as follows:
If a provision of this act o r its application to a person or
circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect another
provision or application that can be given effect without the
invalid provision.
ENR. S. B. NO. 468 Page 17
SECTION 28. This act shall become effective November 1, 2024.
Passed the Senate the 21st day of May, 2024.
Presiding Officer of the Senate
Passed the House of Representatives the 16th day of April, 2024.
Presiding Officer of the House
of Representatives
OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR
Received by the Office of the Governor this _______ _____________
day of _________________ __, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
By: _________________________________
Approved by the Governor of the State of Oklahoma this _______ __
day of _________________ __, 20_______, at _______ o'clock _______ M.
_________________________________
Governor of the State of Oklahoma
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE
Received by the Office of the Secretary of State this _______ ___
day of _________________ _, 20 _______, at _______ o'clo ck _______ M.
By: _________________________________