Wisconsin Legislative Council
ACT MEMO
One Ea st Ma in Stre e t, Suite 401 • Ma dison, W I 53703 • (608) 266-1304 • le g.council@le gis.wisconsin.gov • http://www.le gis.wisconsin.gov/lc
Prepared by: Melissa Schmidt, Principal Attorney March 26, 2024
2023 Wisconsin Act 130
[2023 Senate Bill 898]
Remote Notarization of Estate
Planning Documents
2023 Wisconsin Act 130 authorizes and creates a process allowing for the remote notarization of an
“estate planning document,”
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including a declaration to health care professionals, an authorization for
final disposition, a power of attorney for health care, and the execution of a will. Specifically, the act
authorizes the remote notarization of an estate planning document where a remotely located individual
appears before a notary public via two-way, real-time audiovisual communication technology if all of
the following apply:
The signing is supervised by an attorney in good standing licensed to practice law in Wisconsin. The
supervising attorney may serve as the notary public.
The remotely located individual attests to being physically located in this state during the two-way,
real-time audiovisual communication.
The notary public attests to being physically located in this state during the two-way, real-time
audiovisual communication.
The remotely located individual positively confirms the remotely located individual’s identity. If the
remotely located individual is not personally known to the notary public and the supervising
attorney, the remotely located individual must provide satisfactory evidence of the remotely located
individual’s identity as provided under current law.
The remotely located individual identifies anyone else present in the same physical location as the
remotely located individual. If possible, the remotely located individual must make a visual sweep of
the remotely located individual’s physical surroundings so that the notary public and the
supervising attorney can confirm the presence of any other persons.
The remotely located individual displays the estate planning document, confirms the total number
of pages and the page number on which the remotely located individual’s signature is to be affixed,
and declares to the notary public and the supervising attorney that the remotely located individual
is 18 years of age or older, that the document is the remotely located individual’s estate planning
document, and that the document is being executed as a voluntary act.
The remotely located individual, or another individual 18 years of age or older authorized to sign on
behalf of the remotely located individual at the express direction and in the physical presence of the
remotely located individual, signs the estate planning document in a manner that allows the notary
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“Estate planning document” is defined by the act to mean any of the following: (a) a will or a codicil; (b) a declaration
of trust or other document creating a trust as provided under current law or an amendment to a declaration of trust or
other document creating a trust; (c) a certification of trust as provided under current law; (d) a power of attorney for
finances and property; (e) a power of attorney for health care; (f) a marital property agreement or an amendment to a
marital property agreement; (g) a written instrument evidencing a nonprobate transfer pursuant to current law; (h) a
declaration to health care professionals; (i) an authorization for final disposition; (j) an authorization for use and
disclosure of protected health information; (k) an instrument of disclaimer as provided under current law; or (l) an
instrument exercising a power of appointment as provided under current law. - 2 -
public and the supervising attorney to see the signing. If the estate planning document is signed by
someone on behalf of the remotely located individual, the signing must comply with current law.
The audiovisual communication technology used allows communication by which a person is able to
see, hear, and communicate in an interactive way with another person in real time using electronic
means, except that if the remotely located individual, the notary public, or the supervising attorney
has an impairment that affects hearing, sight, or speech, assistive technology or learned skills may
be substituted for audio or visual if it allows that person to actively participate in the signing in real
time.
The estate planning document indicates that it is being executed pursuant to the provisions of the
act.
The estate planning document is signed and notarized as provided by the act and, within a
reasonable time after the signing and performance of the notarial act, is personally delivered or
transmitted by U.S. mail or commercial carrier to the supervising attorney.
The supervising attorney completes and attaches to the estate planning document an affidavit of
compliance as provided by the act. The act specifies the content and form of the affidavit of
compliance that the supervising attorney must use.
In addition, the act specifies that a witness for a declaration to health care professionals must be 18
years of age or older. The act also requires an individual who signs on behalf of a declarant executing an
authorization for final disposition must also be 18 years of age or older.
Effective date: March 23, 2024
For a full history of the bill, visit the Legislature’s bill history page.
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