Utah Just Made Digital Estate Planning Legal. Australia Is Still in the Dark Ages.

Utah Made Electronic Wills Legal. Australia Still Requires Wet Ink.

In 2025, Utah became the latest US state to enact the Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act (UEEPDA) — a model law that makes electronic wills, trusts, and powers of attorney legally valid.

That means a Utah resident can now create, sign, witness, and store their will entirely digitally. No paper. No printer. No requirement to get two people in the same room with a pen.

Australia? You still need a physical document, a wet-ink signature, and two witnesses present in the room. In 2026. In a country where 97% of adults own a smartphone and 86% bank online.

What Utah Actually Passed

The UEEPDA creates a legal framework for electronic estate planning documents. Here's what it covers:

• Electronic wills — a will created, signed, and stored in digital format is legally valid
• Electronic signatures — digital signatures on estate documents carry the same weight as ink
• Remote witnessing — witnesses can participate via audio-visual technology (video call), removing the requirement for physical presence
• Electronic notarisation — notarial acts can be performed remotely
• Tamper-evident storage — electronic documents must be stored in a way that detects unauthorised changes

Utah isn't alone. The Uniform Law Commission (ULC) drafted the UEEPDA as a model act for all US states. Colorado, North Dakota, and Washington DC have adopted versions. Others are considering it.

The logic is straightforward: if you can sign a mortgage electronically, transfer millions in crypto, and file your taxes online — why does your will still need a quill and parchment?

Where Australia Stands

Australian succession law varies by state and territory, but the universal requirement is clear: a valid will must be in writing, signed by the testator, and witnessed by two people who are physically present.

• NSW: Succession Act 2006 — will must be in writing, signed, and witnessed by two people present at the same time
• Victoria: Wills Act 1997 — same requirements
• Queensland: Succession Act 1981 — same requirements
• WA, SA, TAS, ACT, NT: Variations on the same theme

Some states allow courts to admit "informal wills" — documents that weren't executed with full formalities but clearly express the deceased's intentions. This has occasionally included text messages, notes on phones, and even unsent emails. But these are exceptional remedies, not standard practice. They require court intervention, legal costs, and time — exactly what estate planning is supposed to avoid.

There is no state or territory in Australia that recognises an electronic will as valid by default.

COVID Pushed Temporary Reforms — Then They Expired

During the pandemic, several Australian states introduced temporary measures allowing wills to be witnessed via audio-visual link:

• NSW permitted remote witnessing from May 2020 under emergency legislation
• Queensland introduced similar temporary provisions
• Victoria allowed electronic witnessing during lockdowns

Most of these provisions have since expired or been narrowed. The pandemic proved the concept works — but the permanent legislation hasn't followed.

Why This Matters for Digital Estate Planning

The will is the foundation of estate planning. If the foundation is stuck in the analogue era, the entire structure has limitations:

1. Accessibility. Not everyone can easily arrange for two witnesses to be physically present — especially elderly Australians, people in regional areas, or those with mobility limitations. Electronic execution removes a barrier.

2. Currency. A will that's hard to update gets updated less often. Australians move, acquire new assets (including digital ones), change relationships, and accumulate hundreds of online accounts. A digital-first will can be updated and re-executed more easily.

3. Integration with digital estate planning. If your will can reference a Digital Directive — a secure, encrypted inventory of your digital life with verified executor access — the two documents work together seamlessly. A paper will pointing to a digital vault is functional but inelegant. A digital will pointing to a digital vault is coherent.

4. Security. Tamper-evident digital storage (as required by Utah's UEEPDA) can actually be more secure than a paper document in a desk drawer. Cryptographic hashing, audit trails, and access controls don't exist on paper.

5. Speed of execution. When someone dies, the executor needs the will. A digital will stored in a secure, accessible vault is available immediately. A paper will in a solicitor's office that's closed for the long weekend is not.

The Real Gap

Australia's will-making rules are one piece of a larger problem: the country's legal infrastructure for estate planning was built for a physical world.

• No digital executor legislation — there's no statute that explicitly recognises a digital executor
• No digital property classification — the High Court is still deciding if Bitcoin is property (Poulton v Conrad)
• No electronic will recognition — despite pandemic proof-of-concept
• No platform inheritance framework — Google, Apple, and Facebook set their own rules

Utah's UEEPDA addresses the first step: making the will itself fit for a digital world. Australia hasn't taken that step yet.

What You Can Do Now

Don't wait for Australian law to modernise. You can close the gap today:

1. Get your traditional will in order. Paper and wet ink, for now. Include a clause granting your executor explicit authority over digital accounts and assets.
2. Create a Digital Directive. A professional, comprehensive inventory of every digital account, asset, credential, and instruction your executor needs — stored securely with verified release. This is the digital complement to your paper will.
3. Set up platform legacy tools. Google Inactive Account Manager, Apple Legacy Contact — free, immediate, and covers a fraction of your accounts.
4. Document your crypto. Exchange accounts, self-custody wallets, seed phrases, hardware wallet locations. Your executor needs a map.
5. Review annually. Your digital estate grows faster than your physical one. New accounts, new assets, new subscriptions — all need to be captured.

Utah didn't wait for perfect conditions. They saw the gap and closed it. Australian families can close their own gap — even if Parliament hasn't yet.

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NYLK builds Digital Directives — a professional inventory of your entire digital life with verified executor release when needed. Start your Digital Directive →

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Sources:

• National Law Review — Utah Enacts Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act
• Wealth Management — State of Estate Planning Report 2026
• Uniform Law Commission — Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act
• NSW Succession Act 2006
• High Court: Poulton v Conrad