Clients, particularly those on the younger side, often balk at the document execution requirements imposed when it comes time to sign their wills. They have become comfortable signing real estate documents via online signature. Business transactions worth millions of dollars are often signed electronically. On an almost daily basis, people click boxes and type in initials to enter into online agreements. Yet, the execution of wills have largely avoided a move into the electronic realm. With a few states now moving in that direction, this article examines why the execution of a will comes along with some special considerations not present in other types of documents and the means in which a recently passed Florida law seeks to address those considerations.

Pennsylvania adopted a version of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (UETA) almost 20 years ago, see 73 P.S. Section 2260.101 et seq. Broadly, the UETA allows parties to utilize electronic signatures and form electronic contracts so long as all parties to a transaction agree to do so. The term “electronic signature” is defined as “an electronic sound, 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.” Such electronic signatures may take the form of an electronic representation of a person’s written signature—essentially inserting a representation of a physical signature into a document. It may take the form of clicking on an area of an electronic document in a software program that automatically inserts your signature.  It may take the form of requiring your thumbprint or other biometric data such as a retinal or iris scan.