Existing law governs the execution of wills. Existing law generally requires a will to be in writing and to satisfy specified requirements of the Probate Code, including being signed by a testator, another person at the testator’s direction, or a conservator pursuant to court order. A will that fails to meet those requirements may be valid as a holographic will, as specified. Existing law also allows for the execution of a California statutory will. Existing law specifies the methods for a testator to revoke a will or part thereof. Existing law requires the custodian of a will to deliver the will to the clerk of the superior court in the county in which the estate may be administered and a copy to the person named in the will as executor and establishes a fee for delivering the will to the clerk of the superior court.

This bill, for the estates of decedents with a date of death on or after January 1, 2021, would provide that a will executed in compliance with the provisions applicable to written wills is not invalid solely because it is written or stored in an electronic record, as defined, or signed by the testator or witnesses using an electronic signature, as defined. The bill would also provide for the estates of decedents with a date of death on or after January 1, 2021, that a will that was not executed in compliance with specified requirements relating to witnesses to a will to be treated as if the will was executed in compliance, if the proponent of the will establishes by clear and convincing evidence that the testator intended the will to constitute the testator’s will. The bill would separately authorize an electronic record to be deemed a valid will if the proponent of the will establishes by clear and convincing evidence that, at the time the testator finalized the will, the testator intended the will to constitute the testator’s will. The bill would provide the methods for a testator to revoke a will that is written, signed, or stored in an electronic record, including, among other methods, a physical act by the testator performed on a copy of the will stored in an electronic record that shows the testator’s intent to revoke the will by clear and convincing evidence. The bill would clarify that the custodian of a will stored in an electronic record is required to comply with the same requirements described above for other wills. The bill would also require the custodian of a will stored in an electronic record to certify the copy of the will by attaching to the copy a declaration, under penalty of perjury, that the copy is a complete, true, and accurate copy of the original will as entrusted to the custodian. By expanding the crime of perjury, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.