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Senate approves bill to treat authenticated audio‑visual records as testamentary writings for some wills
Summary
Senate Bill 411, aiming to allow certain audio‑visual records and updated writings to be treated as testamentary in probate proceedings, passed second reading after supporters said it would honor decedents’ expressed intent when formal wills are lacking and opponents warned authentication and forgery risks.
Senate Bill 411 passed second reading following a broad debate over how courts should treat audio‑visual statements or recorded intent as evidence of testamentary wishes.
Sponsor Senator Zolnikov said a Montana Supreme Court decision had recently held that a selfie video expressing testamentary intent did not qualify as a will; he said the bill would allow courts to treat an authenticated audiovisual recording or a documented writing added to a will as if it had been executed in compliance with statutory requirements. He framed the measure as a practical modernization: roughly half of Americans lack a formal will, and many people express wishes in digital form that courts presently exclude.
Opponents, including estate attorneys and several senators, emphasized the risk of fraud, coercion and authentication challenges — particularly with AI‑generated media and the difficulty of preserving digital formats over time. Senator Olson noted the separation between a properly witnessed, notarized will and an unauthenticated video; Senator Logie and others raised questions about dating, witnesses and long‑term accessibility for older media formats. Supporters said the bill would be improved through further work with estate‑practice experts and pledged to refine authentication and witness provisions in the House.
The clerk recorded the second‑reading vote with the bill passing; the floor reported that 35 senators voted Aye and 15 voted Nay (the transcript shows the Aye count and 15 Nays as recorded on the floor). Sponsors said they will work with legal practitioners to add authentication safeguards and witness requirements in later stages.
The debate emphasized a tradeoff: enabling courts to effectuate clear testamentary intent expressed in modern formats versus protecting against forgery, AI fabrication and evidentiary problems that can cause multigenerational disputes.
