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Committee hears bills to authorize electronic wills and validate pandemic-era e-signatures
Summary
The House General Laws Committee heard sponsor and expert testimony on House Bills 176 and 178, which would create a statutory framework for electronic wills and confirm the validity of estate documents executed under COVID-era executive orders.
Representative Cameron Parker, sponsor of House Bills 176 and 178, told the House Committee on General Laws the measures would update Missouri probate law to account for electronic estate planning documents and preserve safeguards in the state's probate code.
"This is basically a mechanism that allows in state statute for electronic wills and trust," Representative Parker said in her opening remarks. She told members that the bill text was vetted by the Missouri Bar and was intended to preserve the existing statutory safeguards while permitting electronic execution options.
John Challis, a St. Louis County trust-and-estate lawyer and chair of the Missouri Bar's probate and trust division, testified in support of HB 176. He described the bill as the Missouri Uniform Electronic Wills Act, an adaptation of a Uniform Law Commission model with Missouri-specific changes. "This simply provides an additional option to draft and retain electronic estate planning documents," Challis said. He emphasized that Missouri's version would require duly witnessed and notarized execution and would not adopt a "harmless error" standard that other states have used.
Challis said HB 176 would extend beyond wills to include trusts, powers of attorney and other estate planning documents; it also adds provisions on revocation and establishes an effective date for documents executed after Aug. 28, 2025. On House Bill 178, which addresses documents executed under COVID-era emergency orders, Challis said the bill would provide a statutory validation mechanism: attorneys who drafted documents during the April 2020–December 2021 emergency period could supply an affidavit confirming the circumstances of execution to prevent later challenges.
Industry and bar-group witnesses recorded support: Andy Briscoe testified as registered lobbyist for the Missouri Bar; Alex Eaton of Trust & Will, a provider of digital estate services, also spoke in favor. Committee members asked whether problems had arisen with pandemic-era documents; Challis said he was not aware of litigation so far but that some clients had chosen to re-execute documents to avoid uncertainty and additional expense.
No formal committee action was taken during the public hearing recorded in this transcript; the bills were presented and public witnesses testified.
