Lawyers warn of fraud risk as committee hears bill to accept recorded wills

Sen. Daniel Zolnikov introduced a bill to allow audio, visual and audiovisual recordings to serve as wills. He said legal drafters were working on amendments to address concerns about authentication and fraud and proposed an effective date delay as an option.

Multiple estate‑planning attorneys testified in opposition. Keith Tokarud, a Great Falls estate lawyer, said current will law relies on written form and in‑person witnessing to protect testators from undue influence and incompetence, and that the bill as drafted would "escalate" validity disputes because it contains no formal authentication provisions. "Audio recordings to me should not be allowed," he said, urging the committee to consider the Uniform Electronic Wills Act and more formalities.

Drew Moore Gertner, chair of the State Bar "Better Section," urged stricter authentication and a transcript/witness process aligned with the Uniform Electronic Wills Act. He and other opponents highlighted modern risks (including synthetic audio/video) and recommended either adopting the Uniform Electronic Wills Act in a future session or inserting explicit procedural and notice safeguards now.

Sponsor responses and amendments: Zolnikov said he had worked with attorneys on amendments that would require clear‑and‑convincing evidence showing competence, voluntariness, absence of coercion and corroborating factors for recordings; he also suggested lawmakers could set a delayed effective date (for example, 06/01/2027) to force additional work before the law takes effect.

What happens next: Committee members expressed concern about fraud and the need for authenticating procedures; opponents pledged to present uniform‑act–based language in a future session. Sponsor asked members to support his proposed amendments or consider a delayed effective date to allow further drafting.