ENROLLED ORIGINAL
AN ACT
_____________
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
___________________________
To amend Title 18 of the District of Columbia Official Code to enact the Uniform Electronic
Wills Act, to provide that an electronic will executed in compliance with specified
statutory procedures is a will under the law of the District for all purposes, to provide for
a rule of harmless error, to provide that an electronic will may revoke, and may be
revoked by, a paper will, to provide a procedure whereby an electronic will may be
simultaneously executed, attested, and made self-proving, and to permit a testator to
create a certified paper copy of an electronic will; and to amend Title 21 of the District of
Columbia Official Code to permit the removal of a guardian or conservator for neglect
and financial exploitation of the ward or individual for whom the conservator has been
appointed, to prohibit the appointment of a guardian or conservator removed for abuse of
their powers, neglect, or financial exploitation for 5 years and require the guardian or
conservator to demonstrate rehabilitation to the courts satisfaction, and to permit the
court to report any misconduct by a guardian or conservator to an appropriate
professional licensing authority.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this
act may be cited as the Uniform Electronic Wills Amendment Act of 2022.
Sec. 2. Title 18 of the District of Columbia Code is amended as follows:
(a) The table of contents is amended by adding at the end the phrase Chapter 9. Uniform
Electronic Wills Act..
(b) Section 18-103 is amended by striking the phrase section 18-107 and inserting the
phrase 18-107 or Chapter 9 of this title in its place.
(c) A new Chapter 9 is added to read as follows:
Chapter 9. Uniform Electronic Wills Act.
18-901. Short title.
18-902. Definitions.
18-903. Law applicable to electronic will; principles of equity.
18-904. Choice of law regarding execution.
18-905. Execution of electronic will.
18-906. Harmless error.
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18-907. Revocation.
18-908. Electronic will attested and made self-proving at time of execution.
18-909. Certification of paper copy.
18-910. Uniformity of application and construction.
18-911. Transitional provision.
18-901. Short title.
This chapter may be cited as the Uniform Electronic Wills Act.
18-902. Definitions.
For the purposes of this chapter, the term:
(1) Electronic means relating to technology having electrical, digital, magnetic,
wireless, optical, electromagnetic, or similar capabilities.
(2) Electronic presence means the relationship of two or more individuals in
different locations communicating in real time to the same extent as if the individuals were
physically present in the same location.
(3) Electronic will means a will executed electronically in compliance with
18-905(a).
(4) Record means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is
stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.
(5) Sign means, with present intent to authenticate or adopt a record:
(A) To execute or adopt a tangible symbol; or
(B) To affix to or logically associate with the record an electronic symbol
or process.
(6) State means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto
Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, or any territory or insular possession subject to the
jurisdiction of the United States. The term includes a federally recognized Indian tribe.
(7) Will includes a codicil and any testamentary instrument that merely appoints
an executor, revokes or revises another will, nominates a guardian, or expressly excludes or limits
the right of an individual or class to succeed to property of the decedent passing by intestate
succession.
18-903. Law applicable to electronic will; principles of equity.
An electronic will is a will for all purposes of the law of the District of Columbia. The
law of the District of Columbia applicable to wills and principles of equity apply to an electronic
will, except as modified by this chapter.
18-904. Choice of law regarding execution.
A will executed electronically but not in compliance with 18-905(a) is an electronic will
under this chapter if executed in compliance with the law of the jurisdiction where the testator is:
(1) Physically located when the will is signed; or
(2) Domiciled or resides when the will is signed or when the testator dies.
18-905. Execution of electronic will.
(a) Subject to 18-908(d) and except as provided in 18-906, an electronic will shall be:
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(1) A record that is readable as text at the time of signing under paragraph (2) of
this subsection;
(2) Signed by:
(A) The testator; or
(B) Another individual in the testators name, in the testators physical
presence and by the testators direction; and
(3) Signed in the physical or electronic presence of the testator by at least 2
individuals, each of whom is a resident of a state and physically located in a state at the time of
signing and within a reasonable time after witnessing:
(A) The signing of the will under paragraph (2) of this subsection; or
(B) The testators acknowledgment of the signing of the will under
paragraph (2) of this subsection or acknowledgment of the will.
(b) The intent of a testator that the record under subsection (a)(1) of this section be the
testators electronic will may be established by extrinsic evidence.
18-906. Harmless error.
A record readable as text not executed in compliance with 18-905(a) is deemed to
comply with 18-905(a) if the proponent of the record establishes by clear and convincing
evidence that the decedent intended the record to be:
(1) The decedents will;
(2) A partial or complete revocation of the decedents will;
(3) An addition to or modification of the decedents will; or
(4) A partial or complete revival of the decedents formerly revoked will or part
of the will.
18-907. Revocation.
(a) An electronic will may revoke all or part of a previous will.
(b) All or part of an electronic will is revoked by:
(1) A subsequent will that revokes all or part of the electronic will expressly or by
inconsistency; or
(2) A physical act, if it is established by a preponderance of the evidence that the
testator, with the intent of revoking all or part of the will, performed the act or directed another
individual who performed the act in the testators physical presence.
18-908. Electronic will attested and made self-proving at time of execution.
(a) An electronic will may be simultaneously executed, attested, and made self-proving
by acknowledgment of the testator and affidavits of the witnesses.
(b) The acknowledgement and affidavits under subsection (a) of this section shall be:
(1) Made before an officer authorized to administer oaths under law of the state in
which execution occurs or, if fewer than two attesting witnesses are physically present in the same
location as the testator at the time of signing under 18-905(a)(2), before an officer authorized
under 1-1231.13a.; and
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(2) Evidence by the officers certificate under official seal affixed to or logically
associated with the electronic will.
(c) The acknowledgement and affidavits under subsection (a) of this section shall be in
substantially the following form:
I, ______________________________, the testator, and, being sworn, declare to the
(Name)
undersigned officer that I sign this instrument as my electronic will, I willingly sign it or willingly
direct another individual to sign it for me, I execute it as my voluntary act for the purposes
expressed in this instrument, and I am 18 years of age or older, of sound mind, and under no
constraint or undue influence.
____________________________
Testator
We, _________________________ and _________________________________,
(Name) (Name)
witnesses, being sworn, declare to the undersigned officer that the testator signed this instrument
as the testators electronic will, that the testator willingly signed it or willingly directed another
individual to sign for the testator, and that each of us, in the physical or electronic presence of the
testator, signs this instrument as witness to the testators signing, and to the best of our knowledge
the testator is 18 years of age or older, of sound mind, and under no constraint or undue influence.
______________________________
Witness
______________________________
Witness
Certificate of officer:
State of ____________
Subscribed, sworn to, and acknowledged before me by
____________________________,
(Name)
the testator, and subscribed and sworn to before me by ______________________ and
(Name)
___________________, witnesses, this ________day of ___________, ______.
(Name)
_________________________________
(Signed)
_________________________________
(Capacity of officer)
(d) A signature physically or electronically affixed to an affidavit that is affixed to or
logically associated with an electronic will under this chapter is deemed a signature of the
electronic will under 18-905(a).
18-909. Certification of paper copy.
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An individual may create a certified paper copy of an electronic will by affirming under
penalty of perjury that a paper copy of the electronic will is a complete, true, and accurate copy of
the electronic will. If the electronic will is made self-proving, the certified paper copy of the will
shall include the self-proving affidavits.
18-910. Uniformity of application and construction.
In applying and construing this uniform act, consideration shall be given to the need to
promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.
18-911. Transitional provision.
This chapter applies to the will of a decedent who dies on or after May 27, 2020..
Sec. 3. Title 21 of the District of Columbia Official Code is amended as follows:
(a) Section 21-2049 is amended as follows:
(1) Subsection (a)(3) is amended as follows:
(A) Subparagraph (A) is amended by striking the phrase his or her duties
and inserting the phrase the guardians duties in its place.
(B) Subparagraph (B) is amended by striking the phrase his or her powers
and inserting the phrase their powers in its place.
(C) A new subparagraph (B-i) is added to read as follows:
(B-i) Abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation of the ward;.
(2) A new subsection (d) is added to read as follows:
(d)(1) A guardian previously removed pursuant to subsection (a)(3)(B-i) of this section
shall not be subsequently appointed as a guardian of another ward for a minimum of 5 years after
last removal and until satisfactorily proving their rehabilitation and fitness as determined by the
court.
(2) In the event that a removed guardian holds a professional license, the court
may report the misconduct to the appropriate licensing authority..
(b) Section 21-2061 is amended to read as follows:
21-2061. Death, resignation, or removal of conservator.
(a)(1) The court may, upon notice and hearing, remove a conservator for abuse, neglect,
or financial exploitation of an individual for whom the conservator has been appointed or for any
other good cause.
(2) The court may accept the resignation of a conservator.
(b)(1) Upon the conservators death, resignation, or removal, the court may appoint
another conservator, who shall succeed to the title and powers of the previous conservator.
(2)(A) A conservator removed for abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation of an
individual for whom the conservator has been appointed shall not be subsequently appointed as a
conservator for another person for a minimum of 5 years after last removal and until satisfactorily
proving their rehabilitation and fitness as determined by the court.
(B) In the event that a removed conservator holds a professional license,
the court may report the misconduct to the appropriate licensing authority..
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Sec. 4. Fiscal impact statement.
The Council adopts the fiscal impact statement in the committee report as the fiscal impact
statement required by section 4a of the General Legislative Procedures Act of 1975, approved
October 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2038; D.C. Official Code 1-301.47a).
Sec. 5. Effective date.
This act shall take effect following approval by the Mayor (or in the event of veto by the
Mayor, action by the Council to override the veto), a 30-day period of congressional review as
provided in section 602(c)(1) of the District of Columbia Home Rule Act, approved December 24,
1973 (87 Stat. 813; D.C. Official Code 1-206.02(c)(1)), and publication in the District of
Columbia Register.
______________________________
Chairman
Council of the District of Columbia
_________________________________
Mayor
District of Columbia
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