Can I Sign My Will Electronically in Washington?

You sign your mortgage, your tax return, and your car loan on a screen. It is reasonable to wonder why a will should still need a pen, a conference table, and two people watching.

It does not have to. Washington adopted the Uniform Electronic Wills Act, RCW 11.12.400 through 11.12.491, effective January 1, 2022, and RCW 11.12.420 says an electronic will is a will for all purposes of Washington law. But an electronic signature alone is not enough. You still need two witnesses, and what happens to the file after signing matters just as much as the signing itself.

What an Electronic Will Has to Have

RCW 11.12.440 lists the requirements. An electronic will must be a record that is readable as text at the time it is signed. That rules out an audio or video recording of your wishes. It must be signed by you, or by another person signing your name at your direction and in your physical presence. And it must be signed by at least two competent witnesses, at your direction or request, after you sign or after you acknowledge your signature or the will to them.

"Sign" has a broad meaning here. RCW 11.12.410 defines it as attaching or logically associating an electronic symbol, sound, or process with the record, with the present intent to authenticate or adopt it. A typed name or a drawn signature on a signing platform can qualify. What cannot be skipped is the witnessing. A document you e-sign alone at your kitchen counter is not a valid Washington will, however official it looks.

Because an electronic will is a will for all purposes, the general requirements described in how to make a valid will in Washington carry over, and so does the rule that puts a gift at risk when a beneficiary serves as a witness.

Can My Witnesses Be on a Video Call?

Yes. RCW 11.12.440 allows the witnesses to sign in your physical or electronic presence. RCW 11.02.005 defines electronic presence as two or more people in different locations communicating in real time to the same extent as if they were physically present in the same place. A live, two-way video session fits that description. A recording watched later does not.

Remote witnessing is not limited to electronic wills. RCW 11.12.020, the statute for traditional wills, also lets witnesses sign in the electronic presence of the person making the will, and it allows a will signed by people in different places to be executed in counterparts that together count as one document. So a paper will can be witnessed over video too.

The Custody Rule That Catches People

Washington's version of the act is built around a "qualified custodian," a person or institution that holds the electronic will from the moment it is signed.

RCW 11.12.460 says who may serve: a suitable Washington resident over 18, a trust company or authorized national bank, certain nonprofit corporations, a law firm entity owned exclusively by attorneys, or a will repository in the county where you live. It also says who may not. An individual who is an heir or beneficiary, or who otherwise has an interest in your estate, is disqualified. That excludes the person many people would naturally send the file to, the adult child who inherits under it.

The consequence of having no qualified custodian is serious. RCW 11.20.020 says an electronic will whose custody has not been maintained by a qualified custodian must be treated as a lost or destroyed will under RCW 11.20.070. That statute requires the will's provisions to be proved by clear, cogent, and convincing evidence, including at least one witness to its contents or to the authenticity of a copy, after notice to everyone interested in the estate. The article on whether a lost or destroyed will can still be probated explains that process. A properly signed will can still become a contested court project because of where the file was kept.

When there is a qualified custodian, RCW 11.12.470 gives that person a job at your death. Within 30 days after learning of it, the custodian must deliver the electronic will to the court or to the named executor, along with a sworn affidavit stating how the custodian received the will, that it was in the custodian's custody at all times, and that it has not been altered.

Making an Electronic Will Self-Proving

A self-proving will carries its own witness testimony, so no one has to find the witnesses years later. RCW 11.12.450 allows an electronic will to be made self-proving at signing if two things are true: the witnesses' affidavits are attached to or logically associated with the will, and a qualified custodian maintains custody at all times after signing.

The affidavits must be made before an officer authorized to administer oaths. If fewer than two witnesses are physically with you when you sign, the statute requires an officer authorized under RCW 42.45.280, which is Washington's statute for electronic records notaries who perform notarial acts by audio-video technology. The same statute also supplies a second form, in which you and the witnesses sign the same statements as declarations under penalty of perjury under chapter 5.50 RCW, with no officer's certificate. How that form fits with the officer requirement is not settled, so the cautious approach to a fully remote, self-proving signing involves you, two witnesses, and a properly authorized remote notary, all connected live.

Paper Copies and Changing Your Mind

RCW 11.12.480 lets an individual create a certified paper copy of an electronic will by affirming under penalty of perjury that the copy is complete, true, and accurate. If the will is self-proving, the certified copy must include the affidavits.

Revoking an electronic will follows the same statute as any other will. RCW 11.12.040 allows revocation by a later will, or by burning, tearing, canceling, obliterating, destroying, or another physical act done with the intent to revoke. With an electronic will, copies may exist in several places, so a later will that expressly revokes the earlier one usually leaves far less to argue about.

A Worked Example

Walt, who lives in Marysville, signs his will on an online platform while two friends watch over live video and add their own electronic signatures. So far, RCW 11.12.440 is satisfied. Walt downloads the file and emails it to his daughter Jenna, who receives everything under the will.

Jenna cannot be a qualified custodian, because she is a beneficiary, and no one else was ever given that role. When Walt dies, there is no custodian to deliver the will with the affidavit RCW 11.12.470 calls for, and the will is treated as a lost or destroyed will. Jenna must prove its terms by clear, cogent, and convincing evidence and give notice to Walt's other heirs, including the son he left out. Had the same will been held from the start by a qualified custodian, with witness affidavits attached, it could have been presented to the court like any self-proving will.

Is Electronic Signing the Right Choice?

Electronic and remote signing solve real problems, such as a parent who cannot travel or witnesses in different cities. For many people, though, a paper will signed with two witnesses remains the simpler and sturdier choice. Powers of attorney, health care directives, and trusts follow a different statute.

The Law Office of Chad Foster can help you decide which format fits your situation and make sure the signing and storage meet Washington's requirements. Call 425.785.8679 to talk with a Snohomish County estate planning attorney about your will.