Electronically-Stored Wills | A New Option in North Carolina

Effective January 1, 2026, Session Law 2025-33 ushers in a new era ... for the prepared client and attorney.

Until now, an original, hard-copy will was typically required for probate. If that original will could not be found at the testator's death, the law presumed that the will was destroyed deliberately, with the intention to revoke it. Litigating "lost will" cases has been one of our most frequent types of probate litigation, and the deck was steeply stacked against any party attempting to probate a copy of a lost will. The party seeking to probate such a "lost will" has a very high, nearly insurmountable, hurdle to clear: offering to the Court "proof which is clear, strong, and convincing" that the will was lost by accident, and not destroyed intentionally. In re Herring's Will, 19 N.C. 357, 361 (1973).

Clients who leave our offices after executing estate-planning documents are warned: digital or photographic copies of your trusts, powers-of-attorney, health-care documents, even deeds ... almost certainly would be effective as original. But not so with your will: which must be carefully safeguarded, and easily found at your death.

But this new statute in North Carolina offers to change that. The statute, however, has stringent requirements that can be a trap for the unwary. Now, a testator may direct his or her attorney to create an electronically stored, digital copy of the will. The attorney then needs to execute a "Storage Affidavit" with very specific provisions. When the testator dies, such digital copy of a will can then be printed and tendered for probate ... along with yet another affidavit, which must also be from a licensed North Carolina attorney, attesting that the printed copy is a certified, true and correct copy of the digitally stored will.

For clients and attorneys who follow these steps carefully, an original hard-copy will would no longer to be stored and safeguarded.

This new law allows estate-planning attorneys and clients to manage and store their wills in a manner consistent with their other important documentation in this digital age, increasing convenience for clients and law firms alike.

Clients with existing wills may bring their will to a North Carolina licensed attorney for conversion to a valid electronically-stored will. And of course, new wills executed going forward may be converted to digital, electronic storage at the client's direction.

But watch out for pitfalls, including: (1) a testator may still not digitally-sign a will; and, (2) an electronically-stored will can not be revoked as easily as an original hard-copy (which could be destroyed by physical destruction).

If you wish to have your will converted to electronically-stored format, alleviating you of the need to keep your original, hard-copy will safeguarded, please reach out and we would be more than happy to assist.