The year 2025 was another year for modernization in the field of Trusts and Estates. Across the country, legislatures moved to reconcile centuries-old legal principles with 21st-century realities, from digital assets and surrogacy to the preservation of wealth for half a millennium.
As we look at the 2025 landscape, we see a clear shift toward efficiency, autonomy and technology, all trends that we expect to see continue into the new year.
Electronic Execution of Wills
Missouri and North Dakota Go Digital
- Missouri and North Dakota joined Colorado, Illinois, Oklahoma and Washington in adopting the Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act, allowing wills, trusts and ancillary estate planning documents to be signed digitally.
- Under the Act, an "electronic Will" is defined simply as any "record that is readable as text at the time of signing . . . and remains accessible as text for later reference." The Act also outlines specific signing and witness procedures and requirements.
New York Hesitantly Somewhat Goes Digital-ish
- The New York Electronic Wills Act, which was signed into law in late 2025, establishes a legal framework for digital estate planning by authorizing "electronic wills" that can be signed and witnessed via real-time video, or "electronic presence."
- To ensure authenticity, these digital records must contain audit trail data and follow strict disclosure requirements, including a prominent boldface "Caution to the Testator" regarding the document's legal validity.
- Most significantly, the act mandates that an electronic will be filed with the New York State Unified Court System within 30 days of its execution; failure to meet this deadline renders the will void, effectively making the state the mandatory custodian of the digital original and linking revocation to the document's removal from the court's electronic custody.
Limiting the Role of the Courts
To reduce the burden on courts (and the attendant burdens on individuals), states expanded Transfer on Death ("TOD") rules and small estate thresholds.
Vehicle & Home TODs
- Several states expanded the applicability of TOD designations to avoid probate. The most common extensions were for motor vehicles (including in South Carolina, Wyoming and South Dakota). In some states, this applies to boats as well.
- Other states expanded TOD rights to real property. Delaware adopted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act (now enacted in 22 states), while Texas authorized survivorship rights and TOD provisions for "manufactured homes."
Small Estates
- Arizona and Alabama raised their "Small Estate" thresholds, allowing more families to bypass full probate for modest estates.
Trustee Resignation
- Maryland simplified how trustees resign (30 days' notice instead of a court order).
Birth, Reproductive Rights and End of Life Matters
Traditional definitions of "heir" are being rewritten to accommodate medical advancements.
- Michigan, Hawaii and Oregon all passed acts (including the Uniform Parentage Act) to clarify the legal rights of parents and children in surrogacy and assisted reproduction arrangements, providing clarity for estate distribution and "omitted child" claims.
On the other end of life:
- Medical Aid in Dying: Delaware authorized physician-assisted suicide.
- Slayer Rules: Iowa and New Hampshire tightened "slayer statutes."
Digital Account Access
- Delaware enacted an interesting bill that expedites the process for a parent or legal guardian of a deceased minor to access the deceased minor’s digital accounts.
- Meanwhile, Arizona and Illinois passed laws specifically addressing the abandonment of digital assets (mainly focused on cryptocurrency), providing a legal timeline for when digital property is considered "unclaimed."
Additional Developments
Dynasty Trusts
- Minnesota (500 years) and South Carolina (360 years) joined the ranks of states allowing wealth to stay in trust for dozens of generations. Both states previously had statute of limitation periods of 90 years.
Property Rights
- Vermont updated protections for "Tenants by the Entirety" property when moved into a trust.
- New Jersey adopted the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act, and Minnesota passed the Minnesota Partition act to govern all partition actions.
2026: The Year Ahead
Looking forward, we expect to see more of the same across the US, especially in the realm of digital access and documentation, evolving considerations with the advent and expansion of AI, and continued strategies to limit the role of the courts.
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Citations
- Alabama, small estates, 2025 HB 164
- Arizona, abandonment of digital assets, 2025 Ariz. Legis. Serv. Ch. 150
- Arizona, small estates, 2025 Ariz. Legis. Serv. Ch. 24
- Delaware, assisted suicide, 2025 Del. Laws Ch. 19
- Delaware, fiduciary access to digital accounts of minors, 85 Del. Laws 222
- Delaware, Real Property Transfer on Death Act, 85 Del. Laws 212
- Hawaii, Parentage Act, 2025 Haw. Laws Act 298
- Illinois, Digital Assets and Consumer Protection Act, 2025 Ill. Laws 428
- Iowa, slayer statute, 2025 Iowa Legis. Serv. H.F. 363
- Maryland, trustee resignation, 2025 Md. Laws Ch. 228
- Michigan, Assisted Reproduction and Surrogacy Parentage Act, 2025 Mich. Legis. Serv. P.A. 24
- Minnesota, Partition Act, 2025 Minn. Sess. Law Serv. Ch. 2
- Minnesota, rule against perpetuities, 2025 Minn. Sess. Law Serv. Ch. 15
- Missouri, Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act, 2025 Mo. Legis. Serv. H.B. 754
- New Hampshire, slayer statute, 2025 N.H. Ch. 237
- New Jersey, Partition of Heirs Property Act, 2025 N.J. Laws 88
- New York, Electronic Wills Act, A.7856‑A/S.7416‑A
- North Dakota, Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act. 2025 N.D. Laws S.B. 2127
- Oregon, parentage, 2025 Ore. Laws 592
- South Carolina, rule against perpetuities, 2025 S.C. Laws Act 25
- South Carolina, TOD designations, 2024 SC H.5189
- South Dakota, TOD designations, 2025 S.D. Laws Ch. 116
- Texas, TOD designations, 2025 Tex. Sess. Law Serv. Ch. 865
- Vermont, tenants by the entirety, 2025 Vt. Laws No. 7
- Wyoming, TOD designations, 2025 Wyo. Laws Ch. 73
