What Does Convenient Estate Planning Mean in 2025?
Uniform laws streamline important processes, standards, and requirements across multiple states. In 2024, the state of Oklahoma adopted several new acts that change how people plan their estates, what documents are needed, and how documents are stored. This makes it more important than ever to work with an experienced estate planning lawyer in Oklahoma who stays up-to-date on local and federal law.
At Entz Burton & Associates, our commitment to our clients shines through in our approach to estate planning. Every individual has their own goals and expectations for their estate plan, and thanks to our extensive experience in this area, we can tailor our approach to each client’s needs. With the help of attorney J. Michael Entz, our clients find peace of mind with a customized estate plan. Call our estate planning law firm at 405-773-9800 to set up a consultation with our team now.
Uniform Acts Empowering Convenience
Estate planning is known for being time-consuming and inconvenient, but uniform laws that remove barriers and streamline important processes can help estate planning attorneys’ clients save time and manage their estate across multiple states. One uniform law passed in Oklahoma in 2024 is the Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act, which builds on the Uniform Electronic Wills Act. The Uniform Electronic Wills Act allows testators and witnesses to execute a will electronically, but it did leave some gray areas with regard to other estate planning documents. The Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act allows other documents, including powers of attorney and trusts, to be executed electronically as well.
These combined acts make way for completely electronic estate plans, which is far easier and more secure than printed documents. Not only is this method easier for testators, it’s easier for executors and others who must track down estate planning documents after a death.
Another law that makes estate planning and management easier is the Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act. This act builds on the role of a fiduciary who is expected to manage a person’s tangible property. In this case, “fiduciary” is typically used to refer to executors, trustees, and conservators. Under UFADA, those with a fiduciary responsibility are also allowed to manage digital property and assets. However, the law does limit access to electronic communications unless permission is explicitly granted.
Finally, the Uniform Directed Trust Act addresses trust protectors, advisers, and directors. This act clarifies the rules used to structure a directed trust while still preserving protections for beneficiaries.
Digital-Friendly Financial Instruments
With the rise of cryptocurrency and other atypical forms of currency, it’s become increasingly important for estate planning lawyers to know how to handle these assets and ensure that they are properly passed down after a testator’s death. There were amendments introduced in 2022 that govern transactions involving electronic money, nonfungible tokens (or NFTs), and virtual currencies.
How These Changes May Affect Your Estate Planning
Adopting uniform laws streamlines many common estate planning tasks, making it easier for you to reach your goals with the help of an estate planning law firm. Laws allowing for the electronic development and signing of estate planning documents makes it easier for clients anywhere to finalize their estate plans and ensure that their loved ones can easily execute their plans. These laws also significantly shorten the natural delays that occur in paper-based estate planning documents. Clients and estate planning attorneys are also likely to find that these laws improve privacy and security.
Choosing the Right Attorney
Any single major change to a field can cause significant upsets in a workflow. When multiple laws are adopted at the same time, you can expect entire workflows to change. This is the case in estate planning in 2025. This is where choosing the right attorney matters. An attorney committed to estate planning and who spends most of their time in this field will have already familiarized themselves with newly-adopted uniform laws and adapted their work to accommodate them. Look for a lawyer who can discuss these changes in detail with you, explain how they will make your estate planning journey more convenient, and get you on the path to a custom estate plan.
Discuss Your Next Steps With Entz Burton & Associates
Ready to explore your options and start planning for the future? Let’s sit down and talk about what you want to accomplish with your estate. Call us at 405-773-9800 or connect with us online.
Attorney J. Michael Entz at Entz Burton & Associates is an experience lawyer in estate planning law, business formation and asset protection serving the families in Oklahoma City and Weatherford office.
