Is a will signed by a person using their electronic signature a valid will in Pennsylvania?

We are living in the digital age. Many people have become familiar with signing agreements of sale and other documents with their digital signatures. But what about a will? Well, about two years ago I prepared wills and other estate planning documents for a fellow attorney and his family. He asked me if his adult child who is serving overseas in the military could sign a valid will with his electronic signature. Based upon cases I had read, I recommended that he should not pursue signing with a digital signature.

Recently, the PA Superior Court provided a definitive answer to this question. In Estate of Kittler, the Superior Court ruled that electronic signature of decedent that was affixed to decedent's purported will through software was insufficient to satisfy the requirement that her will was to be signed at the end of the will  because the electronic signature was not a "signature" under 20 Pa. C.S. § 2502. In re Est. of Kittler, 303 A.3d 463, 464

Business owners take note! If you are a business owner, you need to understand the requirements of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA).

The CTA is a federal law enacted as part of the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020. It focuses on small ( mom & pop businesses) and medium-sized business enterprises* doing business in the United States. [*defined as companies with fewer than twenty-one employees and generating less than $ 5 million in annual U.S. revenue.]

• The CTA aims to prevent money laundering, tax fraud, and other illicit activities by ensuring transparency in ownership.
• It places a significant burden on small businesses by requiring them to collect and provide beneficial ownership information to the government.
• A beneficial owner is an individual who owns or controls at least 25% of a company.
• The CTA will require PA businesses which meet the Reporting Rules definition of a “reporting company” to electronically file annual Beneficial Ownership Reports with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (Fin CEN, a bureau of the U.S. Treasury.
• Any business created or registered to do business before January 1, 2024, will have until January 1, 2025, to file its first report, but any business that incorporated on or after January 1, 2024 has only three months from its incorporation or registration date to file its first registration report.
• Any beneficial owner who willfully does not comply with the CTA reporting requirements may be subject to civil penalties of $500 per day and may also be subject to criminal penalties of up to two years of imprisonment and a fine of up to $ 10,000.