Is An Online Will Legally Valid in North Dakota?

Online wills are valid in North Dakota, but creating a will is only part of the process. You have to take additional steps if you want it to be legally valid. Here's the rest of the process.

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Not to worry, FeedingBird takes you through each step so nothing gets missed.

What Makes an Online Will Legally Valid in North Dakota?

North Dakota is one of the more flexible states when it comes to online wills. The state recognizes electronic wills as wills for all purposes under state law, so a will can be signed and witnessed entirely online if it meets the statute's execution requirements.

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With normal wills, the document must be signed with two witnesses. North Dakota also lets the testator acknowledge the will before a notary public instead of using two witnesses, a provision that is only allowed by one other state. Notarization is otherwise optional and is only needed in the case of a self-proving will.

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North Dakota recognizes holographic, or handwritten, wills without witnesses or a notary, as long as the signature and everything provided is in the testator's own handwriting.

What You Need to Know about Online Wills in North Dakota

Estate laws vary across states and can be very complex and difficult to decipher. You’ll want to make sure your online will is structured appropriately if you want to avoid a long, complex legal process.

North Dakota Property Laws

North Dakota is a common law property state, not a community property state. This means ownership of an asset can generally e determined by the name that appears on a title, deed, or account. A surviving spouse also has elective share rights if a will leaves them less than the law guarantees, a rule that prevents spouses from being disinherited.

North Dakota Probate

All wills go through probate in North Dakota unless the personal property is valued at $100,000 or less and there is no real property, in which case heirs can use an affidavit 30 days after death to expedite the process. Otherwise, you might consider a trust if you want to avoid probate proceedings. Unsupervised administration is the default in North Dakota, which keeps most estates out of day-to-day court oversight.

Avoiding Probate in North Dakota

Here are some ways you can avoid probate.

• Put your assets in a revocable living trust to ensure you have more control over your assets and identify a successor trustee who will manage distributing your assets after your death.

• Name beneficiary designations on financial and retirement accounts to identify who you’d like to retain ownership after your death.  

• Establish joint ownership with right of survivorship to ensure automatic transfer of that asset when you pass.  

Check out our trust page to learn more about what’s needed for a trust in North Dakota.