New York Electronic Wills

Status: Enacted, not yet effective.

New York has enacted the New York Electronic Wills Act (S.7416-A / A.7856-A), signed by the Governor on December 12, 2025, as Chapter 637 of the Laws of 2025. The act takes effect on June 10, 2027 (the 545th day after it became law).

This page is the hub for a series that breaks down New York’s electronic wills law piece by piece. It is under construction and subject to change, with links and additional detail forthcoming.

What This Hub Is For

This series is meant to do three things:

1. Record the procedural history and enactment details (including the chapter amendment context).
2. Quote and explain the Legislature’s stated purpose.
3. Walk slowly through the statute’s provisions, noting criticisms where they are visible (including criticism from the New York City Bar).

Procedural Snapshot

• Bill number: S.7416-A (Senate) / A.7856-A (Assembly)
• Introduced (Senate): April 15, 2025
• Sponsor: Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal
• Co-sponsors (Senate): Sen. Andrew Gounardes; Sen. James Skoufis
• Delivered to Governor: December 8, 2025
• Signed: December 12, 2025
• Chapter: 2025 N.Y. Laws ch. 637 (Approval Memo No. 24)
• Effective date: June 10, 2027 (545th day after becoming law)

Purpose (Legislative Intent)

The sponsor memo describes the bill’s purpose as permitting the electronic execution of wills, with the stated goal of modernizing estate planning and improving accessibility.

A dedicated (forthcoming) post in this series will quote and discuss the bill’s legislative intent language and justification.

Chapter Amendment Context and What We Do Not Yet Know

The bill was signed with an approval memo calling for chapter amendments consistent with issues raised by commentators, including the New York City Bar Association.

As of January 2026, public commentary describes the approval memo and the intent to pursue chapter amendments, but the bill jacket and related materials explaining the chapter amendment are not yet available publicly.

This series will note what is known, what is unknown, and where the statute appears to anticipate later implementation details (including court rulemaking).

Series Roadmap

Links will be added as posts are published.

1. Procedural history: introduction, passage, delivery, signature, chapter, effective date
2. Purpose and legislative intent (quoted)
3. Criticism (including NYCBA) and the chapter amendment posture
4. Slow walk-through of the enacted provisions (provision-by-provision)
5. Open questions to monitor as the effective date approaches

Related

• For a multi-state enactment-status list, see: States That Have Enacted Electronic Wills.

Sources

1. New York State Senate, S.7416-A, 2025–2026 Leg., Reg. Sess. (N.Y.) (bill page & actions).
2. New York State Assembly, S.7416-A, 2025–2026 Leg., Reg. Sess. (N.Y.) (bill summary, actions, and text).
3. New York City Bar Association, Governor Hochul Signs Electronic Wills Act (Dec. 16, 2025).
4. Nicholas G. Moneta, New York Electronic Wills Act Enacted, Not Yet Effective, Rivkin Radler LLP, Jan. 26, 2026.