Uniform Law Commission

Colorado has enacted the Uniform Electronic Estate Planning Documents Act (UEEPDA)! Thank you to Governor Jared Polis for signing HB 1248 into law, and to our sponsors Representative Marc Snyder, Representative Matthew Soper, and Senator Bob Gardner for clarifying this area of Colorado law.   The UEEPDA modernizes the law of estate planning by authorizing the use of electronic documents and signatures for non-testamentary documents like trusts and powers of attorney. This uniform law allows estate planners and their clients to conduct their business online in the same manner that is already legal for electronic banking and commercial transactions.    The Act uses technology-neutral terminology, ensuring that the law will not become obsolete with the next technological advancement in document security or electronic signature protocol. The use of technology also enables more people to make an estate plan, whether they are homebound, travel frequently, or simply prefer the convenience of electronic signing.   For more information on the UEEPDA, visit: https://lnkd.in/g8V6CzKv

Colorado has enacted the Uniform Unlawful Restrictions in Land Records Act! Thank you to Governor Jared Polis for signing SB 145 into law, and to our sponsors Senator Bob Gardner, Representative Marc Snyder, and Representative Manny Rutinel for their advocacy. The Act enables single-family homeowners to record an amendment removing discriminatory and unlawful restrictions from their property records. Additionally, under the Act, condominium, co-op, and planned community property owners can request that their governing body act to remove an unlawful restriction recorded in the land records for their community as a whole. This allows states to create a path forward for their constituents to address the unfortunate history of discrimination that has been memorialized in property records throughout the country. The practice of writing, publishing, and enforcing racially restrictive covenants ended with the passage of the Fair Housing Act in 1968 (which later was amended by the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990). Yet, the old existing covenants still linger and litter land records in every state. For many homeowners who encounter these covenants, they remain a painful reminder of their community’s history of racism and discrimination. History cannot be changed, and the Act does not aim to completely erase our country’s history of segregation through the use of discriminatory restrictive covenants. By authorizing property owners to record an amendment instead of permitting the redaction or removal of unlawful restrictions, the Act preserves the insurability of the property’s title and ensures that the historical records can be researched by future generations. For more information, check out: https://lnkd.in/gWUw2yQW

New York has enacted the Uniform Real Property Transfer on Death Act (URPTODA)! Thank you to Governor Kathy Hochul for including the URPTODA in your budget.   New York is the 21st jurisdiction to enact the URPTODA. The Act enables an owner of real property to pass their ownership interest to a beneficiary at the owner’s death simply, directly, and without probate by executing and recording a transfer on death (TOD) deed. Importantly, under the URPTODA, the transferor retains all ownership rights in the property while living, including the right to sell the property, to revoke the deed, or to name a different beneficiary. This straightforward, inexpensive, and reliable means of passing real estate directly to a beneficiary at death outside of the probate process is a modern concept that has been embraced throughout the country with enactments of the URPTODA and other similar laws. The URPTODA is a tool in the estate planning toolbox for low- and middle-income families whose home is the single most valuable asset in their estate. To learn more about the URPTODA, visit: https://lnkd.in/ggYTtvky

Oklahoma has enacted the Uniform Special Deposits Act! Thank you to Governor Kevin Stitt for signing SB 1819 into law, and to our sponsors Senator Chuck Hall and Representative Mark Lepak for their advocacy. Oklahoma is the second jurisdiction to enact the Uniform Special Deposits Act. The Act is the result of a multiyear, collaborative drafting process with input from leading experts in commercial law and the financial services industry. The Act provides clarity to an area of law that has been uncertain for a number of years. Special deposits are banking products that have different characteristics than other deposit accounts like checking or savings deposits. Special deposits are established for a particular purpose, and a beneficiary’s entitlement to payment is determined only after a contingency has occurred. That contingency could be the closing of a sale of real estate, the distribution of funds to class members after the court approves of the settlement of a class action, or the distribution of a commercial tenant’s security deposit when the leasehold ends. These deposits ensure funds will be available to the person entitled to them in the future. While they are a vital component of our banking infrastructure, legal uncertainties have caused many to avoid using special deposits. These uncertainties thwart the parties’ expectations that funds in a special deposit will be available to them once the contingency has occurred. The Uniform Special Deposits Act: (1) preserves and protects the important functionality of the special deposit by eliminating the legal uncertainties that inhibit use; (2) honors the expectations of the parties; (3) builds on existing law applicable to general deposits in the 50 states; (4) disrupts existing law as little as possible; and (5) delivers narrowly-tailored solutions to cure four problems that can frustrate the expectations of parties electing to use a special deposit. For more information, check out: https://lnkd.in/gQZtnxHb

The Uniform Unregulated Child Custody Transfer Act has been enacted in Oklahoma! Thank you to Governor Kevin Stitt for signing SB 1601 into law and to legislative sponsors Senator Paul Rosino and Representative Christopher Kannady for all your hard work! The act provides states and jurisdictions with a uniform legal framework to prohibit unregulated child custody transfers. The act provides a uniform regulatory framework to deal with two issues: (1) the unregulated custody transfer of children, and (2) provision of better information and guidance to prospective adoptive parents of children in certain adoptions. An unregulated child custody transfer occurs when a parent or guardian of a child or an individual with whom a child has been placed for adoption transfers custody of the child without state agency or court oversight to assure the new custodian is safe and appropriate for the child. The act addresses certain child custody transfers that might present dangers of various kinds to a child. A custody transfer to an unrelated person who is unknown to the child might expose the child to a transferee who is unfit to care for the child. It might cause or exacerbate existing psychological problems for the child. The transferee might not have the authority required by law to make everyday decisions regarding the child’s health, education, and welfare. In some cases, the child might be exposed to a child molester or sex trafficker. The act protects children by prohibiting a parent from transferring custody of a child to someone beyond family members and certain other specified categories of individuals if the parent intends to abandon their rights and responsibilities regarding the child. It accomplishes this by prohibiting: a prospective transferee from receiving custody of a child in an unregulated transfer; an intermediary from arranging the unregulated child custody transfer; a parent from using various forms of advertising or solicitation (social media, chatrooms, etc.) to identify a prospective transferee of the child; and a prospective transferee or intermediary from advertising or soliciting to find a child or facilitate the child’s transfer. Learn more about this important act: https://lnkd.in/giY-JZnj

Maine has enacted the 2022 Amendments to the Uniform Commercial Code! Thank you to Governor Janet Mills for signing LD 91 into law, and to our sponsor Representative Steve Moriarty for updating Maine's commercial law for the digital age.   Maine is the nineteenth jurisdiction to enact the 2022 Amendments, which revise nearly every Article of the UCC and also add new Article 12 on Controllable Electronic Records (CERs). CERs are a newly classified type of property that includes assets stored on a blockchain. Unlike other types of digital assets, CERs must be susceptible to "control," which is analogous to possession of tangible property.   Under the 2022 amendments CERs are "negotiable" in the same way as cash and checks, so businesses and individuals can accept them as payment with confidence because competing claims are legally barred. Amendments to UCC Article 9 will ensure lenders can protect and prioritize their interest in CER collateral.   For more information, check out: https://lnkd.in/gi9rWZ7f

Oklahoma has enacted the 2022 Amendments to the Uniform Commercial Code! Thank you to Governor Kevin Stitt for signing HB 2776 into law, and to our sponsors Speaker Charles McCall III and Senator Chuck Hall for their work in updating Oklahoma's commercial law for the digital age. Oklahoma is the eighteenth jurisdiction to enact the 2022 Amendments, which revise nearly every Article of the UCC and also add new Article 12 on Controllable Electronic Records (CERs). CERs are a newly classified type of property that includes assets stored on a blockchain. Unlike other types of digital assets, CERs must be susceptible to "control," which is analogous to possession of tangible property. Under the 2022 amendments CERs are "negotiable" in the same way as cash and checks, so businesses and individuals can accept them as payment with confidence because competing claims are legally barred. Amendments to UCC Article 9 will ensure lenders can protect and prioritize their interest in CER collateral. For more information, check out: https://lnkd.in/gi9rWZ7f

Maine has enacted the Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (UPEPA)! Thank you to Senator Mike Tipping for your leadership on LD 870, which protects free speech for Mainers.   UPEPA prevents an abusive type of litigation called a "SLAPP," or "strategic lawsuit against public participation." SLAPPs silence and intimidate people from engaging in constitutionally protected activities, such as free speech.   UPEPA contains a clear framework for the efficient review and dismissal of SLAPPs. It has a broad scope, protecting communications in governmental proceedings, the right of freedom of speech and of the press, the right to assemble and petition, and the right of association. It allows for an anti-SLAPP motion to be filed early in the litigation process and requires the court to rule on the motion on an expedited basis.   For more information, check out: https://lnkd.in/ggSaU2RZ

Iowa enacted the 2022 Amendments to the Uniform Commercial Code! Thank you to Governor Kim Reynolds for signing SF 2389 into law, and to the Senate & House Judiciary Committees for sponsoring the bill, namely Chairs Senator Brad Zaun & Representative Steven Holt, and Floor Managers Senator Mike Bousselot & Representative Brian Lohse. Additionally, thank you to the The Iowa State Bar Association for their advocacy, namely ISBA Legislative Counsel Doug Struyk, ISBA Business Law Section Chair Bill Boyd, and Commercial & Bankruptcy Law Legislative Committee Chair John Blythe. Iowa is the seventeenth jurisdiction to enact the 2022 Amendments, which revise nearly every Article of the UCC and also add new Article 12 on Controllable Electronic Records (CERs). CERs are a newly classified type of property that includes assets stored on a blockchain. Unlike other types of digital assets, CERs must be susceptible to "control," which is analogous to possession of tangible property. Under the 2022 amendments CERs are "negotiable" in the same way as cash and checks, so businesses and individuals can accept them as payment with confidence because competing claims are legally barred. Amendments to UCC Article 9 will ensure lenders can protect and prioritize their interest in CER collateral. For more information, check out: tinyurl.com/3k59yyxm

Kansas has enacted the nonparent visitation portions of the Uniform Nonparent Custody and Visitation Act (UNCVA)! Thank you to Governor Laura Kelly for signing HB 2675 into law, to the House Committee on Judiciary for sponsoring the bill, and to the Kansas Judicial Council's Family Law Advisory Committee for reviewing the UNCVA and drafting a solution for Kansas that would enact only the visitation provisions of the Act. The Act addresses issues raised when courts are asked to grant custody or visitation to nonparents. The act recognizes a right to seek custody or visitation for two categories of nonparents: (a) nonparents who have acted as consistent caretakers of a child without expectation of compensation, and (b) nonparents who have a substantial relationship (formed without expectation of compensation) with a child and who demonstrate that denial of custody or visitation cause harm to the child with clear evidence. The Act has a presumption that the parent’s decision about custody or visitation is in the best interest of the child. A nonparent would have the burden of rebutting that presumption with clear and convincing evidence. This is consistent with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Troxel v. Granville, 530 U.S. 57 (2000). The Act provides: that a nonparent granted visitation may be ordered to pay the cost of facilitating visitation, including the cost of transportation; protections for victims of domestic abuse; and, a list of factors to guide the court's decision, such as the child's relationships with parents and nonparents, the opinions of the child, the age and maturity of the child, past behavior by parents or nonparents, and the impact of the requested rights on the child. Learn more about the Uniform Nonparent Custody and Visitation Act here: https://lnkd.in/gk6eTyMz