Uniform Laws Update

Uniform Laws Update provides information on uniform and model state laws in development as they apply to property, trust, and estate matters. The editors of Probate & Property welcome information and suggestions from readers.

Uniform Laws Update Editor: Benjamin Orzeske, Chief Counsel, Uniform Law Commission, 111 N. Wabash Avenue, Suite 1010, Chicago, IL 60602.

Joint Editorial Boards— Advising the ULC on New and Updated RPTE Laws

Like other statutes, uniform laws require periodic updates to accommodate legal, societal, and technological advances. Most commonly, the revision process is overseen by one of several editorial boards comprising experts in a specific area of law who monitor developments in their area of law and recommend amendments or wholesale revisions to uniform acts when appropriate. Two of these boards include representatives from the ABA Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law as members.

JEB-URPA

The Joint Editorial Board for Uniform Real Property Acts (JEB-URPA) originally comprised members appointed by the Uniform Law Commission (ULC) and the ABA-RPTE Section. It has since expanded to include representatives from the American College of Real Estate Lawyers, the American College of Mortgage Attorneys, the American Land Title Association, and the Community Associations Institute. The JEB-URPA members choose co-chairs (one uniform law commissioner and one ABA-RPTE appointee) to lead the group, and the Board employs an executive director who conducts research, drafts legal memoranda, and handles administrative duties.

The JEB-URPA meets twice a year to consider proposals for new or updated uniform acts involving real property law and to monitor ongoing drafting projects. At the Board’s most recent meeting in April, it considered proposals for new uniform acts on solar easements, the use of blockchain technology in real estate

transfers, and recreational use of privatelyowned land. It also discussed emerging issues for potential further study, such as charging stations for electronic motor vehicles in multi-unit housing developments, the maintenance of aging high-rise condominium buildings, affordability covenants and other strategies for meeting the demand for affordable housing, and the trend of marketing long-term exclusive right-to-sell brokerage agreements to homeowners.

Several of the ULC’s current projects were recommended by the JEB-URPA, including the Drafting Committee on Mortgage Modifications, the Drafting Committee on Restrictive Covenants in Deeds, the Drafting Committee on Tenancy-in-Common Default Rules, and the Study Committee on Redaction of Personal Information from Public Records. The Board monitors all ULC projects related to real property and provides valuable feedback during the drafting process.

JEB-UTEA

The Joint Editorial Board for Uniform Trust and Estate Acts (JEB-UTEA) comprises members from the Uniform Law Commission, the ABA-RPTE Section, the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, the National College of Probate Judges, and the Association of American Law Schools. This body also chooses its own chair, employs an executive director, meets semi-annually, and generally functions in a very similar manner to the JEB-URPA but concerning trust and estate legislation.

At its most recent meeting in April, the JEB-UTEA considered several projects involving nonprobate transfers, including transfer-on-death designations for realestate cooperative interests and personal property and a proposal to study how to better integrate probate and nonprobate administration of a decedent’s estate by giving the personal representative certain powers and duties for nonprobate transfers. The Board also reviewed the cy pres provision of the Uniform Trust Code in light of conflicting interpretations and plans to draft clarifying amendments.

The JEB-UTEA also reviewed five ongoing ULC drafting projects: revisions of the Uniform Health-Care Decisions Act and the Uniform Determination of Death Act, and new projects to govern Electronic Estate-Planning Documents, Conflict of Laws in Trusts and Estates, and Tenancy-In-Common Default Rules, providing helpful feedback to the drafting committees.

In addition to the activities described above, the ULC’s editorial boards can revise the official comments to a uniform act to resolve ambiguities, recommend technical and conforming amendments when necessary, and occasionally publish whitepapers or file amici briefs to weigh in on a court’s interpretation of a uniform state law. The boards serve a vital purpose by maintaining the relevance of uniform laws over time and ensuring that they function as intended.

The membership of each editorial board can be found at www.uniformlaws. org/aboutulc/editorialboards.

Published in Probate & Property, Volume 36, No 4 © 2022 by the American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information or any portion thereof may not be