Protection and Peace of Mind
for Your Family
Your estate documents — wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and advance directives — are among the most important legal instruments your family will ever need. The EDRS standard ensures they are secure, verifiable, and accessible when it matters most.
The Problem
What Happens When Estate Documents Fail
Every year, families face devastating consequences because the estate planning system has no infrastructure for secure registration, verification, or access. The stories are painfully common.
Lost Wills and Trusts
A loved one passes away and no one can locate the will. The estate enters intestacy, assets are distributed by formula rather than wishes, and family disputes erupt over what the decedent actually wanted.
Inaccessible Directives During Emergencies
A medical emergency strikes and the advance directive is locked in a safe deposit box or filed in an attorney's office that is closed for the weekend. Critical end-of-life decisions are made without guidance.
Power of Attorney Fraud
Financial exploitation of the elderly through forged, revoked, or outdated powers of attorney costs billions annually. There is no system for a bank or care facility to verify that a POA is genuine and current.
No Way to Verify Currency
A will was updated three times over two decades. After the testator's death, an outdated version surfaces first. Without a registry, there is no authoritative way to determine which version is current.
The Solution
How EDRS Protects Your Family
The Estate Document Registry Standard (EDRS) establishes the technical requirements that any registry must meet to ensure your documents are truly protected. Here is what that means for you.
Secure Registration
Your documents are stored with AES-256 encryption, the same standard used by the federal government. Multi-factor identity verification ensures that only you can register and manage your documents. No one can alter, delete, or access them without proper authorization.
Blockchain Verification
Every document registration creates a cryptographic hash stored on an immutable blockchain ledger. This means anyone can verify that a document has not been tampered with, without needing to see the document itself. Forgery becomes detectable.
Emergency Access Protocols
EDRS requires registries to support emergency access for healthcare providers, financial institutions, and designated family members. When a medical crisis occurs, authorized parties can retrieve advance directives and healthcare powers of attorney through standardized, secure protocols.
Waiting Periods and Anti-Fraud Protections
Critical changes to document registrations trigger mandatory waiting periods and notifications to designated contacts. If someone attempts to revoke or replace your power of attorney, you and your trusted contacts are alerted before the change takes effect.
Interstate Portability
Move from New York to Florida? Your registered documents travel with you. EDRS establishes standardized APIs and data formats that enable registries across state lines to recognize and verify each other's registrations through federated trust networks.
Choosing a Provider
What to Look for in a Registry
Not all document storage services are created equal. EDRS compliance is the gold standard for consumer protection. Here is how to evaluate providers and what questions to ask.
The EDRS Compliance Badge
Providers that have completed independent certification testing are authorized to display the EDRS Compliance Badge. This badge means the provider meets all technical, security, and consumer protection requirements defined in the standard, including encryption, identity verification, access controls, data portability, fee transparency, and business continuity planning.
View certified providersQuestions to Ask Providers
- Are you EDRS-compliant and independently certified?
- How do you verify the identity of registrants?
- Can my family access documents in an emergency? How?
- What happens to my documents if you go out of business?
- Can I export my registrations to another provider?
- Do you support interstate verification and portability?
Common Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Is registering my estate documents mandatory?
No. Registration through an EDRS-compliant registry is entirely voluntary. Your existing estate documents remain legally valid whether or not they are registered. Registration adds a layer of protection by making documents discoverable, verifiable, and accessible to authorized parties, but it is never required.
What types of documents can be registered?
EDRS supports registration of wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, durable powers of attorney, healthcare powers of attorney, advance directives (living wills), POLST/MOLST forms, beneficiary designations, and other estate planning instruments. The standard defines metadata schemas for each document type to ensure consistent handling.
How do I find an EDRS-compliant provider?
UEDRA maintains a directory of independently certified EDRS-compliant providers. You can also ask your estate planning attorney whether they work with a compliant registry. Look for the EDRS Compliance Badge, which indicates the provider has passed third-party certification testing.
What happens if I move to a different state?
EDRS is designed for interstate portability. Compliant registries participate in federated trust networks that allow registrations to be recognized across jurisdictions. Your registered documents remain verifiable and accessible regardless of which state you move to, provided both registries are EDRS-compliant.
Can my family access my documents in an emergency?
Yes. EDRS requires registries to implement emergency access protocols. You designate trusted contacts and specify access conditions during registration. In a medical emergency, healthcare providers can request access through standardized verification processes. The system balances privacy protection with the critical need for timely access.
Protect Your Family Today
Find an EDRS-compliant registry provider and take the first step toward ensuring your estate documents are secure, verifiable, and accessible when your family needs them most.