Txt message accepted as last will and testemant.

[Smart No More]

This is quite interesting. After a man committed suicide an Australian court ruled that a txt message he posted just before he caught the bus was legally binding as his last will and testament and controversially, he essentially ruled his wife out of it. She happened to find it on his phone and quite amazingly it hadn't been sent but she reported it and it stood up in court. I guess respect is due, to the woman, for reporting a message that hadn't been sent and ruled her out of the will.

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I can't help but wonder how this would play out in countries, states and cities around the world. What are the chances of this being held up on a regular basis? It would really help some of us that don't have the means or capacity to hire a legal professional to write up a will.

 

[houseofleaves]

Wow! Thank you. That's interesting.

 

[Someone123]

This is quite interesting. After a man committed suicide an Australian court ruled that a txt message he posted just before he caught the bus was legally binding as his last will and testament and controversially, he essentially ruled his wife out of it.

The Straits Times - Breaking News, Lifestyle & Multimedia News

The Straits Times - Get breaking news, exclusive stories, in-depth analyses and award-winning multimedia content about Singapore, Asia and the world.

www.straitstimes.com

I can't help but wonder how this would play out in countries, states and cities around the world. What are the chances of this being held up on a regular basis? It would really help some of us that don't have the means or capacity to hire a legal professional to write up a will.

There are books that show you how to write a will of your own, that would be a better way to go if you can, but as a last resort a text message might work.

 

[Smart No More]

There are books that show you how to write a will of your own, that would be a better way to go if you can, but as a last resort a text message might work.

What's quite interesting in this case is that thw message wasn't even sent. His wife found it on a phone, unsent and showed it to the relevant party. It rules her out of his will though which must have made it quite perplexing for her. Really unusual situation. Particularly has it hadn't been sent.

 

[KQuotientW]

I'm in Australia. I saw a solicitor (lawyer) a few months ago about organising a will. Didn't tell them I was planning to CTB.

I don't have an executor or someone to witness, which the solicitor said was a problem. She didn't want to be the executor. I might have to try the text message thing otherwise I will have to die intestate.

I was going to CTB tonight but I'm going with the charcoal method and it's raining again. At least, I can work on a digital will, instead. I'm not sure how well it would go. Working, one time, for someone else may not mean it will be successful in my case. Oh well, I'm not going to need my stuff anyway. If my digital will is accepted, that's great. If not, there's not much I can do about it and my family can fight each other for it.

 

[seaweaves]

Many western countries and jurisdictions require that there is proof of competence and/or a witness to the will, especially to hold a new will valid over any previous ones. Otherwise the will can be easily contested.

I haven't opened the article yet, but this is interesting and surprising in that it sounds like it might lack both and I would have guessed australia to require them. But I'm also guessing that covid may have changed how digital wills are perceived generally

 

[Lost Magic]

I'm in Australia. I saw a solicitor (lawyer) a few months ago about organising a will. Didn't tell them I was planning to CTB.

I don't have an executor or someone to witness, which the solicitor said was a problem. She didn't want to be the executor. I might have to try the text message thing otherwise I will have to die intestate.

I was going to CTB tonight but I'm going with the charcoal method and it's raining again. At least, I can work on a digital will, instead. I'm not sure how well it would go. Working, one time, for someone else may not mean it will be successful in my case. Oh well, I'm not going to need my stuff anyway. If my digital will is accepted, that's great. If not, there's not much I can do about it and my family can fight each other for it.

You should try a different solicitor. I got a free one written up through a charity. They had no problems being my executor but because they are far away, they couldn't witness it. So I found a local solicitor (who would witness at a cost). It was a pain in the ass, but I am glad I persevered with it.

 

[Smart No More]

I'm in Australia. I saw a solicitor (lawyer) a few months ago about organising a will. Didn't tell them I was planning to CTB.

I don't have an executor or someone to witness, which the solicitor said was a problem. She didn't want to be the executor. I might have to try the text message thing otherwise I will have to die intestate.

I was going to CTB tonight but I'm going with the charcoal method and it's raining again. At least, I can work on a digital will, instead. I'm not sure how well it would go. Working, one time, for someone else may not mean it will be successful in my case. Oh well, I'm not going to need my stuff anyway. If my digital will is accepted, that's great. If not, there's not much I can do about it and my family can fight each other for it.

Sorry to hear of your predicament.

I have to say I think its a bit risky as far as relying on it. Like you said, it could be a one off. It's certainly not president set in stone yet. Can you not get a local business person to witness for you? Perhaps a shop owner you might speak with from time to time or resturant owner. (I'm suggesting that as they're public places where conversations tend to be struck up but it could be anywhere obviously). Or maybe a citizen advice worker? Public servant? I would think getting a witness would be pretty easy. It can be anyone. The solicitors writing up your will can't do it because it's a conflict of interests so wouldn't stand up. A separate solicitor could witness it but would charge you. You could probably grab someone off the street although there might be a stipulation that it's someone you have "known" for a minimum period of time. Thing is, they take you on your word with things like that.

 

[Hope:-)]

This was really interesting. Thanks.

 

[hurtbox]

Thanks, im in Australia so this is good to know in-case if i need to do a last minute will

 

[Smart No More]

I suppose its useful if it's all you have to hand or whatever. It's no certainty it will hold but you could always write a side note outlining that you have a message on your phone you declare to be you last will and testament and maybe include a reference to the case as specifically as possible and state you expect the same treatment. It would be hard for them to turn it down on those grounds I'd imagine but it depends what other variables are in play and how easily they could brush it under the table unnoticed. Though there's litte benefit to them doing that unless it creates extra work for them.

I think the best thing to do would be to write and actually send the message to a few people. Though that could be challenging if you're ctb. Delayed email perhaps could be useful in that respect. But with email it would need to be an account offically registered to you else anyone could have sent it.

 

[Hercules]

This story is interesting. It seems risky though. I doubt this would be legal and hold up everywhere. It would depend on what the laws are where you live. Usually it isn't considered a valid will unless you have a witness say that you signed the will and are of sound mind. It seems to me that a will written in a text message could easily be challenged and overturned if someone wanted to contest the will. There wouldn't be any witnesses to prove that you were the one who actually wrote it. I'm surprised the Court ruled the will valid especially since he never sent it.

You can always add a beneficiary to your bank account. At least that way, you know it can't be challenged. You can also write your own will and get it notorized. There are books that tell you how to write your will. You can find forms online. They are generic forms and the laws where you live may be different. If there is a lot of money involved or you think it may be challenged, it's better to get an attorney rather than try to write your own will.

 

[KQuotientW]

Well, I've typed it up. If it works, it works; if it doesn't, it doesn't. I'm not dying a millionaire, but nice to know who will get my stuff, should this work. I've included the link to the article in the digital will.

 

[locked*n*loaded]

I would never risk it. For as cheap as wills are now, there's nothing like having your wishes memorialized on a legitimate piece of paper and filed appropriately. Whether a text holds up as a will, I suspect, has more to do with the jurisdiction of where you are located. It's a gamble.

For evidence of this I give the story of my cousin who passed away a few years ago. He had had his will redrafted to disinherit his oldest daughter, because he thought that over the years, he had already given so much to her on a continuous basis, that she had already gotten more from him than either of his other two children (from a different marriage) would even receive after his death. Well, the oldest child challenged his will in court, and after a lengthy legal battle, she ended up getting the part of the will that disinherited her voided and ended up getting a share of his estate.