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Electronic wills: progress or peril?

16 May 2025 / Brendan Udokoro , Kiera Quinn
Issue: 8116 / Categories: Features , Profession , Wills & Probate , Technology
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Could we soon be tapping out wills on our phones, ask Brendan Udokoro & Kiera Quinn
  • Explores the non-contentious and contentious perspectives on the concept of electronic wills.
  • While technology offers individuals greater accessibility, convenience and freedoms, it also introduces significant risks of fraud, undue influence and costly litigation.
  • As other jurisdictions begin to embrace electronic wills, the article considers whether we should follow, or whether doing so would create far greater legal issues than they would resolve.

In early 2024, it was reported that pop star Max George, of British boy band The Wanted, had written a will on his mobile phone while he was in hospital undergoing life-saving surgery. Without time to consult a solicitor or execute a traditional will, he documented his urgent testamentary wishes electronically, on his mobile phone. The story sparked public debate: is this the future of will-making and should the law recognise electronic wills in this jurisdiction, or are we just ‘chasing the sun’?

The case for electronic wills

Contracts

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NEWS
Artificial intelligence may be revolutionising the law, but its misuse could wreck cases and careers, warns Clare Arthurs of Penningtons Manches Cooper in this week's NLJ
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
The Supreme Court issued a landmark judgment in July that overturned the convictions of Tom Hayes and Carlo Palombo, once poster boys of the Libor and Euribor scandal. In NLJ this week, Neil Swift of Peters & Peters considers what the ruling means for financial law enforcement
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