Draw up your will in a text message
Law Commission says ‘outdated’ system of inheritance must catch up with digital age
PEOPLE will be able to use voicemail and text messages to make their wills under a radical overhaul of inheritance laws proposed by the Government’s legal advisers.
The Law Commission has branded the legacy system “outdated” and said it must keep up with the digital age.
Under laws which date back to 1839, wills need to be written and signed by the testator as well as two witnesses in order to be valid. The commission suggests those rules are unclear.
It has called for the law to be relaxed to allow notes, emails and voicemail messages to be used in place of a written will. Under its proposals, new powers would allow county and high court judges to decide “on the balance of probabilities” whether a recording or note is an accurate summary of a person’s wishes. Deathbed changes of heart could be recorded and used to overrule an existing valid will.
The Commission has admitted that the proposals could add to family arguments. It said: “A person who is seriously ill in hospital may have more immediate access to a tablet or smartphone than to a pen and paper, and may be more able to speak than to write. On the other hand, the potential recognition of electronic documents could provide a treasure trove for dissatisfied relatives.
“They may be tempted to sift through a huge number of texts, emails and other records in order to find one that could be put forward as a will on the basis of a dispensing power.”
The powers already exist in Australia, Canada, South Africa and several American states.
Experts urged caution amid concerns older people could be pressured into last-minute changes. Caroline Abraham, Age UK charity director, said: “Whilst we welcome this public consultation, any proposed changes must not create further barriers for people who wish to plan ahead, and ensure that older people are able to make their own decisions wherever possible, free from pressure and coercion.”
Elizabeth Neale, partner in the private wealth team at the law firm Bircham Dyson Bell, said that weakening the rules could have “worrying” implications for vulnerable people and there could be “pressure on people to write something down or make a voicemail”.
Prof Nick Hopkins, a member of the Law Commission, said: “Any new law would protect vulnerable testators against possible undue influence, and certainly if there was any suggestion that that had been exercised, the court isn’t going to use the dispensing power. But this is a consultation, so if anyone has those concerns, they should let us know.”
The proposals also suggest changing the law about mental capacity to make it easier to assess whether someone with dementia is able to make a will and lowering the age someone can make a will from 18 to 16.
The consultation, which launches today, will run until Nov 10.