Hannah Shakin, of Downey Brand LLP, has made available for download her article, “Print and Sign Your Will – A Lesson from the Anne Heche Estate”, published in JDSUPRA. The abstract is as follows:
Traditionally, the creation of a valid will, in California and elsewhere, required strict adherence to certain formalities. Estate law has been tepidly moving away from requiring compliance with those formalities, with a goal of prioritizing the intent of the person creating the will (the “Testator”). Nine states have gone so far as to enact laws that authorize electronic wills.
While our Legislature has considered similar laws, California is not currently among the states that permit the use or recognition of electronic wills. Following the passing of actress Anne Heche, a California judge was asked to consider whether an email the actress had sent to her ex-partner, James Tupper, qualified as a will despite California’s lack of legislation validating electronic wills.
Posted by Marin Larkin, Associate Editor, Wealth Strategies Journal.
Wealth Strategies Journal 