Slashdot Mirror
Unsent Text On Mobile Counts As a Will, Australian Court Finds (abc.net.au)
A court in Australia has accepted an unsent, draft text message on a dead man's mobile phone as an official will. The 55-year-old man had composed a text message addressed to his brother, in which he gave "all that I have" to his brother and nephew. From a report: The Supreme Court in Brisbane heard the 55-year-old took his own life in October 2016, after composing a text addressed to his brother, which indicated his brother and nephew should "keep all that I have," because he was unhappy with this wife. A friend found the text message in the drafts folder of the man's mobile phone, which was found near his body. The unsent message detailed how to access the man's bank account details and where he wanted his ashes to be buried.
Depends on the legal jurisdiction, but in 1948, a Saskatchewan farmer became trapped under his tractor, and scratched a short will into the bumper of his tractor. This survived court challenges, and that bumper is now on display of the library at the law courts. More info can be found here.
...si hoc legere nimium eruditionis habes...
He found an unsent text message in the drafts folder of the phone of his relative he found dead before anyone else. Totally doesn't seem self serving at all! /sarcasm
Guys, do all yourselves a favor to avoid this familial post life bickering: get a living will that outlines your last will and testament as well as what to do if you become a vegetable!
"Found" the text message. Note to self: type up draft for will on unlocked phone whenever I find someone that committed suicide.
It doesn't cost much to have a will prepared by a lawyer. Sign it, have it witnessed, and make it known to prospective heirs; it saves everyone a lot of bother. Just do it.
All you have to do is create a will and text whoever is dead to steal all the assets wahoo!
http://saveie6.com/
My problem with this is that the text was unsent and still a draft, yet he took his own life at a time of his own choosing.
So, it's likely he wasn't really sure he wanted to do this, but was only pondering it... unless he didn't have signal where he was. Some people right mad letters just to blow off steam but never send them. The whole point of text messages is to send a communication, not create documents on your device. There are default apps for that too.
Had the text been sent, that'd be different. Was there cellular reception at this location?
Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
I just hope an unsent text on a mobile never counts as a marriage proposal.
You are welcome on my lawn.
I can't speak for other countries, but in most of the USA the determining factor would be "was it really a final document, or just a draft/in-progress document?" and "was it altered/faked?"
With a paper will, it's fairly easy to test: was it signed, and was it altered after signing?
With a text or email that is sent it's a bit harder but sometimes you can still prove it is "final" if you show that the purported sender is the actual sender, that it hasn't been altered, and that the context indicates it was a final document.
With a draft, the default presumption would be that it was a work-in-progress. Context, such as a suicide, a lack of any other will, etc. can overturn this presumption but it would be an uphill battle. Of course, proving it hadn't been tampered with may be impossible if there wasn't a copy that can be proven to be "not tampered with" to compare against.
My guess is that if something like this happened in the USA and there was nobody contesting, the courts would allow it "for lack of any objection." If it was contested, well, those wanting to prove their case would have a big uphill battle.
Knowledge is how to play a game, intelligence is how to win, wisdom is knowing what game to play.
Before my father died from terminal cancer, he left me a handful of pre-signed checks. That made it easy to get money out of his checking account to pay for his funeral expenses. Unfortunately, he left no will. Since I was listed as the beneficiary on the bank accounts, my older brother took all the tools and the truck. After I settled the estate, I've inherited nothing from my father.
The purpose of having a signed and witnessed will is proof that it was authored or approved by the individual. Even with an unwitnessed handwritten will you can authenticate the author from handwriting analysis. How can this be accomplished for a document typed on a Smartphone, when anyone could have picked the phone up and typed it in post hoc?
because he was unhappy with this wife
Damn
Bet you all wouldn't turn down a "I want to date you" Slashdot post though.
I will not leave a will, because I laugh inside just at the thought of my family bickering about who should inherit my shit.
...gis sdrawkcab (usually not responding to ACs; don't bother posting as AC)
... (at least theoretically) that the friend created the "draft" himself?
I'm more puzzled by the fact that the article says that a will must be witnessed by two people who aren't beneficiaries, yet this one doesn't seem to be.
http://www.geoffreylandis.com
Any man who would kill himself because his wife left him, is obviously mentally incompetent. That is a time to celebrate.
To my executor, Lionel Hutz, I leave $50,000.
How do we know that the brother or nephew wasn't the one that drafted the text? I mean, they do have something to gain from this.
Wondering why they call it a marriage license... I mean... if it is not going to expire ...
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
Aunt was able to get 66 percent of things, including getting stuff out of the house before an audit could be done to itemize everything.
She also managed to shirk out of written debts she had with her mother dating back 30 years (had not paid the principle on either house she owned, and had reneged on a third house that was later sold.)
Best part was my grandmother didn't call in those debts before she died because she didn't want to fight with her 'perfect daughter' but instead left it to her other child who'd spent her whole life as the black sheep of the family :l
The family is now divided based on 'sides' much of which is also politically/ideologically distinct.
So his wife gets nothing because he was suicidal? I'm moving to Australia. My wife will have to treat me better.
Vastly different jurisdictions, but the other examples here have me wondering... (S-Town spoilers)
John McLemore sent a text just before his suicide that Tyler could have anything he wanted out of his house. The reporter also had numerous recordings of John stating he intended to leave Tyler specific things. Considering he died without a proper will, it seems like these things (particularly the final text) should have some weight. I suppose since that was never directly litigated, we'll never know, though.
The fact that Wills don't get recorded and sent out to the involved parties automatically means that we haven't progressed beyond the 1700s. Too often there are still cases of "where is the will" or "which will is the proper will", as if we are in an old murder mystery. This is a case where bringing in a bit of modern technology, like recording documents, would save a lot of time and trouble with the added benefit of giving lawyers the shaft. A simple change could induce it, just give a tax penalty if it isn't properly recorded.
"because he was unhappy with this wife"... "THIS WIFE", or "THIS LIFE"? How many wives did he have, and if he had more than one, just divorce her and keep the other/s....
Hackers breaking into celebrities' phones not to steal nudie pics, but to insert unsent wills in the drafts section leaving everything to themselves as "the nice guy I met at Starbucks" in the event of the celebrity's random death.
You got to open the package before you can read the EULA, and the terms can change at any time. Use of said person constitutes acceptance of those new terms.
It could be that he was just CONSIDERING this, but since he didn't even send the message... did he COMMIT that this is what he wants to do?
Wills usually require some kind of signature and witness, that they were actually made by the person, also, that they are sane or of sound mind at the time that they prepare the document, and it's their actual intention --- not just some thing they rambled out in a fit of rage.
Gotta pay the pussy tax.
Was he "unhappy with this life", or "unhappy with his wife"? My guess it's the former. Was he married more than once?
I read it as "usenet text". Anyone else?
Shit, broke both rules there.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
When a person writes their own Will, it is called a holographic will.
Wrong.
When a person writes their own will by hand it is called a holographic will. A will typed onto a phone screen is not a holographic.
The article says this: "Queensland Law Society president and succession law specialist Christine Smyth said the law was changed in 2006 to allow for less formal types of documents to be accepted as wills."
Earlier in the article it states: "The Queensland Government's website says for a will to be valid, it must be in writing and "signed by you in front of two witnesses, both of whom must be over 18 years old, cannot be visually impaired and should not be included as beneficiaries in the will."
I would presume that the website would include any changes to the law from eleven years ago.
http://www.geoffreylandis.com
There are two things that come to mind which make me think it's not unreasonable.
The first is, the guy's dead, his true intentions can't really be determined now, insofar as what was left behind, and are probably more inclined to just to share the estate, because ultimately the court doesn't care.
The second is a lot of suicidal people don't send out their messages, they do leave them on their phone, so that no one comes and tries to rescue them. I would guess this situation is no different, after all, I'm sure the brother would have tried to intervene with a message like what was saved on the phone.
Looking at those things together, and given the circumstances of the breakdown in the relationship, yea, I think the courts determined an appropriate outcome.