The Alberta Law Reform Institute recommends that electronic wills should be expressly permitted in Alberta.
ALRI’s full report, Creation of Electronic Wills, Final Report 119 is available now.
People are increasingly using digital tools to manage their personal affairs. In some jurisdictions, wills are no longer restricted to paper and individuals are beginning to execute their testamentary documents using electronic tools. In Alberta, the Wills and Succession Act governs the creation of wills but does not address wills created using electronic means. This leads to a lack of clarity for lawyers, estate professionals, and the public.
ALRI conducted extensive consultations with the public and estate planning professionals to assess what people expected from the law when making their will. ALRI heard from over 400 members of the public and held in-depth roundtable consultations with trusted estate planning practitioners from across the province. Our consultation results confirm that people want to be able to create wills using electronic tools.
ALRI recommends that electronic wills should be permitted in Alberta. The formalities for electronic wills should mirror the formalities for paper wills, but they should be accomplished in electronic form. In other words, electronic wills should be:
- Readable as electronic text,
- Signed by the testator, using an electronic signature, and,
- Signed by two witnesses, who are both present at the same time, using an electronic signature.
Final Report 119 also makes recommendations regarding remote witnessing, electronic holograph wills, video formats and the dispensing power. These recommendations aim to bring certainty, predictability, and accessibility to the law, while embracing technological advancements and maintaining the integrity and security of the testamentary process.