Over 27 years of practice, I have seen countless changes in many areas of law, spurred by technology, culture, statute or judicial interpretation. However, absent some nuances, the process of drafting a will and admitting it to probate has fundamentally remained unchanged. When we think of a will, many of us can recite the boilerplate language off the top of our heads “I, (insert name), being of sound and disposing mind, memory and understanding …” or recite the elements that must be satisfied for a holographic will to be admitted. The elemental process of documenting testamentary intent, along with a signature, seemed to be standard format that would be expected through the remainder of my career.
That all changed a few weeks ago when the red flashing light on my BlackBerry held the potential to change my understanding of how a will looked. This harbinger of change was an early morning BlackBerry Messenger Service text message from a longtime friend and client. It read as follows (names have been changed):
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