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Full-Text Articles in Law
Blockchain Wills, Bridget J. Crawford
Blockchain Wills, Bridget J. Crawford
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
Blockchain technology has the potential to radically alter the way that people have executed wills for centuries. This Article makes two principal claims--one descriptive and the other normative. Descriptively, this Article suggests that traditional wills formalities have been relaxed to the point that they no longer serve the cautionary, protective, evidentiary, and channeling functions that scholars have used to justify strict compliance with wills formalities. Widespread use of digital technology in everyday communications has led to several notable cases in which individuals have attempted to execute wills electronically. These wills have had a mixed reception. Four states currently recognize electronic …
There's A Will, But No Way--Whatever Happened To The Doctrine Of Testamentary Freedom And What Can (Should) We Do To Restore It?, Irene D. Johnson
There's A Will, But No Way--Whatever Happened To The Doctrine Of Testamentary Freedom And What Can (Should) We Do To Restore It?, Irene D. Johnson
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
It is the purpose of this article to examine the current problems surrounding the issue of freedom of testation, to enumerate and evaluate various suggestions that have been proposed for the elimination of these problems, and to propose this writer's suggestion for the restoration of freedom of testation to those who wish to propound non-traditional estate plans. Part I examines, in some detail, the ways in which courts and juries have stymied the exercise of freedom of testation. Part II is devoted to the different suggestions that commentators have put forth for the protection of the non-traditional estate plan. Part …