You can now make a Will and sign it digitally

In July 2020, the BC Legislative Assembly passed the Wills, Estates and Succession Amendment Act, 2020 (Bill 21) that will make it possible to have a valid Will that exists entirely in electronic form.

What it means to you, is that Wills can be done by mans of video technology that allows you and witnesses to be in the “electronic presence” of one another. In the past, you would need to sign a Will in hard copy, in the presence of the witnesses. In the case of an electronic Will, execution and attestation could be accomplished by affixing unique digital signatures to the Will by means of an e-signature program like DocuSign, despite the fact that the testator and witnesses may all be in different locations. All parties are still required to be present at the same time “electronically”. Electronically session has to be video recorded and kept on file. The Will can now exist in a digital format and there is not need to have original printed.