Will you go digital?

With an aim to “revolutionise the way we think about and plan for our loved ones after our death”, a US legal technology giant has launched a form of ‘digital will’.

The app – Legacy – is the first product LegalZoom have launched since entering the UK market and enables users to create a “digital scrapbook” of memories and messages on their phone alongside their will.

Supported by advice from the firm LegalZoom bought a year ago – Beaumont Legal – the app allows users to update their will at any time, from a monthly price of £4.99.

The app also has innovative features including the ability to auto-update. For example, when an individual included in a will reaches 18, the app will recognise that a guardian will no longer be required.

Safeguarding online presence:

Societal changes mean that a great deal of assets are moving online. Within the app are elements which apply to the digital world, meaning complications surrounding an individual’s online presence can be overcome. These complications became known in a recent case where Apple denied a father’s request to unlock the iPhone of his deceased son. The digital assets section of Legacy enables passwords to be left for storage and social media accounts, which is likely to reduce the potential for these problems to arise.

Upgrades are already being developed for the app, including embedding a Lasting Power of Attorney, increasing capacity to deal with more complex wills and allowing messages to be delivered at a specified time in the future. There is also plans to create a virtual reality element which enable users to view their passed-on memories within an entirely immersive setting.

The will document and any additional updates initially come as a hard copy for wet signature. This has however been branded as a short-term back-up by LegalZoom’s Chief Executive, Craig Holt, who stated that he expects the validity of an e-signed digital will to be confirmed imminently.

Mr Holt described the origin of Legacy, expressing the growing nature of digital assets and how they need to be accounted for.

“I read an incredibly moving story of a woman who talked with great emotion about how her most treasured possession was a single short answerphone recording from her dead mother.

“It occurred to me how we’re failing to help people leave behind the things that really matter, that allows some part of them to live on for those left behind.

“In this digital era, we all have thousands of photos and videos but they’re unsorted and without any sense of what they meant to the person taking them at the time and often they can end up inaccessible due to passwords”.

He also explained that further products in line with Legacy would be produced, with an aim to transform legal services and create products which cater to consumer needs.

“Legal services touch some of the happiest and saddest moments in our lives… I’m not interested in just taking legal services online – I want to completely re-invent them to truly meet the needs of people at these life events.

“Legacy is the first significant re-invention of a will since their inception thousands of years ago; creating this next-generation of legal products and services – combining the best technology and legal expertise – is at the heart of our approach.”