Pace University DigitalCommons@Pace Pace Law Faculty Publications School of Law Summer 2020 Blockchain Wills Bridget J. Crawford Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/lawfaculty Part of the Estates and Trusts Commons Recommended Citation Bridget J. Crawford, Blockchain Wills, 95 Ind. L.J. 735 (2020), https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/ lawfaculty/1158/. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the School of Law at DigitalCommons@Pace. It has been accepted for inclusion in Pace Law Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@Pace. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Blockchain Wills BRIDGET J. CRAWFORD 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 traditionalwills formalities have been relaxed to the point that they no longer serve the cautionary, protective, evidentiary, and channelingfunctions 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 wills. The Uniform Law Commission approved a Uniform Electronic Wills Act in July 2019, so it is likely that even more states will permit these documents. This Article identifies some of the weaknesses in existing state statutes and the model law and considers how technology can address those problems.