The deceased died unexpectedly, leaving a valid 2013 paper will and an unsigned, unwitnessed 2024 draft will that existed only in electronic form on his computer.
The moving party sought a determination of whether the 2024 electronic document could be validated as a will under s. 21.1 of the Succession Law Reform Act (SLRA).
The court held that the combined effect of s. 21.1(2) of the SLRA and s. 31(1) of the Electronic Commerce Act (ECA) prevents the validation of a testamentary document that exists only in electronic form, as wills are expressly exempted from the ECA's functional equivalency rules.
In the alternative, the court found that the electronic document did not represent a fixed and final expression of the deceased's testamentary intentions, as it was never printed or signed despite the deceased having the opportunity to do so.
The application to validate the electronic will was dismissed.
