There is a temptation to use the latest technology or to add a more personal touch to your final farewell to the world, by doing a video Will.

This episode we look at two cases that demonstrate why you should resist the temptation.

Re Marian Moyne Demowbray

Marian was in her hospital bed when she asked her two friends to help her film a video Will. The next day a nurse suggested that she do a written Will with a solicitor, but Marian thought it would be too expensive.

After Marian's death, there was an expensive Court hearing to determine whether the informal video Will would be recognised.

Estate of Peter Anthony Pitman [2018] WASC 237

After Peter Pitman's death, 4 video recordings were found on his computer. Peter started each recording with "This is a preamble to my last Will and testament" but each recording was not completed.

The question for the Court was did Peter intend any of these 4 short recordings to be his final Will. They also had the further challenge that the original recordings were no longer available and for those they had the audio and visual were out of sync.