Estate planning – News, Research and Analysis – The Conversation

Paper copies of wills haven’t gone extinct yet, but online estate tools have brought will preparation into the 21st century. Bradshaw79/Wikimedia

January 5, 2022

Online tools put will-writing in reach for most people – but they’re not the end of the line for producing a legally binding document

Allison Anna Tait, University of Richmond

Online tools promise to democratize estate planning and will preparation, but users are responsible for complying with state laws.

In 1948, as Cecil George Harris lay dying after a tractor accident, he scratched a final message into the vehicle’s fender. illustration supplied by: Impact Studios/Dinalie Dabarera.

February 12, 2020

An unsent SMS, a message on a tractor, a poem: the courts say a valid will can take many forms

Katherine Biber, University of Technology Sydney

Courts have had to consider whether an eggshell, a tractor fender, a petticoat hem, graffiti on a wall, and a poem might be valid wills. They’ve shown surprising flexibility in judgment.

Digital documents are not nearly as easy to retrieve. Africa Studio/Shutterstock.com

February 7, 2018

Estate planning for your digital assets

Natalie Banta, Drake University

What happens to your Facebook account, your iTunes purchases and your email messages when you die?

As more and more seniors need care, their budgets will be strained. As a result, they may rely on Medicaid. gagliardiImages/Shutterstock.com

August 10, 2017

Why Medicaid matters to you

Sharona Hoffman, Case Western Reserve University

Medicaid, a state-federal entitlement program that people associate only with the poor, pays for care for more than six in 10 nursing home residents. That could be you, or someone you love.

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