Mock-up via http://www.ios7text.com/

An unsent message on an Australian man’s phone has been accepted as a legally valid will. A court made a rare exemption to a normally tightly interpreted law on what counts as a will.

The man took his own life and had not written a will on paper. That situation would normally have been governed by the relevant state law (Queensland) which says the next-of-kin takes over responsibility for the person’s estate. In this case that was his wife.

However, a friend who examined the phone after the man’s death found a message in the drafts folder addressed to his brother and reading:

“You and [nephew] keep all that I have house and superannuation, put my ashes in the back garden … [wife] will take her stuff only she’s ok gone back to her ex AGAIN I’m beaten. A bit of cash behind TV and a bit in the bank Cash card pin … My will”

ABC News explains that normally a will in Queensland must be written and signed by two adult witnesses who don’t benefit from the will. However, when the case reached the supreme court, the man’s wife argued not about the form of the will but rather the fact that it had never been sent.

The judge took into account evidence about the relationships between the man and his family members. However, she concluded the text contained enough detail about the man’s estate, as well as specifically labelling it ‘my will’, that it constituted a clear declaration of his intentions.

Local law experts noted that although changes in 2006 allow some leeway over the precise form of a will, writing it by text message (whether sent or not) is most definitely not a guarantee that it will be accepted after your death.