If I Die...
A friend recently drew my attention to a new Facebook app (ifidie) that allows you to leave a message that will only be published after you die. A video about the app can be viewed here, and the press kit on their website identifies that this could “even [be] a will”. In brief, the app allows you to upload videos and messages, and authorize trustees (it looks like they must be Facebook friends of yours) which can notify Facebook upon your death. Once Facebook has been notified of your death, the messages you have identified will be posted to your profile[1].
You may remember the Sunscreen Song, a smash hit in the late 1990s that gave ‘advice’, most notably to wear sunscreen. Some of the things that we have to tell people are really important; some are not. I can certainly see this app being used to reveal secrets, leave us with whatever ‘sage’ wisdom or venom is felt necessary, and possibly to simply say goodbye, much in the same vein as the Sunscreen Song. What happens if it doesn’t stop at that?
In Ontario, under the Succession Law Reform Act, Part I, section 3, “A will is valid only when it is in writing.” What happens if the video posted includes a testamentary disposition? Certainly, it wouldn’t be a valid will in Ontario, having not met even the minimum writing requirement, but perhaps in other jurisdictions such a statement could be considered a valid testamentary document. In Ontario, would it be, and could it be used as, evidence of testamentary intention? What if the ifidie post is a written message stamped with electronic signatures? Could the argument be made that it’s a Will?
Leaving aside the various other issues that relate to post-mortem social media presence, the potential for the app to be used for testamentary purposes may have serious ramifications for Estate litigation, both in Ontario and beyond.
In our constantly changing world… can you keep up?
Nadia M. Harasymowycz - Click here for more information on Nadia Harasymowycz.
[1] I could find no reference to whether messages could be deleted or amended, or the general permanency of such a posting.
