COVID-19 has brought a new focus to human mortality and a person’s need to prepare for the transmission of their property at death. However, stay-at-home orders and social distancing requirements have made safely executing wills practically difficult. Using a comparative Australian-United States perspective, Dr Kelly Purser, Associate Professor Tina Cockburn and Professor Bridget J Crawford investigate the purposes of traditional wills formalities, suggest their continued vitality in the context of remotely witnessed or electronic wills, and critically discuss the emergency measures adopted in both countries and the arguments for and against making these measures permanent.

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