Text message accepted as a will in Australia

An Australian court has accepted an unsent message from a dead man as his official will.

The 55-year-old man, who committed suicide, was found with his phone in his hand by a neighbour in 2016.

Mashable.com reports that a friend was asked to look though the contact list in order to notify friends and family of his death which is when the unsent message was discovered.

According to The Telegraph, the message stated that his brother and his nephew were to keep all his possessions. It also asked for his ashes to be scattered in the garden and informed them that he had some money behind the television and in the bank.

The man’s wife had applied to manage the assets, saying the unsent text was not valid.

According to The BBC for a will to be valid in Queensland, it should be written and signed by two witnesses but rules were relaxed over 10 years ago, allowing for less formal documents to be accepted.

The judge in the matter ruled that the wording of the message indicated the deceased’s intention – and a legal will it is.

Sources: Mashable.com, The Telegraph, The BB