KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — A tragic case that started in Berrien County may have led to a new way to interpret Michigan law after the Michigan Court of Appeals recently ruled a note written on a cellphone app was a valid will.
“It’s an interesting, unfortunate and uncommon case,” explained Tyler Stewart, an attorney who specializes in writing wills.
Duane Horton II was 21 years old when he took his own life.
“But prior to doing so, it appears that he set forth his wishes on how he’d like to pass on his property through an electronic note in his phone,” Stewart said.
Horton left behind an undated handwritten journal that said to find his farewell note in the Evernote app on his cellphone. The electronic note was neither signed nor in Horton’s handwriting, it only existed on his phone.
His mom, who was left out of this electronic will, argued it wasn’t a legally binding document.
“The big question answered and asked in this case is, ‘Did this individual intend to pass on his property after death using this document?’” said Stewart.