Wills and affidavits: when a digital initial isn't enough

Why every page gets initials on these documents

A will is read when the person who made it can no longer explain it, and an affidavit is evidence that may be tested in court. Both are often long, and both are exactly the kind of document where someone might later claim a page was changed. Initials on every page, made at the signing, tie each page to the moment the document was signed or sworn.

Wills in the United States

The federal ESIGN Act, which makes most electronic signatures valid, expressly does not apply to rules governing the creation and execution of wills, codicils and testamentary trusts. Wills are a matter of state law, and most states still expect a will signed by the testator and by witnesses.

Some states now allow electronic wills. The Uniform Law Commission's Electronic Wills Act was adopted first by Utah in 2020, then by North Dakota, Colorado and Washington in 2021, and by others since, including the District of Columbia in 2023. Washington's version, in force since January 2022, lets the testator sign electronically and lets witnesses attend by “electronic presence”, communicating in real time as if they were in the room. Even there, an electronic will follows its own statutory procedure, not a generic PDF signer. Page initials themselves are mostly a lawyer's safeguard rather than a statutory step; an estate lawyer in your state will tell you what's needed.

Wills in England and Wales

Section 9 of the Wills Act 1837 requires the will to be in writing and signed by the testator, or by someone else in their presence and at their direction, with the signature made or acknowledged in the presence of two or more witnesses present at the same time, who then each sign. Nothing in section 9 asks for initials on each page, though many solicitors have them added as a precaution.

Witnessing by video was allowed temporarily, for wills made between 31 January 2020 and 31 January 2024; that window has closed, and the government's guidance for it said plainly that electronic signatures were still not allowed. The Law Commission's 2019 report on electronic execution left wills out of its conclusions. And be careful who witnesses: under section 15, a gift in the will to a witness, or to a witness's spouse or civil partner, is void.

Wills in South Africa

South Africa is the exception where page-by-page signing is written into the law. Every page of a will other than the one on which it ends must be signed by the testator, and the Wills Act counts initials as signing. Wills are also excluded from the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, so this is done on paper. Our South Africa guide covers the details.

Affidavits and sworn statements

An affidavit is a statement confirmed under oath or affirmation in front of an official: a notary public in most US states, a commissioner of oaths in South Africa. South Africa's regulations spell out the sequence: the commissioner asks whether you know and understand the contents, you sign in the commissioner's presence, and the commissioner certifies below your signature. Initialing every page of a multi-page affidavit is common practice, and it belongs at that same appointment.

In US federal matters there's an alternative to a notarised affidavit: under 28 U.S.C. § 1746, a written declaration signed and dated “under penalty of perjury” can take its place, with some exceptions such as depositions and oaths of office. State rules differ, so check which form the court or agency accepts.

What a digital initial is good for here

Plenty of the paperwork around a will or an affidavit can be handled electronically: the engagement letter from your lawyer, a fee agreement, a questionnaire, comments on a draft you've been sent to review. Initial and sign those however is convenient. Keep the will itself, and anything you swear, for the formal signing.

Sources

• 15 U.S.C. § 7003: ESIGN exceptions (wills, codicils, testamentary trusts)
• Uniform Law Commission: Electronic Wills Act
• Washington State Bar News: the Uniform Electronic Wills Act in Washington (2022)
• D.C. Law 24-296: Uniform Electronic Wills Amendment Act of 2022
• Wills Act 1837, s 9: signing and attestation of wills
• Wills Act 1837, s 15: gifts to attesting witnesses void
• GOV.UK: making wills using video-conferencing (2020 to 2024)
• Law Commission, Electronic execution of documents (2019)
• South Africa, Wills Act 7 of 1953, s 2
• South Africa, ECT Act Schedule 2
• South Africa, regulations on administering an oath or affirmation
• 28 U.S.C. § 1746: unsworn declarations under penalty of perjury