Comparative Study on Validity of Electronic Will in American and Iranian law

The combination of life with electronic technologies and its undeniable benefits has led to the development of electronic transactions and regulation in this field. This penetration of technology is not only limited to commercial transactions, but it has also occupied minds in the field of wills. According to the equipment used for its conclusion of wills, the electronic will is divided into electronic written and unwritten (audio and video). Now, it is reasonable to raise the question of whether the will, as a legal act based on formalism, can be concluded electronically or not. Are all types of electronic wills valid or should a distinction be made between written and unwritten electronic wills? There are different opinions in this regard: Some have denied the validity of the electronic will and others have accepted the conclusion of this type of will due to its benefits. This issue has remained silent in Iranian law, but in American law, detailed research has been done in this regard. In this country, written electronic will have been accepted in various states, but unwritten electronic wills are still not recognized as a means of concluding a will. However, it is appropriate to use an analytical-descriptive method, with a comparative approach by looking at American laws and jurisprudence, and also, bypassing the necessary laws to fill the gap in the legal system. This article considers that the move towards the acceptance of electronic will is inevitable in Iranian law. For this reason, by adhering to the provisions of the Electronic Commerce Act, it has recognized the validity of all types of electronic wills