59325Electronic witnessing solution allowing remote execution of Wills, thereby increasing Wills accessibility during a pandemic and going forward.ClosedFeasibility StudiesInnovate UKCovid-19 has driven the largest increase in the demand for Wills the UK has ever seen ([Law-Society-Gazette-March-20][0]). All demographics are scared about their health, worried for their family's wellbeing and financial security, whilst thinking about the legal and financial ramifications if the worst was to happen. In addition, c.40% of UK over 55 year-olds do not have a Will (Unbiased-2017), largely due to the manual (non-digital) administrative hassle involved. When writing or updating a Will, everyone could benefit from proper legal advice and over 70% (Law-Society-Gazette-2020) of people use a regulated lawyer to help write and execute Wills. UK regulations mean that lawyers must verify a person's ID (to avoid fraudulent claims over assets) before giving advice and a Will must be signed and witnessed by two individuals. These processes typically happen face-to-face with a lawyer, but this is simply not possible during a pandemic, when social distancing and lockdown rules are in place. Worse still, vulnerable individuals who are most at risk and practising shielding are likely to be the most in need of a Will. The UK government has rightly classified Wills lawyers as 'essential workers', however they cannot carry out this essential work. Some Thirdfort client law firms get by via requiring witnessing over garden fences, but with no electronic solution, lawyers are resorting to all kinds of dangerous and cumbersome workarounds. Another Thirdfort client drives to clients with a gazebo to use as a makeshift office to conduct ID-checks and signing/witnessing. If the client lives alone, the lawyer must travel to the client's property with another member of their own household to act as the second witness. If the lawyer lives alone, finding a second Witness becomes even harder. These workarounds are slow, costly and potentially lethal, as it exposes vulnerable clients and essential-workers to Covid-19\. Thirdfort is building a remote ID-checking and E-signing/witnessing mobile-app to allow any individual with a smartphone to write and sign their Will, whilst getting the necessary legal advice. The solution is built on the back of our existing mobile-app which tackles equivalent problems in the property legal market. We will sell the product to Wills-lawyers who will be able to use it in combination with offering legal advice over telephone/video-conference to offer a fully remote Wills service. This new remote offering can then endure post-pandemic, upgrading the archaic, inefficient and potentially insecure way Wills are currently executed. [0]: https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/coronavirus-demand-for-wills-jumps-by-76/5103703.article