Introduction
WiiT (Witnessing In Technology) is an innovative platform designed for the seamless and legally compliant electronic signing and witnessing of wills, powers of attorney, affidavits, deeds, contracts, leases, and other agreements. Built to adhere to Victoria’s remote execution procedure (REP) under the Wills Act 1997 (Vic), and compliant with the Electronic Transactions (Victoria) Act 2000, WiiT combines state-of-the-art video conferencing, simultaneous document review, and secure electronic signing to replicate the in-office experience, ensuring compliance with all legal and audit requirements in the execution of important legal documents.
WiiT ensures that electronic signatures meet the requirements of relevant legislation, including the Wills Act and the Electronic Transactions Act. Participants can draw or type their signature in a secure dialogue box and place it appropriately on the document, while all other participants can see the signature being made in real time. Once a signature is finalised, it becomes locked, ensuring the document's integrity.
Live Video Conferencing: WiiT enables real-time video conferencing, ensuring participants can see and hear each other clearly, which is essential for adhering to REP's witnessing requirements for documents like wills and powers of attorney.
Document Review and Cursor Tracking: All participants view the same document simultaneously, with each individual's cursor movements visible on screen. This transparency ensures confidence in the signing process and meets the requirement for witnesses and signers to observe each other's actions.
Identity Verification: Before document signing, WiiT requires participants to provide their name, which is linked to their video feed and cursor. Facilitators are recommended to ask participants to verbally and visually confirm their identity at the start of the session.
Recording Consent: Participants must consent to the recording of the signing session as a condition of participation. This recording serves as vital evidence of compliance with REP, the Electronic Transactions Act, and other applicable legal requirements.
Automatic Recording: WiiT captures an audio-visual recording of the signing session, including cursor movements, participant actions, and signature placements, creating a comprehensive audit trail.
Metadata Capture: WiiT records essential metadata like IP addresses and timestamps to ensure the signing process's integrity and traceability.
Compliance with REP and Electronic Transactions Act: WiiT facilitates compliance with all REP requirements, including ensuring all participants see each other’s signatures and tracking each participant's cursor for transparency. The designated special witness signs last, confirming compliance with all formalities. WiiT also complies with the Electronic Transactions (Victoria) Act 2000, ensuring electronic signatures and witnessing via audiovisual link are valid for a variety of documents, such as deeds, contracts, and powers of attorney.
Special Witness Role: The meeting owner, acting as a special witness, maintains control over the meeting to ensure procedural requirements are met, including verifying signatures and adding necessary statements to documents.
Secure Document Handling: WiiT allows the host to control document visibility and ensure that no unauthorized changes are made. Each signature action triggers an automatic save, maintaining document integrity.
Accessible from Anywhere: Participants can join signing sessions from any device without needing additional software, making the process convenient and efficient.
WiiT’s framework is based on legal research with a view of being compliant with current judicial interpretations and statutory requirements, including the REP of the Wills Act, the Electronic Transactions Act, and recent cases like Re Curtis [2022] VSC 621. While WiiT has been developed to align with legal standards, its full compliance will ultimately need to be tested by the courts.
When preparing wills, powers of attorney, affidavits, deeds, and other documents for execution through WiiT, it is recommended to include specific wording to ensure compliance with the applicable legislation, such as:
Wills Act 1997: Including a statement indicating that the will was signed and witnessed electronically in accordance with the REP.
Electronic Transactions (Victoria) Act 2000: Including statements confirming that all requirements of the Act were met for the signing and witnessing of documents like deeds and medical treatment decision appointments.
Powers of Attorney Act 2014: Certifying the use of remote witnessing and confirming compliance with legal requirements.
Oaths and Affirmations Act 2018: Adding declarations that affidavits and statutory declarations were made via audiovisual link.
WiiT offers a robust solution for electronic signing and witnessing of wills, powers of attorney, affidavits, deeds, contracts, leases, and other agreements. By incorporating real-time video, compliant electronic signatures, thorough identity verification, and comprehensive audit trails, WiiT is designed to ensure that the document signing process is legally compliant, secure, and efficient, meeting all requirements of the Wills Act, Electronic Transactions Act, and other relevant legislation in Victoria, Australia.