Computer generated signatures
In his comment, Chad Michael Ross, a senior staff member of the University of Memphis Law Review, discusses the case of Taylor v. Holt, 134 S.W.3d 830 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2003) in which The Tennessee Court of Appeals Allows a Computer Generated Signature to Validate a Testamentary Will, 35 U. Mem. L. Rev. 603-618 (2005). Here is an excerpt from the comment:
With the continuing changes in technology, the typical way of signing a legal document using an ink pen is no longer the only feasible option. Regardless, signing by pen may be one of the safest ways to avoid fraud. The use of a pen to make one’s signature can easily be compared and analyzed to determine its authenticity; admittedly, however, it is impossible to analyze an “X” mark for its genuineness–and that type of a signature dates back hundreds of years.
With its holding in Taylor, the Tennessee Court of Appeals becomes the first in the nation to rule on the validity of a testator’s computer-generated signature. Courts have often been reluctant to acknowledge technological advances and to develop novel interpretations of traditional probate laws. The Taylor opinion, however, artfully combines precedent concerning testamentary signatures with the reality of modern technology. In so doing, the court has issued a well-founded opinion that proves that the statute of wills can accommodate the advances of technology without sacrificing the goals that underlie the statute. At least in this area of probate law, Tennessee now leads the way, and other states are likely to follow.
