Can an iPhone Note Constitute a Legal Will in NSW?

In Peek v Wheatley [2025] NSWSC 554, the Supreme Court of NSW held that a note found in the Notes app of Colin Peek’s iPhone, titled “Last Will of Colin L Peek”, was not a valid will under section 8 of the Succession Act 2006 (NSW). Peek, a wealthy Sydney property developer, had named a friend and a solicitor as beneficiaries and executors in the note. His estranged brother Ronald challenged its validity, claiming the note lacked formalities and that Colin died intestate. The Court found the note reflected testamentary intentions but did not show a final, binding intention for it to operate as a will. Peek had not told anyone about the note, and key evidence, particularly from the solicitor-beneficiary, was undermined by conflicts of interest and unexplained deletions of messages. As a result, the Court declined to admit the note to probate, and Peek’s $13 million estate will pass to his brother under intestacy laws.