Compared to trust law, the law governing wills and other donative transfers has been relatively stable in recent decades.
Much of the Restatement (Third) of Property: Wills and Other Donative Transfers continues to reflect modern doctrine accurately. That durability is significant. It raises a legitimate question about whether reopening the wills Restatement is necessary at all, especially when weighed against the costs and complexity of a broad Restatement project.
Gallanis identifies only a limited area where meaningful change has occurred since the Restatement was completed: the growing acceptance of electronic wills and other digital estate-planning documents. These developments postdate much of the Restatement and represent one of the few instances in which updated treatment may be warranted on the wills side.
That limited scope of change plays an important role in the broader debate. It both constrains and informs the case for a unified Restatement. On the one hand, it undercuts arguments for a wholesale reworking of wills doctrine. On the other hand, it supports the view that much of the existing wills Restatement could be incorporated into a broader project with relatively modest revision.
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