WitnessChain

The Problem#

• Will execution requirements are strict: the testator must sign in the presence of witnesses, the witnesses must sign in each other’s presence, and the whole thing must be properly attested
• Attestation challenges are the leading cause of will invalidity in US probate courts — “I don’t remember signing that,” “I wasn’t in the room,” “the testator seemed confused”
• Remote Online Notarisation (RON) is now legal in 47 US states, but the recording and attestation data is stored in proprietary platforms with no interoperable format
• When a RON-attested will is challenged, the notary platform must produce the recording — but platform closures, acquisitions, and format changes put these records at risk

How They’d Use INHERIT#

• Will execution is modelled in attestation.json with method: "video" or "remote" and attestationType: "written_signed"
• RON-specific fields: ronSessionId, ronPlatform, ronRecordingContentUrl, and ronRecordingRetentionYears
• testatorSignedInPresenceOfWitnesses and witnessesSignedInPresenceOfTestator are explicit booleans — the legal requirements are captured as structured data, not assumed
• identityVerificationMethod records how the testator was verified: "government_id", "credential_analysis", "knowledge_based_authentication", or "biometric"
• tamperEvidenceMethod and tamperEvidenceValue provide cryptographic proof that the recording hasn’t been altered
• videoDeclaration captures the testator’s spoken declaration of testamentary intent with declarationType, contentUrl, recordingDuration, and transcript
• witnessConflictCheck and witnessConflictCheckScope record that the witnesses were checked for conflicts of interest under the applicable state’s rules
• The us-estate extension handles state-level variation — self-proving affidavit requirements differ across states

The Integration#

• Export-focused: WitnessChain generates INHERIT attestation records during the will execution ceremony
• The attestation record is attached to the will’s INHERIT document as a structured proof of valid execution
• When the will enters probate, the court receives a machine-readable attestation record with tamper evidence, video reference, and identity verification — not just a paper affidavit

The Business Case#

• 99.7% attestation validity rate for digitally recorded executions, vs approximately 94% for traditional paper attestation
• Attestation challenges dismissed 3x faster when structured evidence is available — average 45 days vs 135 days
• WitnessChain charges $150 per attestation — approximately 50,000 attestations per year across partner law firms
• RON recording retention is guaranteed by the structured ronRecordingRetentionYears field — the attestation survives platform changes

Before / After#

Without INHERIT:

1. A testator executes a will via RON with two witnesses; the notary platform records the session
2. Three years later, the testator dies; the will enters probate
3. A disinherited heir challenges the will — “the witnesses weren’t really present” and “the testator seemed confused”
4. The attorney contacts the RON platform; the platform was acquired and the recording is in a proprietary format that requires a specialist to extract
5. The attestation challenge takes 8 months and costs $45,000 in legal fees

With INHERIT:

1. WitnessChain records the execution ceremony and generates a structured attestation.json with video reference, tamper evidence, identity verification, and witness conflict checks
2. Three years later, the will enters probate with the attestation record attached
3. The disinherited heir’s attorney reviews the structured evidence: video recording with transcript, identity verification via government ID, tamper-evidence hash
4. The challenge is dismissed in 6 weeks; the video speaks for itself