Keeping track of physical paperwork over the years can be a huge headache, especially if you move around a lot like I do. It feels outdated to deal with paperwork in this digital day and age, so why should we when we can harness the latest technology to keep our records straight?
This is exactly what the founders of adeus have done with their ground-breaking electronic will system. adeus customers can prove the provenance and verify the authenticity of a will, thanks to blockchain running in the background, with zero knowledge of blockchain required. In fact, if you visit the adeus website, you’d be hard-pressed to find one mention of blockchain.
After seeing Mark Hedley, adeus Co-Founder & COO at the House of Lords BSVA event on November 24 and hearing him speak at the London Blockchain Conference one month before that, I’ve been anticipating the launch of “True Wills,” which went live on February 18, 2026. I caught up with Hedley to provide some background on how True Wills transforms legacy planning, how the system works, and its compatibility with electronic will regulations once they are introduced in the United Kingdom.
Becky Liggero: Thank you so much for joining me, Mark, and congratulations on the True Wills launch! To kick things off, let’s start with some of the biggest challenges people face with paper. What are they?
Mark Hedley: Paper wills fail in surprisingly ordinary ways. They get misplaced, damaged, destroyed, or simply can’t be found when needed. Even when a will surfaces, questions arise: Which version is the latest? Have pages been substituted? Is this the document that was actually signed?
Paper offers no intrinsic proof of provenance. There’s no built-in way to verify when a will was created or whether it’s been altered. That uncertainty drives disputes and contested estates, placing emotional and financial strain on families at an already difficult time.
The person who wrote the will is no longer with us, so these questions are very hard to answer. In many cases, this results in “he said, she said” for the courts to resolve.
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Becky Liggero: How can electronic wills help alleviate some of these challenges?
Mark Hedley: Electronic wills shift the burden from trust in physical custody to trust in verifiable systems. Instead of relying on a paper document in a drawer, electronic wills can be securely stored, version-controlled, and independently verified.
The real benefit is confidence. Executors can confirm that a will hasn’t been altered and represents the testator’s most recent intentions. Distribution is also simpler: authorized parties can access the verified will immediately, without delays from missing paperwork or uncertainty over authenticity.
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Becky Liggero: Now, let’s get into the good stuff. How does adeus’ True Wills guarantee the authenticity of a will?
Mark Hedley: We’re digital-first by design. Our typical customers already manage their lives through mobile apps, online banking, and digital investing platforms, so our approach is familiar to them.
Every will uploaded to adeus True Wills™ is converted into a unique cryptographic fingerprint using SHA-256 hashing. That fingerprint is time-stamped and anchored on the BSV blockchain. The process happens automatically in the background; no legal jargon or technical steps.
The will itself is never stored on the blockchain. What’s recorded is immutable proof that this exact document existed in this exact form at a specific point in time. If even a single character changes, the fingerprint won’t match.
From the user’s perspective, it’s intentionally simple: a clean interface, clear language, and straightforward confirmation through an adeus True Will Certificate. All the complexity—cryptography, blockchain infrastructure, verification logic—is behind the scenes. The result is institutional-grade assurance that feels as intuitive as the digital services people already trust.
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Becky Liggero: I love it. Can you elaborate on how you’ve simplified the user experience to emphasize benefits rather than the technology being used?
Mark Hedley: Most people don’t want to ‘use blockchain’; they want reassurance that their wishes will be protected and honoured. Users shouldn’t have to think about the technology at all.
They create and upload a will, receive a clear certificate of verification, and know their will document is protected against tampering or loss. We translate technical outcomes into human benefits: proof, permanence, and peace of mind.
The blockchain works quietly in the background, providing trust without demanding attention.
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Becky Liggero: Perfect. I truly believe this is the key to mass adoption of blockchain; it just runs in the background. So, looking into the future, what is the legal status of electronic wills in the U.K., and how does adeus meet “reliable system” requirements?
Mark Hedley: In England and Wales, wills must still comply with the Wills Act 1837. That means wills today are executed in paper form with wet-ink signatures and witnesses. adeus True Wills are fully compatible with this framework; our customers currently print, sign, and witness their wills in the traditional way.
Our digital infrastructure is designed to compound in value as electronic wills are introduced. The Law Commission has set out what a future “reliable system” must provide: demonstrable integrity, protection against tampering, reliable timestamping, and a clear audit trail.
Our True Wills platform was built around those principles from day one. Each will is securely stored, cryptographically fingerprinted, and independently time-stamped, with controlled access logs and a permanent record of provenance.
Once electronic wills are formally recognized, customers won’t need to print and sign documents. They’ll complete the entire process through our platform. That digital signing ceremony, along with the will, will be securely stored, with key metadata captured and anchored on-chain. This creates a robust “book of evidence” far stronger than paper alone, while remaining simple for customers.
We’ve published detailed articles on our website exploring the technical foundations of a “reliable system,” building infrastructure for electronic wills ahead of legislation, rather than reacting to it later.
Becky Liggero: Brilliant, Mark, thank you so much for talking with me today, and congrats again on your launch of True Wills. We at CoinGeek love your work!
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About adeus
adeus is a U.K. legal-tech company building digital-first infrastructure in a consumer-friendly app for wills and legacy planning. It addresses a core problem with paper wills: proving authenticity, integrity, and provenance once the will writer is no longer alive.
adeus uses cryptographic hashing and utility blockchain verification to create immutable proof that a will existed in a specific form at a specific moment. The platform works within current U.K. law whilst being engineered to meet future requirements for ‘electronic wills.’
Complex technology is hidden behind a simple, app-like user experience, making trust verifiable without making it technical for users.
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Source: https://coingeek.com/the-future-of-wills-has-arrived-with-adeus-true-wills-launch/
