How Can Pennsylvania Lawyers Execute Wills and Powers of Attorney During the COVID-19 Pandemic?

During the COVID-19 pandemic, it is now difficult to nearly impossible to follow the usual process of wills being signed, witnessed and notarized. But, thanks to modern technologies that allow us to communicate with clients, draft documents and access our office’s servers remotely, as well as pending legislation, estates practitioners in Pennsylvania may be able to execute the signing of wills and other documents remotely. 

Stephen Asbel, Partner in Reger Rizzo & Darnall’s Estates & Trusts Group, authored an article for the Legal Intelligencer discussing HB1564, which would allow a remotely located individual to comply with the requirement for personal appearance before the notary public by appearing via two-way audio-visual technology. Mr. Asbel goes further to address the three conditions that must be met in order for the notary public to be authorized to perform the notarial act remotely, provides an overview of the additional language needed in order to indicate that the notarial act was performed by means of communication technology, and covers the requirements that the Department of State is requiring of all notaries who will be using audio-visual communication technology in place of physical appearance. 

You can read the full article, Executing Wills and Powers of Attorney During a Pandemic, on the Legal Intelligencer’s website. If you have questions, or would like additional information, please contact Mr. Asbel at 215.495.6523, or via email at sasbel@regerlaw.com.