Starting Jan. 1, a new state law will eliminate the need for notarized affidavits and allow any person to submit an affirmation for use in civil litigation. The legislation has an apparently unintended side effect, however: it will render the existing form of attorneys’ affirmations ineffective and require attorneys (among others) to use a new, and slightly longer, signature block for any affirmation to be filed in a civil action in state court.
Those who overlook the change and continue using old forms after Dec. 31, 2023, risk the embarrassment and inconvenience of having to redo their affirmations and perhaps harsher consequences.
