To state the obvious, the coronavirus pandemic has changed many aspects of our lives. Part of that change is a heightened awareness of the fragility of life and the need to plan for the inevitability of death. The circumstances that have led so many to face the need to write or revise existing wills, trusts, and other documents related to the end of life have greatly complicated the creation of those documents.
For example, a will execution ceremony under New York law requires the testator and the witnesses to be in each other’s physical presence, and notarization of the signatures on a trust document requires the notary to see the creator and the trustee sign. Or at least that was the case before the rise of electronic wills with remote witnessing and remote notarization. Although only a handful of jurisdictions have enacted statutory rules for either or both, the pandemic has led many others to authorize both remote notarization and remote execution of documents requiring witnesses.
