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Hook Law Center: Kat, what can you tell us about Katharine, a great white shark who inhabited waters around Cape Cod? In the meantime, we remain open and available to assist our clients, and are using CDC recommended guidance and creative methods to oversee execution of documents. The elder law bar has sought assistance from the Governor and General Assembly however, our requests for exceptions or emergency orders or legislation during this time have gone unanswered. Such cases may be the result of challenges to the documents themselves as a result of a lack of capacity or undue influence, or due to improper execution. While we understand the desire to put documents in place, as a result of this pandemic, we anticipate an increase in litigation associated with do-it-yourself estate planning documents. Virginia does not have an electronic will and as a result, electronic execution would be insufficient to establish a will in Virginia. To date, no state has adopted such a law, although four states do have electronic will statues. In 2019, the Uniform Law Commission drafted the Uniform Electronic Wills Act which would permit testators to execute a wholly electronic will.
#Does a will have to be notarized in virginia software
On the other hand, electronic notarization may be performed virtually, but requires a computer and appropriate software to electronically sign the document. Traditional notarization utilizes a pen and a rubber stamp to execute the document, and by law, requires personal appearance before the notary. While a Virginia Notary may engage in electronic or traditional notarization services, the real difference involves the tool used to perform the notarial act. To further complicate the issue, there appears to be a gap in our law for “remote notarization” which would allow people to appear virtually, but affix a wet signature by pen. Case law has defined that parties to the will must be within the “line of sight” but does not yet expressly include virtual presence. To properly establish a will, Virginia law requires that a testator must be of sound mind and, if the will is not wholly in the testator’s handwriting, that the will be 1) signed by the testator, or someone other person directed by the testator, in a manner intended as a signature and 2) such signature was made in the presence of at least two competent witnesses who are present at the same time and who subscribe the will in the presence of the testator. The problem is that few people outside of the legal community are aware that electronic notarization is insufficient to establish a will in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Some of these documents involve do-it-yourself plans and, rumor has it, electronic notarization services. Electronic Notarization Insufficient for Execution of WillsĪs a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been an increased demand for estate planning documents.