VIRTUAL WILL SIGNING NOW PERMITTED AND AVAILABLE 

Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, I have been contacted by many clients and other fellow Chattanoogans, with requests for Wills. Because of social distancing and shelter in place orders this has been impossible due to the fact that for a Will to be valid the signing must be done in the presence of two witnesses and a notary along with other strict signing formalities.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has signed an Executive Order that temporarily waives these requirements and allows for remote notarization and witnessing. I have reviewed the requirements of the emergency order and have in place a process in place that meets all the stipulations of the emergency order which is in place now through May 18, 2020.

Will and Estate Planning is my area of emphasis in my law practice. With more that 30 years of experience, I have systems in place to make this process as easy and streamlined as possible and this can be accomplished easily with no face to face meeting.

Any one working as a first responder or on the “front lines” in fighting this pandemic will be given first priority. If you have any questions or need more information, please contact me at jmosley@pbsjlaw.com or fill out the form on the contact page.

I am working remotely full time and have all the technology for virtual client conferences and virtual will signings. You have my commitment to be as responsive as possible during this crisis pandemic.

SUMMARY OF GOVERNOR'S EXECUTIVE ORDER

In Tennessee, and most other states, for a Will to be valid, strict signing formalities must generally be followed. The person signing the Will (referred to as the “Signatory”) must sign in the presence of two witnesses (preferably disinterested parties) who each observe the Signatory sign the Will in their sight and presence. The witnesses then sign the will in the sight and presence of each other and in the sight and presence of the Signatory. To prevent the witnesses from being required to appear in Court to testify that these requirements were met, they usually sign a short document before a notary indicating that they each observed the Signatory sign the Will in their sight and presence and that they each signed in the sight and presence of the Signatory and each other. If a witness or the Signatory should leave the room for a brief moment while the signing is occurring, the Will can be declared invalid.

In these unusual times, it will be difficult for people to have their Wills property signed if social distancing and other protocol are being observed. Fortunately, Governor Bill Lee signed an Executive Order on April 9, 2020 temporarily relaxing these signing requirements for Tennesseans. “Remote notarization and witnessing” are now permitted. The signing of a Will (as well as powers of attorney, living wills and deeds) can now be accomplished through real-time audio and visual communications whereby each party sees and hears the others simultaneously, such as by Skype, FaceTime, Zoom, WebEx and other similar communication technologies. The Signatory, along with the witnesses and notary, must all be physically located in Tennessee during the videoconference. The notary and the witnesses, during the videoconference, must each verify the identity of the Signatory, (by personal knowledge or by government-issued identification). The Signatory and witnesses must then each affirmatively identify the document

being signed by them. The Will, or other document, must also include a provision that it is being signed in accordance with the Governor’s Executive Order.

The signing must be memorialized in one of two ways. The first is by counterparts where each party signs a separate signature page with the pages then being combined into the one document. The second is for the witnesses and notary to subsequently sign the document after it has been signed by the Signatory. If this latter method is chosen, the witnessing and notarization must occur within ten days after the document is signed by the Signatory. The effective date is the date the Signatory signs.

This Executive Order will remain in effect until May 18, 2020 at which time it is set to expire, unless the Governor should decide to extend it.

If you are interested in having a will prepared, it can still be accomplished without a personal face to face meeting or meetings.

Experienced Wills, Trusts &

Estate Attorney, Chattanooga, TN

Jerre Mosley