In relation to virtual witnessing of estate planning documents, it is important to note that execution must be in strict compliance with the relevant state legislation to ensure validity.
Due to the detailed and nuanced rules of virtual witnessing, there is a greater risk that any documents signed under the rules will be deemed invalid.
We therefore recommend where documents are virtually witnessed, the customers re-execute them in the physical presence of witnesses following the procedure outlined in View’s signing instructions as soon as possible (that is as soon as the lockdown preventing an in person signing ends) to minimise the risk of issues arising in the future. The signing of the documents in the physical presence of witnesses automatically revokes the documents signed via the virtual witnessing regime.