New York now permits remote witnessing of certain documents and expands standby guardian designations.

Executive Order 202.14, dated April 7, 2020, amends several New York laws regulating the witnessing of documents to permit them to be witnessed remotely. On March 19, 2020 Executive Order 202.7 authorized the use of remote notary services.

Taken together, these Orders now make it possible to respect the physical distancing guidelines designed to reduce the spread of COVID-19 while undertaking responsible health and estate planning.

These Orders mean that:

• Wills can be witnessed through the use of audiovisual conferencing;
  • Attesting Witness Affidavits can be notarized through the use of audiovisual conferencing;
• Trusts can be witnessed through the use of audiovisual conferencing;
• Health Care Proxies can be witnessed through the use of audiovisual conferencing;
• Designation of Agent for Burial Decisions can be witnessed through the use of audiovisual conferencing;
• Powers of Attorney can be notarized through the use of audiovisual conferencing;
  • Statutory Gift Riders to Powers of Attorney can be witnessed through the use of audiovisual conferencing;
• Real Estate related documents can be witnessed and notarized through the use of audiovisual conferencing;

Additionally Order 202.14 allows people who work or volunteer in health care facilities or people who reasonably believe that they may be exposed to COVID-19 to designate a standby guardian to care for their children. The Order also allows primary caretakers, legal guardians and legal custodians who work or volunteer in health care facilities or who reasonably believe they may be exposed to COVID-19 to designate a standby guardian of the people for whom they are responsible.

How do you benefit from the executive orders? Through various audiovisual applications, you can use your smartphone or web camera-enabled computer with audio to have a virtual face-to-face document signing. Through the use of a fax machine, scanner or a scanning application on your smartphone you can send copies of the signed documents the day you sign them to your attorney.