During the Covid Emergency, estate plans and real estate documents were able to be notarized remotely. This enabled home sales to go through and for estate plans to be executed. This option was especially critical for folks who were hospitalized and needed to get their plans in place before they passed or needed to be able to appoint a health care proxy to ensure their care decisions could be made if they were unable to do so in the future. We used a web conferencing software here for remote notarizations. We also met with clients in person outside unless it was rainy.

Now that the Covid emergency has been declared as over, this option is no longer available in Massachusetts until January 2024 for everything except Wills, Will Codicils, or records related to the electoral process. New legislation was passed which allows for remote notarization starting in January, 2024. Between now and then, it is not an option but in the meantime, new regulations will be put in place. These regulations are expected to include a number of approved apps for remote signings. Wills and Will Codicils will not be able to be remotely notarized and will need to be signed in person as in beforetimes (or whichever term you use for pre-Covid days).