Tennessee law requires estate planning documents such as wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and deeds to be executed with certain formalities, such as having witnesses and a notary in the same room at the time the document is signed. With the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the state and in-person gatherings of unrelated persons strongly discouraged or prohibited to contain and prevent the spread of the virus, the execution of estate planning documents has all but stopped (See the local news article I’m quoted in discussing these issues here).

Temporary Change in the Law.

Governor Lee issued Executive Order 26 on April 9, 2020, temporarily suspending the statutes requiring witnesses and notaries to be in the presence of each other for the execution of Wills, Trusts, Powers of Attorney, deeds and other legal and estate planning documents. This executive order only applies to residents of Tennessee.

This is a game-changer for many families wanting to sign their documents but unable to do so without risking exposure to or spreading the COVID-19 virus. 

The executive order spells out how documents can be properly executed under the authority of the executive order. Certain technology needs to be used and technical procedures followed, and additional language needs to be included to allow courts to understand why documents from this time do not follow traditional execution procedures. It will require additional work to set up, but for families concerned about having their documents in place, this is great news.

We at Trailhead Estate Planning are making preparations to be able to use these new remote execution procedures and will be reaching out to those clients who are ready to sign.