Remote Online Notarization – Part Two
It’s Christmas come early in Virginia this year. As of July 1, 2024, attorneys in Virginia can officially (and permanently!) use electronic signatures to sign pleadings in Virginia’s state courts. It only took twenty-plus...more
Effective June 6, 2024, Washington state no longer requires that commercial leases with a term of more than one year be notarized to be effective. On March 13, 2024, Gov. Jay Inslee signed Substitute Senate Bill (SSB) 5840...more
Effective June 6, 2024, commercial leases in Washington for a fixed term of more than one year no longer need to be notarized. Substitute Senate Bill 5840 states that “Leases do not require acknowledgment, witness, or...more
Could someone transfer your property ownership away from you without your knowledge? One scam takes advantage of the fact that California County Recorders do not vet the contents of deeds to ensure validity: an individual...more
KEY FACTS OF REAL ESTATE ACQUISITIONS UNDER ITALIAN LAW - I. INTRODUCTION - This brief guide has the goal to provide legal explanation on the main aspects of the real estate transactions in Italy. II. REAL...more
In 2020, North Carolina passed a temporary law authorizing Emergency Video Notarization (“EVN”) to alleviate the requirement that notaries be in the physical presence of signers during the COVID-19 pandemic. This law was set...more
The renewable energy industry is growing rapidly but it faces several challenges, including ever-increasing competition amongst developers for rights to the same land. This creates a race between developers to encumber...more
Prior to the enactment of the temporary Emergency Video Notarization law in 2020, all notaries were required to be in the physical presence of signers—even during electronic notarization. The physical presence requirement of...more
KEY FACTS OF REAL ESTATE ACQUISITIONS UNDER ITALIAN LAW - I. INTRODUCTION - This brief guide has the goal to provide legal explanation on the main aspects of the real estate transactions in Italy. II. REAL ESTATE...more
Remote electronic notarization is now permanent in the state of New York, and notaries who register with the Department of State beginning Feb. 1, 2023, and comply with the new rules, will be able to perform electronic...more
And unlike with music, the execution of a contract doesn't involve how the contract is performed. Rather, execution is the kindling that brings the contract to life. At its simplest level, contract execution is how the...more
On December 30, the Department of Treasury (“Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) released a notice of proposed rules relating to the use of an electronic medium for retirement plan participant elections and...more
In the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, I wrote a blog post on how to create a valid will in Wisconsin. At the time, we were all stuck at home by government order, and many clients signed their wills without a notary...more
Since the COVID-19 pandemic upended life as we knew it, the use of remote communication and collaborative technologies have become a permanent addition to everything; from schools to workplaces and everything in between....more
Many tasks that were relatively easy to accomplish became nearly impossible during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, and while much of everyday life has returned to “normal,” some modifications to accommodate social...more
Recently, the House of Representatives passed the SECURE Notarization Act of 2022 (H.R. 3962). The legislation that creates federal minimum standards to allow notaries in all states to perform remote online notarization...more
The IRS recently issued Notice 2022-27, providing a six-month extension of the temporary relief from the physical presence requirement for certain plan elections (including spousal consents) required to be witnessed by a plan...more
Last week, Governor Cooper signed House Bill 776 that permanently codifies remote online notarization and restores emergency video notarization. Remote Online Notarization (“RON”) will become effective on July 1, 2023, and...more
The Italian Supreme Court confirmed, yet again, the crucial importance of complying with certain Italian law formalities for the validity in Italy of a power of attorney granted and notarized abroad (the “PoA”). By decision...more
Occasionally clients will request, for one reason or another, that I mail them the originals of the estate planning documents I prepared for them so that they can have them executed outside of my office at a bank or some...more
On May 13, 2022, the IRS issued Notice 2022-27 (available here), which further extends, by six months, from July 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022, the IRS’s previously-granted temporary relief from the “physical presence...more
The May Section 7520 rate for use with estate planning techniques such as CRTs, CLTs, QPRTs and GRATs is 3.0%, a sharp increase from the April rate of 2.2%. The May applicable federal rate (“AFR”) for use with a sale to a...more
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed Senate Bill 7780 on Feb. 25, 2022. The new law makes significant updates to Senate Bill 1780C, the prior RON bill. ...more
On December 22, 2021, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law Senate Bill 1780C, which allows notaries to perform remote online notarization (RON). Effective as of June 20, 2022, this new law means that New York has...more