NORTHAMPTON — It’s likely not a situation that city attorney E. Spencer Ghazey-Bates thought he’d ever be in — peering through the windshield of his client’s car in a parking lot to notarize and sign important estate planning documents.
He’s trying to follow COVID-19 social distancing guidelines as much as possible, but these “fast-food signings,” as Ghazey-Bates jokingly described them, must be still done in person as required by Massachusetts notarization laws. And though there’s movement on Beacon Hill to temporarily change such laws, these signings are illustrative of a larger phenomenon that some local estate lawyers have recently noticed: increased interest from people looking to draft their wills for the first time, as well as from families seeking to update or finalize documents they started before the global pandemic struck.
“Estate planning often gets kicked to the back burner just because it’s not in client’s minds because it’s not something that anybody terribly feels a pressing need to do until there’s pressure,” said Ghazey-Bates of the Northampton law practice Gerard, Ghazey & Bates P.C. “And this is definitely pressure.”
Put simply, wills direct where a person’s assets go after they die, Ghazey-Bates said. But there are some other documents that are just as important, such as power of attorney documents and health care proxy forms — which Ghazey-Bates said can take effect while a person is still alive.
“Without those two documents, if you’re on a ventilator, God-forbid with COVID-19, short of those documents, no one can make medical or legal or financial decisions on your behalf,” he said.
Ghazey-Bates said most of the people who are reaching out to him are older and are in high-risk groups for COVID-19, or younger clients who have compromised health. He’s reached out to various local first responders — whether that’s police, fire or even Cooley Dickinson Hospital — offering free estate planning services, but hasn’t heard much interest yet.
Amanda Carpe is an attorney at Gove Law Office LLC, which has offices in Northampton, Ludlow and Spencer, and said that she, too, has seen more people reach out about estate planning. During normal times, Carpe said, she would meet with clients in person for an hour or so to learn about them and establish goals before drafting legal documents. Now, all of that is done through teleconference or videoconference, she said.
Clients are still coming in to the office to sign documents, Carpe said, though everyone is staying six feet apart while two independent witnesses watch. Carpe said that wills and other documents being notarized must also be witnessed by two other people. Trusts, however, do not need witnesses, Ghazey-Bates said.
Amherst attorney David Levenstein of David Levenstein Law P.C., has also noticed increased interest from people looking to either draft wills for the first time or update existing documents. Just like Ghazey-Bates and Carpe, Levenstein is finding alternative ways to notarize documents for his clients during the pandemic while also trying to maintain a good social distance.
He’s planning on setting up a table outside on his porch at his home office, minimizing contact by wearing masks, and providing sanitizer and tissues so clients can come and sign documents in person as required by law. Levenstein’s clients no longer come inside his office, and as he put it, trying to social distance while also following the notarization laws makes things “awkward.”
Carpe said her office is running into trouble now with some people in nursing homes who are looking to execute estate planning documents. Attorneys cannot physically enter nursing homes due to COVID-19 concerns.
“So many times we’re dealing with end-of-life issues where someone needs to execute a will now, someone needs a power of attorney now, and we’re not able to access those people,” Carpe said.
A bill pending on Beacon Hill would help rectify these situations by allowing for remote notarizations and witnessing during the pandemic through videoconferencing — eliminating the legal necessity of physical signings. This would allow attorneys and clients to properly social distance while also providing essential services.
State Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, D-Northampton, is a co-sponsor of the legislation and said this bill comes up every morning in her legislative calls. She said there’s no social distancing in so-called “fast-food signings,” but that the state needs “to step up and help” attorneys who legally have no other choice.
“This does really need to move quickly,” Sabadosa said about the pending legislation. “It’s not something that can wait.”
Ghazey-Bates said there are some significant concerns about remote notarizations, as he said it’s more difficult to prove that an attorney and a client are in a confidential setting over videoconference without the presence of beneficiaries.
“Like anything right now, it’s, ‘Do the risks outweigh the need?’” Ghazey-Bates said. “And on that, I would say there are clients who need to get documents signed.”
Athough privacy is a concern, Carpe said, once she gets to the point of executing a will, she would have already met with her client, assessed their needs and been able to tell if someone was trying to influence them. She also said she is concerned about the accessibility of videoconferencing as it may be cost-prohibitive or unfamiliar to the elderly.
State Rep. Mindy Domb, D-Amherst, is another co-sponsor of the bill and said the legislation allows both attorneys and clients to protect themselves from COVID-19 while also addressing their legal matters.
“To me, it doesn’t seem like a big step,” Domb said. “It seems to me like this should be part of the public health guidance, that we allow this to happen.”
Michael Connors can be reached at mconnors@gazettenet.com.