Justin, My mom is currently in the hospital. I’m ashamed to say we never got around to having her sign power-of-attorney documents. I’m thankful she doesn’t have COVID. But COVID restrictions are making it difficult for us to take care of her power of attorney. Any suggestions? – Bill
Bill, I hate to hear your mother is in the hospital, and I know exactly what you’re talking about. COVID precautions have made the logistics of executing legal documents, especially at healthcare facilities, very complicated!
First, I’d need to know whether your mother has the mental capacity to sign new legal documents. Even if she’s in poor health and in the hospital, she may sign any legal documents she can understand.
As for the logistics of the situation, the good news is we can now notarize legal documents even when our notaries aren’t physically present at the signing. However, our notaries do have to witness the signing in real time by remote means, like Facetime or Zoom. We still have to get the documents in front of your mother and connect remotely, but at least we don’t have to get your mother physically in front of a notary.
I know you wish you would have taken care of this before your mother entered the hospital. But there is still hope that we can handle it while she’s there, as long as she has the mental capacity to understand and sign, and we can get the documents in front of her. Give us a call to set up a free strategy session, then check out our website, Elrodfirm.com, for more on the next steps you should think about when your mother gets back home.
