The In-Person Problem

A client recently approached us for a Solicitor’s Certificate as part of their loan application. One of the loan documents that needed to be executed was a deed which generally needs to be signed and witnessed in person, and on paper. So we booked them into our office for a face-to-face meeting as we normally would for this kind of task. Just one problem, on the day of the appointment they informed us that they could not attend as they were on holiday in Armenia!

A deed is a form of binding commitment and promise. It is a serious indication that the party will commit to do what is stated in the document. Deeds are solemn transactions and based on the past experiences of our team of lawyers, deed execution needed to be conducted in person.

Our clients expressed the urgency of this transaction – The team at Attune Legal set their mind to making this client’s experience a little easier, we conducted our research to ascertain whether there was any practical way around this obstacle. Fortunately there was a solution.

In response to COVID-19 many Governments altered the rules for executing deeds and contracts. Documents could now be executed electronically and face-to-face witnessing could take place by video link. In most jurisdictions these changes were temporary. However, in Victoria these changes have been made permanent. This has fundamentally changed how legal transactions can be documented in that state.

Laws are changing

The Justice Legislation Amendment (System Enhancements and Other Matters) 2021 was introduced following the pandemic, altering several pieces of legislation. The amendments cover how legal documents must be signed and witnessed in Victoria. In particular, amending the Electronic Transactions (Victoria) Act 2000 to insert section 12 and section 12A. The key parts of the legislation now read as follows:

Section 12 – Witnessing by audio visual link

The requirement for the presence of a witness, signatory or other person may be met by the witness, signatory or other person being present by audio visual link.

Section 12A – Deeds

• A deed –
• may be created in electronic form; and
• may be signed, sealed and delivered by electronic communication.

Further to the above, the Electronic Transactions (Victoria) Act 2000 has now been amended to consider deeds as transactions.

What about our overseas client?

Thanks to these recent changes in the law, the deed was signed using HelloSign,  an electronic signing service and witnessed over audio visual link. We also recorded the video witnessing and signing of the deed to place on the clients file for future reference.

Gratefully, this resulted in a very happy client and a successful transaction.

The new normal means that business is generally conducted remotely. It is a rare person indeed that pays attention to whether a document is a deed or an agreement, and considers whether they need to print off the documents, then trudge in to an office to get them signed and witnessed.

If you are looking to have your documents witnessed and signed, you are at the right place! The lawyers at Attune Legal can assist.

Contact  us at hum@attune.legal if you need a hand signing or witnessing some documents.