HB 6294 Summary

• Allows documents including wills, durable powers of attorney, patient advocate designations, and funeral representative designations to be signed and witnessed using 2-way real-time audiovisual technology if specific requirements are met, effective April 30, 2020 through January 1, 2021.

• Requires that audiovisual witnessing include: direct contemporaneous interaction by sight and sound, recorded interaction preserved for 3 years, signer affirming location or connection to Michigan, clear display of all document pages, close-up viewing of signature, and transmission of signed copy to witnesses within 72 hours with witness counter-signature within 72 hours of receipt.

• Protects persons who relied in good faith on documents executed between April 30, 2020 and January 1, 2021 without full compliance with the new requirements; creates presumption of compliance that can only be overcome by clear and convincing evidence of intentional non-compliance.

• Permits guardians, guardians ad litem, and visitors to satisfy visitation requirements using 2-way real-time audiovisual technology instead of physical presence beginning April 30, 2020 through December 31, 2020.

• Takes immediate effect upon passage; applies only to documents executed between April 30, 2020 and January 1, 2021.