Goya Dmytryshchak
An Altona North lawyer is offering to do “wills on wheels“ for people while they stay home during the coronavirus shutdown.
Russell Cocks, principal at Local Lawyers, said it was an attempt to help people concerned about getting their affairs in order.
While his office is open, like many others it is discouraging people from coming in during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Mr Cocks said he would visit the client and set up a small signing table outside their home, all while maintaining social distance.
“There might be some people who might be worried about their position with their wills,“ he said.
“Whether they don’t have one or whether they would like to change something that they’ve had in the past or whether there’s a fairly urgent need for power of attorney so somebody can start handling their affairs.
“It’s initiated as a response to people who might be suffering concern about the state of their affairs.
“Now, we are going to lose some people in this exercise, particularly the elderly – they’re at risk.“
Mr Cocks said appropriate protective measures would be taken when visiting clients.
“For instance, we will be taking our own, sanitised, signing table and we will set this up in places like the front porch or even the driveway to minimise the risk of exposure,“ he said.
“I’ll make sure I take new pens to every person so there’s no issue about people having handled pens.
“I’ll have a quick talk to them from a 1.5 metre distance.
“They’ll sign the documents, we’ll leave them their copies, and we’ll depart after sanitising the table again.“
Standard prices of $350 for individuals and $600 for couples will be charged.
