Should I Make Copies of My Will and Other Estate Planning Documents?

In general, some estate planning documents are smart to make copies of and others are not. Let’s take a look at these documents separately:

1) Health Care Directive - You should feel free to make copies of your health care directive. This document generally includes a Designation of Health Care Surrogate and a Living Will with your medical and end of life wishes. I recommend that you make copies of this signed document for your health care surrogate, your primary care physician, and any other specialist doctor you see regularly. Copies of this document should be treated the same as the original.

2) Durable Power of Attorney - In Florida, both photocopies and electronically transmitted copies of a DPOA are accepted and have the same effect as the original. This document names your agent who has the authority to make financial transactions on your behalf, whether or not you become incapacitated. In Florida, you will still have to record this document in your county’s official records prior to your agent using the power of attorney to convey any real property.

3) Will - Your Will is the most important document to keep safe in its original form. This is because when it comes time to probate your estate, the probate court will want the original will, not a copy. If the original will cannot be located at the time, a court may accept a copy, but only after specific procedures to establish the accuracy of the copy and that you did not intentionally revoke the original copy during your lifetime are proved. Another reason copies can get tricky come into play when you distribute copies of an original will, then make changes to that will over your lifetime. If old copies are not destroyed and replaced with new copies, it can get confusing for others as to which copies are the latest version and which are invalid.

4. Trust and Certificate of Trust - In general, a copy of a Trust, such as a Revocable Living Trust, can be accepted same as the original in Florida. The Certificate of Trust is a shortened version of the original Trust, which can be brought to institutions such as a bank to show the basic information of the trust without sharing all the personal details. It is however, required in Florida to have the original trust signed and witnessed by two uninterested people. Notarizing a trust is always the smart thing to do. Since trusts do not need to be submitted to the probate court, like wills, the original copy is not as crucial as an original will. Same as the Will, however, if copies of trusts are floating around and the original trust is modified by the grantor, it can get confusing as to which copies are valid and which are invalid.

It’s always best practice to shred any old copies of these documents as soon as you have fully executed a new copy.

Feel free to contact Palm Legal, PLLC for further questions regarding your estate planning documents.

www.palmlegalflorida.com