Where Should I Keep My Will and Estate Planning Documents?
Almost all of my clients ask me this question once they have their estate planning documents completed and in their hands. Safe deposit box? Home safe? Give to my personal representative or successor trustee? Make copies for my whole family? My answer to this question is two-fold and comes with exceptions. 1) Keep your estate planning documents (i.e. wills, trusts, health care directives, durable powers of attorney, etc.) in a safe place at your home; and 2) Make sure your personal representative or successor trustee and/or spouse know exactly where these documents are kept. I personally like to give my estate planning clients a fireproof binder to keep all their completed legal documents in. This provides an extra peace of mind that everything will be kept safe in one place and is also organized and easily accessible over the years. The exceptions to my answer come into play when my client is aging or worried about loosing their documents and would prefer their adult children or their trusted personal representative to safeguard their documents.
The old school of thought was to place important documents in a safe deposit box at your bank. Today, however, it’s rare that my clients even have a safe deposit box. Even if they do, I don’t advise them to put their estate planning documents in one. If for some reason your personal representative (person who will wrap up your estate after you die) does not know about your safe deposit box or does not have immediate access to it, this can create problems after your death. Alternatively, during your life, if you just need to take a look at one of your documents or use one of the documents for something, it’s much more conducive to have it at your home as opposed to a safe deposit box somewhere else. As far as a home safe goes, if you have one and you want to put your legal documents in it, that’s fine. Just make sure your personal representative/successor trustee has the information needed to open the safe when needed.
As far as giving your original copies of these documents directly to your personal representative or successor trustee instead of keeping for yourself, I would caution against that in most cases. In the case where your named personal representative or successor trustee does not live with you, it’s usually best to keep the original documents in a safe place at your home and let them know where that is. This simply makes it easier for you to view your documents, make any wanted changes, avoid unwanted changes, and have access to them as needed. If however, you are aging or worried about loosing your documents and you’d prefer your adult child or other named personal representative or successor trustee to safeguard these documents, it may be in your best interest to give them the original copies once they are fully executed (signed, witnessed, notarized in most cases).
If you’re wondering which estate planning documents you should make copies of and which should be kept in their original form, read my latest blog, “Should I Make Copies of My Will and Other Estate Planning Documents?”
Feel free to contact Palm Legal, PLLC for further questions regarding your estate planning documents.
www.palmlegalflorida.com