Congratulations on checking off a vital task on your to-do list! Estate planning puts legal tools in place that will protect both you and your family. The sense of relief and peace of mind that can come with putting a strong estate plan in place can be great. You may have designed a will that distributes your property as you wish after you pass away. You may have selected trusted individuals to serve in roles of serious responsibility, such as an agent under a power of attorney, a personal representative of your estate, and a surrogate tasked with advocating for your health care choices should you become incapacitated and unable to communicate such wishes for yourself. You get back home from the attorney’s office with your original estate planning documents and then you realize a question that may not have been a concern before, where do I store these important documents?
Estate Plan in Place? Where You Should Consider Storing Your Original Documents
You took the important step to put an estate plan in place, be sure you choose a storage space that both honors the importance of this documents while recognizing that they need to be accessible should the need arise. This may be a more difficult decision than anticipated at first. It may not be the same place you would choose for other important documents.
It is wise to choose a storage space that will protect your documents from something such as a housefire. You also want to protect your documents from damp or wet conditions, think leak or pipe burst. In the event of a housefire, large or small, you also want to consider how you would want such documents protected as you may not have time to think to grab them before things get dangerous. Fortunately, there are storage options out there, such as a sealed, fireproof case, that will provide protection from these likely damaging conditions.
You also want your documents to be accessible to trusted individuals should you need them. This means telling trusted individuals, such as your chosen agent, personal representative, and/or healthcare surrogate about where you are keeping the original documents. It also means that your trusted individuals should have authorization to access the original documents. It has sometimes been the case where a person stored their estate planning documents in a safety deposit box which is, admittedly, a safe place for them, but accessibility issues have arisen. People that needed access to the documents can be delayed and need to wait for a court to grant such authorization. This can result in critical delays.
Estate Planning Attorney
There are many important, anticipated, and unanticipated decisions to make regarding estate planning. Monk Law is here to provide you guidance on both. We not only develop strong estate plans that meet the unique needs and goals of our clients, but we also provide guidance along the way. Contact Monk Law today.