Where to keep my documents?

Thirty years ago, the common practice was for attorneys to keep their clients’ original signed wills in their firm’s vault. While this seems like a good idea on the surface (attorneys can keep it safe from prying family members, it won’t get lost in the household paperwork, etc), there were many drawbacks. The space required to maintain a fire-proof vault proved increasingly expensive for law firms, and wills remained lost when the family didn’t know the attorney used for drafting the will (not to mention the questionably ethical behavior of some attorneys in “persuading” families to hire them to represent the estate in probate before turning over the will).

While this trend allows for more transparency in representation, and makes estate planning more cost effective, the onus is now on the client to find a safe storage space. Let’s talk about a few of your options.

Safe-deposit box? No.

Do not put your important documents in a safe-deposit box. While it’s true that they will be safe, they will also be inaccessible. The papers giving authority to someone to open the box are already in the box. Additionally, if you keep powers of attorney in your safe-deposit box, you are limited to accessing those papers during bank hours — and too often, the time you need your documents is not during business hours.

Fire-proof safe or envelope? Yes.

These are now readily available at most office stores or online, reasonably priced, and can be stored in the back of a closet or under a bed. While you could use a locking file cabinet, the protection you get from a fire-proof container is valuable. You can also keep other important papers in it, including passports, social security cards, etc. But wherever you keep it and whatever you decide to keep in it, make sure that your personal representative knows where to find your documents.

Make additional hard copies? Yes.

Your originals are the only ones admissible in court. Unless they can’t be found. So it’s a good idea to keep hard copies of your documents in other places - like your safe-deposit box. Most attorneys will keep a copy of your documents for 3-7 years, even if they don’t keep your original documents. This can be helpful in the event that your originals cannot be found.