NOW WHERE DID I LEAVE MY WILL?

You’ve always heard how important it is to plan ahead. So, you go to a lawyer and have a Will, financial powers of attorney, and a living will drafted. Now, you’re taken care of, in the event you should pass away or become disabled.

But where do you keep these papers? After all, if you should die or if you’re disabled, how is your family ever going to find these very important documents? What if your house burns down with the papers inside? Worse yet, what if you and your house burn down at the same time?

I believe that in the past I have stressed the importance of having a proper estate plan, consisting of a Will, powers of attorney for financial decisions, and advanced health care directives. If I haven’t, I’ll do so now: It’s important to have these documents drafted, because you simply never know when you will pass on or if you may become disabled. Planning today can save you and your family significant amounts of time and money, and prevent confusion and frustration. If you don’t plan, how could you ever expect someone else to carry out your intentions – in the event you were unable to do so, either because of death or disability?

But okay. You’ve heard my warning. You went to see a lawyer (maybe you were nice enough to see me). Now where do you keep all of these documents?

Many attorneys will offer to retain your Last Will and Testament free of charge. Your lawyer will either store the Will in a bank’s safe deposit box or in a vault (hopefully fireproof) that the lawyer maintains. The lawyer will probably also provide you with a copy of your Will, with an indication as to the location of the original.

Wills are not recorded with any government office. At least not while you are still alive. After you pass away, your executor will probably submit your Will to probate at the County Surrogate’s Office. After the Will has been probated, it is a public document. But before having been probated, a Will is very much a private document.

So what happens if you never told anyone about your Will? You never told any family members who your lawyer is, and you stored the copy of your Will in a safe deposit box of a bank. But no one in your family knew you had the safe deposit box. Then you die. How on earth is your family ever going to find your Will?

Good question. That’s why I provide my clients with something that I call a “Letter of Last Instruction.” The Letter allows my clients to tell their family and friends where their important documents (Will, power of attorney, living will, etc.) are stored. The client can fill in the letter and provide copies of the letter to as many people as they wish. I suggest that copies be provided to the executor and the agents under the powers of attorney.

The Letter allows the client to share the location, but not necessarily the documents, with their family and friends. In this way, the content of the documents can remain personal, until such time as the documents are needed.

If those closest to you don’t know where to find your Will, or other important documents, they’ll have to put on their detectives hats. That would not be a pleasant experience.

Here someone they loved has died, or become disabled, and the family has to rout through their belongings in the hopes of finding their Will or powers of attorney. Wouldn’t it have been easier to simply tell your family where the documents were?