My estate plan is done; now what? — Importance of Keeping Documents Safe

Storing your original Will properly is just as important as creating it. Having a will that cannot be found is like having no Will at all. It is important to keep in mind that a copy of a will is not the same as the original will.

I recommend that you store your original Will in your home, in the same place where you keep other financial documents. If your attorney allows, you should also keep a copy with your attorney. All attorneys are different, some will even keep the original will. In this day in age, with all the advancements in technology, it is likely that your attorney at a minimum, will keep an electronic copy in their records. You may also wish to give copies of the Will to your executor and/or the Will beneficiaries. For example, if your house were to burn down with your Will in it, it may be possible to probate the copy, if evidence of the fire can be presented to the court. However, in the absence of clear evidence as to what happened to the original Will, probating a copy is very difficult. So, it is very important your executor is able to locate the original Will after your death.

You can also store your Will in a safe deposit box at a bank or other location that offers these services. If you decide to store your will in a safe deposit box, you must take care to alert all of your executors and beneficiaries to the location of the Will. Furthermore, keep in mind the fact that upon your death, the bank will not open the safe deposit box for your executor until after the Will has been probated, unless a court orders the box opened. You can avoid this Catch-22 by making arrangements with the bank to allow your executor access to the box after your death. If all else fails, Florida law provides a procedure for requesting that the probate court order the box opened. Resorting to this procedure may cause your estate to incur a delay of several weeks and additional legal fees and court costs, but this may be an acceptable outcome if your home is not a secure place for your Will.

Incidents in which Wills are lost to fire, water damage, or theft are rare, but they do happen occasionally. Far more common are cases in which the family cannot find the original Will or can find it only after tearing the house apart or incurring substantial legal expenses. In choosing where to store your Will, think through all of the scenarios. Your executor may predecease you, in which case your alternate executor will need to locate the Will. Or your alternate may predecease you as well, in which case your beneficiaries will need to locate the Will. By arranging your affairs such that everyone involved in your Will is able to locate it after your death, you can save considerable hassle and expense for your beneficiaries.