Frequently Asked Estate Planning Questions

 ONCE YOUR WILL AND/OR TRUST IS SIGNED 

Q. Where is the best place to keep my signed original estate planning documents? 

A. The best place is probably in a fireproof home safe because it will protect the documents from theft, fire, accidental loss, and most other types of damage or harm. A potential problem, though, is getting it opened after your death. 

If you decide to keep your estate planning documents in a safe deposit box at your local bank, It’s important to consider naming a family member or your Personal Representative or trustee as a joint owner/signatory on the safe deposit box account. That should simplify matters following your death because someone will be able to get into the box without delay. If you fail to add another trustworthy person, you will need a court order from the Probate Court to open the box. 

Another place to keep your original estate planning documents is with the attorney who drafted them. However, I have decided not to retain original documents because of concern over theft, fire, flood, storms, or other loss of the document. It would also be prohibitively expensive to store hundreds or thousands of original documents. Also, what would happen if I were to die or my law firm were to cease operations? I do keep copies of your estate planning documents and we have digital copies available to you for a nominal charge. 

Many people keep their original estate planning documents at home in a secure place. If you have a safe at home, that can be a good place to keep them. Be aware though, when thieves enter your home and discover a locked safe, they often take the whole safe thinking they’ll find cash and jewelry. The last thing they want is a file containing your estate planning documents, but that’s one of the things they’ll get if you keep them in your safe. Therefore, unless your safe is bolted to the foundation of your house, or kept in a secure and secret location, it may not be the best place to keep your originals. 

Q. If I keep my Last Will is in a safe deposit box at my bank, how can my family get access to it when I die? 

A. There are two ways for your family to retrieve your Last Will out of a safe deposit box: 

1. The easiest way is if you have name another person as a joint holder of the box. The person named on the safe deposit box account can have access to the box, and can retrieve the Will with no problems or delays, as we discussed above. 

2. Another option is to file a Probate Administration and request that the Probate Judge issue an order to open and examine the contents of the safe deposit box. If a Will is found, it will be filed in the Probate Court. This should be the option of last resort because it takes longer, requires the filing of a Probate in court, and usually involves a lawyer and the associated legal fees. 

Q. Should I give copies of my Will and other estate planning documents to my children and to the Personal Representatives of my estate? 

A. For some people, their estate planning documents are as private as their income tax returns, and nobody is ever given copies. For other people, estate planning documents are no different than a spare key to the house, and every family member and Personal Representative and/or trustee named in the documents is given a copy. 

If you are the type of person who values your privacy, and does not feel comfortable with your children having access to your financial information, or if you have a Will or trust which does not treat all the children equally, then it may not be a good idea to provide your children with copies. Also, you may have more money than your children expect, and depending on how your Will or trust is written, you may not want to let them know too much about your personal business. 

On the other hand, if you have an open and trusting relationship with all your children, you regularly discuss finances with them, and you are leaving your estate to them in equal shares, then we encourage our clients to give a copy at least to the children named as Personal Representative in the Will or as the trustee of your Family Trust. Of course, if you decide to change your Will or revocable trust, you should be sure to give all the same people copies of the new documents. If you don’t, then there may be some arguments following your death over which documents controls the disposition of your estate. 

Your East Orlando Estate Planning attorney can review your estate assets with you. Call The Mendez Law Firm at (407)380-7724 or email us at mail@themendezlawfirm.com . The Estate Planning consultation is FREE, and there is NO obligation. 

Conveniently located in the East Orlando area. Call The Mendez Law Firm TODAY at (407)380-7724 or email us at mail@themendezlawfirm.com to schedule your FREE Estate Planning consultation. Copyright © 2020. The Mendez Law Firm, L.L.C. All rights reserved.