Who Should Know Where Your Estate Plan Is?
It’s time for another Tuesday Tidbit from The Billable Bean. This week, BB is spilling the legal beans on who should know where your estate plan is. The people you’ve chosen to step in don’t need to know every detail of your plan, but they should know that it exists, where the original documents are stored, and how to access them when the time comes. After all, even the best estate plan can’t do its job if no one can find it.
You’ve taken the time to create an estate plan. You’ve signed the documents, made important decisions about your future, and stored everything somewhere safe.
There’s just one more question worth asking: Does anyone else know where to find it?
An estate plan can provide important direction when you are no longer able to manage your own affairs or after you pass away. But when that time comes, the people you’ve chosen to step in need to be able to locate the documents that give them that authority and guidance.
That doesn’t mean sharing every detail of your estate plan with your family. It does mean making sure the right people know that your plan exists, where it is stored, and how to access it when necessary.
Who Should Know About Your Estate Plan?
At a minimum, consider making sure the people who are likely to have a role in carrying out your plan know where your documents are located.
Depending on your estate plan, that might include your:
- Successor trustee
- Executor
- Agent under a power of attorney
- Or another trusted individual
These are the people who may eventually be responsible for stepping in to manage your affairs, administer your trust or estate, or carry out the instructions you have put in place.
They don’t necessarily need to know who is receiving what or every decision you’ve made. But when their role begins, they shouldn’t have to wonder whether an estate plan exists or search through years of paperwork trying to find it.
Where Should You Keep Your Estate Planning Documents?
Your original estate planning documents should be stored somewhere secure but accessible to the appropriate people when needed.
That could be a secure location in your home, with your estate planning attorney if the attorney provides that service, or another protected location.
If you use a safe or safe deposit box, it’s also important to consider whether the person who may eventually need the documents will actually be able to access them. A document can be very well protected and still create problems if no one knows where it is or how to retrieve it.
Wherever you decide to keep your estate plan, make sure at least one trusted person knows the location.
Why Do the Original Documents Matter?
Depending on the document and the circumstances, having access to an original estate planning document can be important.
For example, after someone passes away, the original will may be needed as part of the probate process. Other original documents may also be important when a successor trustee, executor, or agent needs to demonstrate their authority to act.
Keeping your estate planning documents organized in one known location can make it easier for the appropriate person to find what they need when the time comes.
You Don’t Have to Share Every Detail
Some people hesitate to tell others about their estate plan because they aren’t ready to discuss its contents.
Those are two different things.
Telling someone where your estate plan is stored doesn’t mean you have to tell them everything that’s in it.
You may choose to keep the details of your plan private while still letting your successor trustee, executor, or another trusted person know something as simple as: My estate planning documents are stored here, and this is how you can access them if you ever need to.
That small conversation can prevent a great deal of uncertainty later.
Don’t Let Your Estate Plan Become a Scavenger Hunt
Imagine being named as someone’s successor trustee but having no idea where their trust is located. Or knowing that a loved one created a will years ago but not knowing whether the original is in a filing cabinet, a safe deposit box, an attorney’s office, or somewhere else entirely.
During an already emotional time, searching for important legal documents is one additional burden loved ones shouldn’t have to navigate.
Estate planning isn’t just about creating the documents. It’s also about making sure your plan can actually be carried out when it’s needed.
Periodically confirm that your documents are stored securely, that you know where the originals are, and that the appropriate people know where to find them. It’s also a good opportunity to review whether the people you’ve chosen to serve in important roles are still the right choices for you.