As you wrap up your session with a Largo estate attorney, you may learn about how to properly store your will. This is important information to know because if your will is not located, all of your hard work with establishing the best estate plan for you with your Largo estate attorney may be for nothing.
Reasons Why Storage Is Important
While many clients might express fear of their will being lost because of water damage, fire or theft, these occurrences are much less likely than family members being unable to find the original will. In some situations, the family does locate the will but only after they have incurred significant legal expenses.
Contingencies
Your Largo estate lawyer can also explain that it is important that you plan for contingencies. For example, your personal representative may die before you do and your alternate personal representative will be the one who needs to know where the will is. If you simply informed your original personal representative of the will’s location, this will not assist you if the contingency arises. Another possibility is that both personal representatives might predecease you. Planning for these contingencies can help your beneficiaries be spared from hassle and expense.
Storage Locations
Your Largo estate lawyer may give you several options for storing your will. For example, he or she may say that you might choose to store your will in the same location where you keep other important documents. Your Largo estate planning lawyer might inform you of the pros and cons of certain storage locations. For example, if you store the will in a safe deposit box, the contract with the bank may state that no one can access the contents if you die without certain documentation from a court, which would not help your beneficiaries who need to get the will before any such legal procedures were put in place. Your Largo estate attorney might recommend providing a copy of the will to the personal representative that you have named or storing the will himself or herself.
If you would like more information on this subject, contact Coleman Law Firm at 727-461-7474.
