@LBowie it may depend on the state, but in NY you want the lawyer to have the original, not you. This is because if you have the original will and it is missing, there is a hard to overcome presumption that you intended to destroy it. If the lawyer had it but something happened, like it was destroyed in a fire, or the lawyer went out of business and can’t be found, a copy of the Will can be probated with appropriate affidavits.
It does depend on state law, but in some states there is a presumption that no one wants to die intestate. So if the will is not contested, a copy can be used after following some formalities. If there is a fight, having the original can save a ton of headaches and money. Check with the attorney that drafted yours how your state handles lost original will issue.
I just exchanged emails with our attorney and he indicated that he has never needed to provide or prove an original and a copy or even a scan of a will or trust is acceptable. Based on comments above, this must vary by state.
Our attorney, a solo practitioner, plans to retire within the next 5 years so I don’t have the option of leaving a copy with him. In addition, my kids are all in their 20s and still quite mobile. I wouldn’t expect them to remember the name of our attorney (in our case, he’ll be retired so not important). I also feel confident our intentions will not be contested. Our attorney was quite thorough with any future marriages, grandchildren, divorces, etc. that may or may not happen.
I’ll be playing around with google docs to see if we can create a folder and house our documents there.
It’s a good idea to review your estate plan periodically in any case, based on changes in family composition via births, deaths, marriages, divorces, adoptions, changes in tax laws–local, state and federal and other things that may arise.
If you have significant assets, this can save your heirs a lot of money (for one family I’m close to, well over $100,000), so in my mind, it’s not a do it and forget it. When you review your assets and estate plan in some years, it will be with another attorney, whose name you can share with your kids. The retiring attorney will likely be able to refer you to a good colleague who can be sure your wishes will be carried out properly with minimal amounts paid for exoenses and taxes.
We keep originals of those signed docs in the safe and copies in the filing cabinet along with other papers. We have shown our son where we keep things- I’m the organized one. We have given him the name of the lawyer who drew up our most recent docs (new state and- gosh, no need for guardians et al). He lives in a studio apartment (his choice, could easily afford a larger space). Paper copies would likely get lost given his messiness and digital copies amongst the multitudes of his files likewise I’m sure.
I’m old school in not wanting to trust the cloud for security or ease of access for us years later. We currently have one filing cabinet shallow enough to fit in a closet. Top drawer has papers for everything we currently deal with- financial institutions, household stuff, the year’s bills and receipts, cars, wills et al. Anything that needs to be dealt with has a paper trail in that place. Bottom drawer is for tax forms and backup materials needed- get rid of one year every year. Others have past info and most manuals. Once each year I go through stuff (part of tax prep) and discard a lot. We have gone online for most monthly statements to decrease the paper waste but keep enough for a paper trail.
It can be good to have a hard copy as proof of financial info. Companies can change what they have online- legally or by hacking. We have minimized what we can- no sentimentality for old paperwork (it was a trip down memory lane when I finally decided not to keep credit card bills/receipts more than a year except for warranties). Sometimes the info you want can be hard to find online, other times easier.
The most important thing is to be well organized and a minimalist so relatives do not have to sift though mountains of paperwork to find essentials. I also have folders with account numbers referenced on the front. Plus we have lists that contain all assets. I guess we could send son those lists but they do change on occasion and he would have multiple files (kid who usually won’t answer the phone or emails has saved most from me- things I deleted on my end).
For us, knowing the info exists and where to find it is the way we work. Any copies for son are likely to be lost somewhere, online or physically.
Thank goodness my sister gets to deal with our father’s things when he dies. She has access to things and he has always been a packrat (mom died decades ago) plus failing memory. There will be dozens of slips of paper with the same phone numbers, birthdays et al littered among the piles of paperwork he is sorting through in all rooms/surfaces. Our son should thank us when his time comes…