It takes a certain amount of time, thought and effort to create an estate plan. From creating wills and trusts to signing powers of attorney, it is important to be as thorough as possible when estate planning. However, other than updating those documents as needed, some people may not give much thought about what to do with them after the planning process is done. This means that many people in Louisiana might not be storing their estate plans safely.
Keeping the original estate planning documents at home is not an uncommon choice. In many situations, this works out quite well. Keeping a will tucked away in a desk drawer or a cabinet is not the wisest idea, though, as it can easily be forgotten or even stolen. Instead, a person would be better off keeping his or her original documents in a fireproof safe.
Most people have copies of their original documents for various reasons, and it is important to keep these safe too. A good option is to keep a copy in a safe deposit box. It is not advisable to store an original copy in a safe deposit box, because the document that gives another person authorization to access the box is locked away in that same box. In addition to physical copies, creating an electronic copy is also helpful.
Since most Louisiana residents put a significant effort into estate planning, it is important that they also put that same effort into safely securing their documents. It does not matter if a person crafted a thorough estate plan if his or her family cannot access it later on. Keeping an estate plan in a safe but readily accessible location not only ensures that it is available upon a person’s death, but also that he or she can easily replace it with updated documents as needed.