Another Reminder to Gather up All of Your Vital Documents!

[yardwork]

24. There's another good reason not to put wills and other documents in safe deposit boxes.

Unless you assign an heir as co-owner of the bank account and give them a key, nobody will have access to the documents until probate is complete.

If the will and other documents are locked away, how do you do probate? It becomes a catch 22.

My mom made me co-owner of her bank account and gave me a key to her safe deposit box, where she insisted on keeping her will, etc.

The day after she passed away I went to the bank, collected the contents, and began the probate process as her executor. I was named executor in the will and trust that was in the safe deposit box. If I hadn't been on that account nobody would have been able to access her will! (Try showing up at a bank and asking to access a deceased family member's safe deposit box. Even if you have a key they won't let you into it unless you're a co-owner of the account. Banks take this very seriously. It's not like the post office.)

MM is right. Keep your will at home in a fire-safe box and give your trusted heir a key.