In choosing where to keep your original estate planning documents, your objectives should be safety and accessibility. You want to be sure that your documents are safe from such dangers as theft, tampering, water damage, or fire damage. However, at the same time, you want them to be accessible to the right people when they are needed. You can make copies or email copies of your documents to whomever you choose for reference purposes; however, the original signed documents will be necessary under most circumstances for any action to be taken. Keep in mind that generally the same place is not best for all of your documents. Your Will and Trust. The best place for your will and/or trust may be a safe deposit box at your bank. It will not be that difficult for your executor to gain access to your safe deposit box when necessary. If you have a trust, you can also put the safe deposit box in the name of your trust so that whoever is named the current trustee can have access. Alternatively, you can store your will and/or trust in a fireproof safe at home. Regardless of where you decide to store your will and/or trust, be sure at least a couple of trusted people know where those documents are and know how to access them. Natural choices of persons to inform about the location of your will and/or trust (and perhaps provide keys or combinations for safes) are your primary and backup executors and/or trustees. Keep in mind that the original of your will is necessary for probate, and, if the original cannot be located, the court will assume that you destroyed your will (regardless of the existence of copies), and your estate will be distributed as if you had died without a will rather than in accordance with your wishes. Therefore, it is of the utmost importance that you keep those closest to you informed. Your Durable Power of Attorney. You probably do not want to put your Durable Power of Attorney (DPOA) in a bank safe deposit box since it should be more easily accessible. A safe at home may be a good place as long as your attorney-in-fact (the person to whom you give responsibility for your affairs under your DPOA) knows where it is and can access it.
Under NC law, your DPOA is not effective upon your incapacity unless it is recorded at the Register of Deeds. It may be a good idea to go ahead and have your DPOA recorded. That way your attorney-in-fact can begin using it immediately if you become unable to handle your affairs for yourself. An added benefit of recording your DPOA is that, if you misplace the original, you can obtain a certified copy from the Register of Deeds. The registration fee for a DPOA in Mecklenburg County is generally about $35.00. We will be happy to assist you with registration. Health Care Power of Attorney and Advance Medical Directive. It is of the utmost importance that your health care power of attorney and advance medical directive (HCPOA/AMD) be immediately accessible since it may be necessary in an emergency situation. Your primary and backup health care agents (named in your HCPOA/AMD) should know exactly where the original is. You may want to consider registering your HCPOA/AMD with the Advance Health Care Directive Registry through the North Carolina Secretary of State for a charge of only $10.00 (http://www.nclifelinks.org/). The Advance Health Care Directive Registry will upload your document to their website and send you a registry card with a unique file number and password that will allow you to access the document at any time. You can give copies of this card to whomever you wish (at least your named health care agents) and put copies of the card in your home, glove box of your car, wallet, etc. so that your HCPOA/AMD will be more likely to be available to those in an emergency or whenever it is needed. A private company that offers a similar but more comprehensive service for a yearly fee is Legal Directives, LLC (https://www.legaldirectives.com/index.php)