Should Your Attorney Store Your Last Will And Testament?

Once you sign your last will and testament, you need to keep it in a safe place. Your executor and heirs will need access to the original when you pass away.

Some people keep their Will in their home, perhaps in a fire-proof safe, while others keep their will in their bank safe deposit box. Others give their will to their executor for safekeeping.

Some people take their attorney up on their offer to store their will.

When your estate attorney offers to store your last will and testament, their primary reason for doing so is to force your survivors to feel obligated to use the services of that lawyer or law firm to handle all of the probate and other estate administration legal services. Wills that the lawyer or law firm store in their "safekeeping" help guarantee the future financial prosperity of the lawyer or law firm.

When someone in their 50's writes a will, they might not die for another 40 years or so. By that time, the lawyer who wrote and stored the will may have retired, died, changed professions, got sick, went bankrupt, got addicted to drugs or alcohol, or perhaps the lawyer may have moved out of state. Or, the law firm you allowed to store your last will and testament may have gone out of business, or merged with another law firm, or the firm may have new leadership. No telling what happens to your last will and testament through all of those potential changes.

And how long should your lawyer or law firm store your Will. Perhaps years after signing your Will, you work with another estate attorney to revise or re-do your Will, which automatically revokes your prior Will. But your old law firm will not know that the will they keep is revoked. So should law firms that store wills keep them for 40 years, 50 years, 75 years, or 100 years?

Your executor that you name in your last will and testament should be able to use the legal services of whatever lawyer or law firm he or she chooses.

Now, maybe you would like your executor and heirs to utilize the legal services of the law firm that helped you put your estate legal program in order. Great! Simply keep your Will in a your possession in a safe place, and instruct your executor and heirs as to your wishes regarding who they should use for probate legal services at your death.

Just note that when lawyers make themselves available to store your last will and testament (many will do it for free), they primary intention is not to provide you with an additional service. But rather, they're doing it as a way to better guarantee their future financial prosperity.

And one more thing: Note that the lawyer who encourages you to pass your estate through a Will which requires probate when you die, and who keeps your will to entice your heirs to use that lawyer's probate legal services, should have mentioned that one other option is to arrange your estate in a manner that the attorney-involved and court-supervised probate proceeding is not needed when you pass away.

For prospective law firm clients who want to schedule a free 15 minute initial phone call with Paul Rabalais, go to: https://go.oncehub.com/Paul8

This post is for informational purposes only and does not provide legal advice. Please do not act or refrain from acting based on anything you read on this site. Using this site or communicating with Rabalais Estate Planning, LLC, through this site does not form an attorney/client relationship.

Paul Rabalais
Louisiana Estate Planning Attorney
www.RabalaisEstatePlanning.com
Phone: (225) 329-2450

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