Instructions for Storage of Will

(Required Reading)

After you have signed your Will and have had it witnessed, you must store it properly.

1. Store your Original Will safely.

   It should be stored somewhere private and secure, ideally waterproof and fireproof.

   A filing cabinet or a safe in your home are good ideas.

2. Let your Executors know where your Will is.

   After you have stored your Will away, you must let your Executors know where it is, so that they may retrieve it after you've died.

   Therefore it must be stored somewhere private and secure, but it should not be somewhere completely secret and locked off. Your Executors must be able to access it when it is time.

3. Preserve the Original.

   Just to make it completely clear, it is the original that must be preserved, and not copies.

   In most jurisdictions it is only the original that is legally valid. Scans and photocopies are not.

   Overall, it is your responsibility to preserve your original Will throughout the remainder of your entire life and up to your death, after which it must be found by your Executors and submitted to Court.

4. Update your Will Periodically.

   It is recommended that you replace your Will every five years in order to reflect new relationships and family members in your life.

   Never make handwritten changes to a current Will. This might cancel the Will. If you want an update, make a new Will through us, or through any other service.

   If an existing Will is lost, destroyed, or damaged, you should make a new one to replace it.

   Any new Will you have made will cancel and take the place of an older Will.

   If you have an immediate, pressing need to a cancel a Will before you have time to go make a new, replacement one, then you may cancel the Will by destroying it.

   It is for this reason that when you sign and witness your Will, you should only sign and witness one original. If one day you needed to cancel your Will, it would be in your power to physically destroy it. If there were multiple originals floating around in different hands, you would not have this power.

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