By Susan M. Graham, Certified Elder Law Attorney, Senior Edge Legal, Boise, Idaho
Who knows where you keep your important papers? In an emergency situation, valuable time could be wasted tracking down important legal papers. Make it a point to tell your children, successor trustee or personal representative where they can find your original documents. If you store those documents in a safe deposit box, or a safe at home, make certain they have the ability to get into the box or safe.
We frequently receive calls from our clients’ family members who want to know where they can find these documents, and they need them “now” because there is a family crisis. There are legal limitations that tie our hands so often we cannot provide our copies to the family.
You do not have to tell anyone about the contents of the papers, just let them know how they can access them in an emergency.