Read more about the article What Should Not Be Kept in a Safe Deposit Box? Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

What Should Not Be Kept in a Safe Deposit Box? Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

In today’s digital world, almost everything of importance is stored virtually, in the cloud. A physical safe deposit box might seem like a throwback, but still has some good uses, says a recent article from Kiplinger, “Things You’ll Regret Keeping in a Safe Deposit Box.”

Some things belonging in a safe deposit box include prized possessions, like a valued baseball card collection or jewelry inherited from a loved one. Some important documents—but not all—should be kept in a safe deposit box.

There are many items you may regret putting in a safe deposit box, particularly if you need to access them in an emergency, when the bank isn’t open. The bank may also not be open during emergencies, including natural disasters. The COVID lockdown reduced many bank branch hours, or banks required appointments to access safe deposit boxes.

Here are some things that don’t belong in your safe deposit box:

Cash. If you need cash in an emergency and the bank is closed, you’ll have to wait. Idle money also loses buying power over time when inflation is high. A better place for the money if you don’t need it: an interest-bearing account or a certificate of deposit. Many banks also forbid storing cash in a safe deposit box. The cash has no protection from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which insures up to $250,000 per deposit per bank. However, it is only if your money is in a checking account, savings account, or certificate of deposit.

Passport. Unless you travel internationally frequently, you probably don’t use your passport often. However, what if you score a great deal on a trip with a Monday departure—and the bank is closed until Monday morning? Or a college student on a semester abroad has an emergency and you need to jump on a plane? It’s best to have a passport at home in a secure, waterproof and fireproof safe.

Your will and other estate planning documents. Keeping copies of your will, your spouse’s will and any will in which you’re named the executor in a safe deposit box makes good sense. However, your original will does not belong there, especially if you are the sole owner of the safe deposit box. After your death, the bank will seal the safe deposit box until the executor can prove they have the legal right to access it. Settling your estate will be delayed until this is resolved.

Keep the original copy of your will either with your estate planning attorney, if they provide the service, or keep it where your executor or spouse can easily access it. Copies are fine in the safe deposit box. However, originals need to be accessible.

Final letters of instruction. Writing a letter of instruction to go along with your estate plan is smart. The letter can convey your wishes for medical care, if want to be buried or cremated and what kind of memorial service you want. However, if the letter is sealed up in a safe deposit box, your wishes will never be granted. Keep a letter of instruction with your original will and consider sending dated copies of the letter to anyone who you want to take action on your behalf or who is designed to receive a specific bequest.

Powers of Attorney. A POA gives authority to a third party to act on your behalf should you become incapacitated. If it’s locked in a safe deposit box and only you have access to the box, the person you want to protect you when you are incapacitated will not be able to help. Keep the original POA with the original copy of your will. Copies are fine for anyone who will need them. However, the original stays with your will.

Advance Directives. Much like the POA, your advance directives—living will and health care proxy—will be needed if you become seriously ill or injured or incapacitated. Without quick access to these advance directives, no one will know your wishes. Make sure that medical providers and family members have copies on hand.

Contact us to review your estate plan with one of our experienced estate planning attorneys.

Reference: Kiplinger (Jan. 4, 2023) “Things You’ll Regret Keeping in a Safe Deposit Box”

 

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys

What Should Not Be Kept in a Safe Deposit Box? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

A safe deposit box can be used to store important documents and items. It’s essential if you own gold or other valuables, and can be helpful in reducing the worry of owning different kinds of assets, according to a recent article titled “10 Items You Should Never Keep In a Safe Deposit Box” from yahoo! finance.

However, many documents should never be kept in a safe deposit box, even when it seems as if it is the perfect spot.

Your will should never, ever, be placed in a safe deposit box. When a person dies, the only person who can access the safe deposit box are those who are also owners of the box according to bank records and those individuals named in the will itself.

Don’t use your safety deposit box to stash cash. Unless your cash contains collectible bills or coins, this is not the place for it. An investment fund or, at the very least, an interest-bearing savings account, is a better option. Stashing cash may have made sense during the Great Depression, but not today.

Keys to anything of importance don’t belong in your safe deposit box. You are likely to need them when you can’t get into the bank’s vault, and you may forget their location. If you die and no one knows where the keys are and can’t get into the safe deposit box, you’ll be remembered as the person who made life harder for everyone.

Unless you own the Hope Diamond or jewelry like it, your jewelry doesn’t belong locked up in an airless safe deposit box. If you do have irreplaceable jewelry and don’t want it kept at home, make sure it’s insured. Most banks don’t automatically insure items in a safe deposit box.

Trust documents are in the same category as a will. If they are in a safe deposit box and the person who owns the box dies or becomes incapacitated, the only way to gain access will be to be listed on the documents—which will be in the safe deposit box. Keep them in a safe at home or on file with the elder lawyer who created them for you.

A Medical Power of Attorney won’t do you any good, if it’s secured in a safe deposit box. If someone needs these documents in an emergency situation, they need to be where you are and easily accessible. There’s no downside to having too many copies of a medical POA. Keep at least one in the house, give one to the person who is designated on the document, one to your primary care physician and one or more to loved ones who live nearby.

Passports are more likely to be needed and not retrievable from a safe deposit box than they are to be stolen from home. They are far more likely to be stolen when you are traveling, especially overseas.

Your COVID-19 vaccination card is going to be needed from time to time, so it’s best in a desk drawer, on the refrigerator or in your wallet.

Loaded weapons, liquids, and explosives. If you can’t take it on an airplane, you should not keep it in a safe deposit box.

Directions to loved ones about anything of importance should be kept at home and people who are expected to follow your instructions should be told where they are located. If a safe deposit box is sealed, and most are at death, a funeral or memorial service may be a distant memory by the time the instructions are read.

Bottom line: important documents belong in our home in a waterproof, fire safe box. Tell loved ones where the box is located and where they can find the keys.

Reference: yahoo! finance (Aug. 2, 2022) “10 Items You Should Never Keep In a Safe Deposit Box”

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys

How Do I Store Estate Planning Documents? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

It is a common series of events: an elderly parent is rushed to the hospital in the middle of the afternoon and once children are notified, the search for the Power of Attorney, Living Will and Health Care Power of Attorney begins. It is easily avoided with planning and communication, according to an article from The News-Enterprise titled “Give thought to storing your estate papers.” However, just because the solution is simple does not mean most people address it.

As a general rule, estate planning documents should be kept together in a fire and waterproof container in a location known to fiduciaries.

Most people think of a bank safe deposit box as a protected place. However, it is not a good location for several reasons. Individuals may not have access to the contents of the safe deposit box, unless they are named on the account. Even with their names on the account, emergencies do not follow bankers’ hours. If the Power of Attorney giving the person the ability to access the safe deposit box is inside the safe deposit box, bank officials are not likely to be willing to open the box to an unknown person.

A well-organized binder of documents in a fire and waterproof container at home makes the most sense.

Certain documents should be given in advance to certain agencies or offices. For instance, health care documents, like the Health Care Power of Attorney and Advance Medical Directive (or Living Will) should be given to each healthcare provider to keep in the person’s medical record and be sure they are accessible 24/7 to health care providers. Make sure that there are copies for adult children or whoever has been designated to serve as the Health Care Power of Attorney.

Power of Attorney documents should be given to each financial institution or agency in preparation for use, if and when the time comes.

It may feel like an overwhelming task to contact banks and brokerage houses in advance to make sure they accept a Power of Attorney form in advance. However, imagine the same hours plus the immense stress if this has to be done when a parent is incapacitated or has died. Banks, in particular, require POAs to be reviewed by their own attorneys before the document can be approved, which could take weeks to complete.

Depending upon where you live, Durable General Powers of Attorney may be filed at the county clerk’s office. If a POA is filed but is later revoked and a new document created, or if a fiduciary needs to convey real estate property with the powers conferred by a POA, the document at the county clerk’s office should be updated.

Last will and testaments are treated differently than POA documents. Wills are usually kept at home and not filed anywhere until after death.

Each fiduciary listed in the documents should be given a copy of the documents. This will be helpful when it is time to show proof they are a decision maker.

Having estate planning documents properly prepared by an experienced estate planning attorney is the first step. Step two is ensuring they are safely and properly stored, so they are ready for use when needed.

Reference: The Times-Enterprise (June 11, 2022) “Give thought to storing your estate papers”

 

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys

Write a Letter of Instruction for Loved Ones – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

A letter of intent is frequently recommended for parents of disabled children to share information for when the parent dies. However, letters of intent or a letter of instruction can also be a helpful resource for executors, says the article “Planning Head: For detailed instructions consider a letter of instruction” from The Mercury. This is especially valuable, if the executor does not know the decedent or their family members very well.

For disabled children, legal documents address specific issues and are not necessarily the right place to include personal information about the child or the parent’s desires for the child’s future. Estate plans need more information, especially for a minor child.

The goal is to create a document to make clear what the parents want for the child after they pass, whether that occurs early or late in the child’s life.

For a disabled child, the first questions to be addressed in the estate plan concern who will care for the child if the parent dies or becomes incapacitated, where will the child live and what funds will be available for their care. Once those matters are resolved, however, there are more questions about the child’s wants and needs.

The letter of intent can answer questions about the special information only a parent knows and is helpful in future decisions about their care and living situation.

The letter of intent concerning an estate should also include information about wishes for a funeral or burial and contain everything from directions for the music list for a ceremony to the writing on the headstone.

Once the letter of intent is created, the next question is, where should you put it so it is secure and can be accessed when it is needed?

Do not put it in a bank safe deposit box. This is a common error for estate planning documents as well. The executor may only access the contents of the safe deposit box after letters of administration have been issued. This happens after the funeral, and sometimes long after the funeral. By then, it will be too late for any instructions.

Keeping estate planning documents in a safe deposit box presents other problems. If the bank seals the safe deposit box on notification of the owner’s death, the executor will not be able to proceed. This can sometimes be prevented by having additional owners on the safe deposit box, if permitted by the bank . Any additional owners will also need to know where the key is located and be able get access to it.

The better solution is to keep all important documents including wills, financial power of attorney, health care powers, living wills, or health care directives, insurance forms, cemetery deeds, information for the family’s estate planning attorney, financial advisor, and CPA, etc., in one location known to the trusted person who will need access to the documents. That person will need a set of keys to the house. If they are kept in a fire and waterproof safe in the house; they will also need the keys to the safe.

If the parents move or move the documents, they will need to remember to tell the trusted person where these documents have moved. Otherwise, a lot of work will have been for naught.

Reference: The Mercury (Jan. 19, 2022) “Planning Head: For detailed instructions consider a letter of instruction”

 

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys

Estate Planning Checklist, Especially for Procrastinators – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

Many people do not think of themselves as having an “estate.” However, a house, car, savings account, life insurance, and all the possessions you own are an estate. If, after years of procrastinating, you finally did the right thing and had an estate plan created with an experienced estate planning attorney, is there anything else you need to do? Yes, says Federal News Network in the article “Good at putting things off? Here’s the last checklist you’ll ever need!”

Where should you keep your estate planning documents? These documents need to be kept in a secure location that is known to the people who will need access to them. A will might be kept at home in a fire and waterproof safe, or at your attorney’s office. Each estate planning attorney has his or her own process and can make recommendations. A will placed in a safe deposit box may create huge headaches, if the box is sealed upon death. Remember that people will need easy access to some documents, like a Do Not Resuscitate, or Medical Health Care Proxy, so they could be stored somewhere in the home where they can be grabbed in an emergency.

Who should have a copy of my estate plan? This is a personal preference. Some people give a copy to all heirs and their executor. Others prefer to keep it private. It is essential that the person who will be your executor knows where your will is and can get access to it quickly.

Update beneficiary designations. Many assets are governed not by the will, but by the beneficiary designations on the accounts. That may include retirement accounts, annuities, IRAs, life insurance, and possibly bank accounts and investment accounts. Check them every few years, especially if there have been divorces, marriages and new members added to the family.

Review how your assets are titled. If there are assets owned as “joint with right of survivorship,” they will not pass through probate and will become owned by the joint owner upon death. Sometimes this works well for large accounts, but sometimes it backfires. Talk with your estate planning lawyer.

How long does my estate plan last? An estate plan does not have an expiration date.

When should I amend my estate plan? Anytime there is a large change in the law, as has recently occurred with the passage of the SECURE Act, the estate plan should be reviewed. The SECURE Act has changed the rules about IRA distributions for heirs. Anyone with a sizable IRA should review their plan.

Any time there is a large event in your life, is another time when your estate plan should be reviewed. Those events include a death, birth, marriage, or divorce. If the person you had named as your executor or who had been given Power of Attorney or Health Care Proxy is no longer in your life or is no longer trusted, you also want to review and change these documents.

Reference: Federal News Network (Feb. 5, 2020) “Good at putting things off? Here’s the last checklist you’ll ever need!”

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys

What If Your Executor Doesn’t Want to Serve? – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning

When you’ve finally come to determine who you trust enough to serve as your executor, you’ll need to take the next step. It involves having a conversation with the person about what you are asking them to do. You’ll need to ask if they are willing, says the Pocono Record in the article “Don’t assume person is willing to be your executor.” People are often flattered at first when they are asked about this role, but if they don’t fully understand the responsibilities, they may decide not to serve just when you need them the most.

Once your executor has agreed to act on your behalf and you have a last will and testament prepared by an estate attorney, tell your executor where your will is stored. Remember that they need to have access, in addition to knowing where the document is. If the will is kept at home in a fire-proof box or a document box that is locked, make sure to tell them where the key is located.

If you feel that the will would be safer in a bank’s safe deposit vault, you have a few additional tasks to complete. One is to make sure that your executor will be able to access the safe deposit box. That may mean adding them to the list of people who have access. They may be technically permitted to enter the box with a bank representative solely for the purpose of obtaining the last will and testament.  However, you should check with your branch first.

Once they have the last will and testament and it is filed for probate, the Register of Wills issues Letters Testamentary, which says that the executor has the authority to open the safe deposit box to inventory its contents, after proper notice is given to the state’s authorities. The executor must complete an inventory form for the authorities and any personal property in the safe deposit box must be appraised for fair market value as of the date of death. Inheritance tax will need to be paid on the value, if there is any due.

Communication is very important in the executor’s role. You may or may not want to allow them to see the will before you pass, but they will need to know where the original document can be found.

To make the next part of the executor’s job easier, create an inventory of your assets and include information they will need to complete their task. They’ll also need to know contact information and account numbers for homeowners and car insurance, veterans’ benefits, credit cards, mortgage, pensions, retirement accounts and any other assets.

Some people store their information on their computer. However, if the executor cannot access your computer or cannot get into the computer because they don’t have your password, you may want to create a hard copy document, as well as keeping information on your computer.

Taking on the role of an executor is a big job. You can show your appreciation, even after you are gone, by making all preparations for the information needed.

Reference: Pocono Record (May 1, 2019) “Don’t assume person is willing to be your executor”

Sims & Campbell, LLC – Annapolis and Towson Estate Planning Attorneys