You have planned your estate and the Will has been signed and witnessed, but where do you keep your Will and other important documents safe from threats such as fire, theft or flooding? A will accidently destroyed, through fire, flood or some other disaster is still valid, the problem is how do you prove that the Will existed and if you can, how can you show it to still be valid?

Making your Will is incredibly important, ensuring that your Executor can handle your affairs efficiently, and that your family and friends are saved from undue stress. For the same reasons, once your Will is completed, it should be carefully stored. Ideally it should be kept somewhere safe, where no one can get unauthorised access to it and where your Executor will know how to retrieve it.

Reasons to store your valuable documents:

• To avoid damage caused by fire or flood.
• To avoid tampering by those that find it after your death.
• To ensure they are in good enough condition to be used when a grant of probate is applied for or a power of attorney is needed.
• To avoid loss of the documents themselves.
• To maintain privacy of your wishes.