R-E-S-P-E-C-T Your W-I-L-L

When The Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, passed away in August 2018, few could imagine how messy she had left her legal affairs. Nearly five years later, in July 2023, following years of nasty intra-family litigation, a Michigan jury concluded that a 2014 document found in — yes, Ms. Franklin’s couch cushions — was indeed a valid Last Will and Testament.

Every family should Say A Little Prayer that their loved ones show a little more Respect for their estate planning documents or else the family may look like a Chain of Fools in court. So, what should you Think about when it comes to your original Last Will and Testament? Here are a few ideas…

Storing Your Will at Home

Place your estate planning documents someplace secure. We often recommend a file cabinet. Some clients like to use a safe. If you use a safe, make sure that the person nominated as Personal Representative (executor) has the code to the safe! It may be helpful to let your loved ones know where you have kept your will and the contact information for the attorney who prepared the will. If the original will can’t be located, the attorney may have retained a copy. Most states do have procedures permitting copies of wills to be admitted to probate once procedural safeguards are met.

Consider Storing with the Register of Wills

Some jurisdictions offer will storage for a nominal fee as a public service. In Maryland, for example, each County’s Register of Wills will store a will for safekeeping for a nominal $5.00 fee. The District of Columbia, however, does not offer such a service. For clients who are more likely to make changes to their wills, storing the will with the Register of Wills may not be a good idea, as you may forget when you amend your will that you need to retrieve the earlier will from the Register of Wills. For clients not as likely to change their will, this may be an attractive option.

What Shouldn’t You Do (Aside from Storing under a Couch Cushion)?

There is still a tendency to think of a safe deposit box as the repository of all of life’s critical documents, including your Will. However, after your death, it is very possible that only the Personal Representative of your Estate will have the right to access your safe deposit box. And the person nominated as Personal Representative will require the original Will contained in that safe deposit box to be appointed as such. A true dog chasing its tail problem. Consider a safe deposit box as a last resort (but still better than storing it under a couch cushion).

With a little advance planning, there Ain’t No Way your family will end up in a situation like that of Aretha Franklin’s family.

Have questions about estate planning? Reach out to practice group chair Jeremy Rachlin at (301) 656-1177 x305 or jrachlin@bulmandunie.com.