CONSIDER THIS —

…You have a medical emergency; rushed to the hospital.  You can’t communicate with the doctors.

…Or, let’s say you go to the doctor for a routine procedure and something goes wrong.  You can no longer communicate with the doctors.

No problem, you have an Advanced Health Care Directive.  With that directive your representative can step in and make decisions for you.

BUT WAIT,

(1) That document is in your safe deposit box at your bank, and

(2) Your representative cannot access your safe deposit box.

(3) Your bank is closed.  Maybe it’s after banking hours; it’s the weekend; or it’s a holiday

(4) Or, maybe your bank is open, but does not allow your representative to access your safe deposit box.  Heck, your representative just may not have the key or any other info to get into your safe deposit box.

Are you starting to get the picture?

If the only copies of your documents are in your safe deposit box, your representative may not be able to get to them to do what you have legally agreed for them to do.

Your representative may have to go to probate court, to get a judge, to give your representative access to get your documents.  Remember, the goal is to avoid probate.

INSTEAD, YOUR ARE BETTER OFF with putting your documents in a secure spot in your home.  Consider using a fireproof home safe that bolts to the floor or wall.  Heck, you can even create a built-in wall safe behind a picture or large object. Where ever you decide to securely store your documents, at least tell your representative about the documents and where they can find them.  You should also consider telling your trusted family members about the documents.

This applies to your Health Care Directive, Power of Attorney, and your Last Will and Testament.  These documents should be store securely in your home, where they are accessible to the person(s) that needs to have them.