I’ve Got My Estate Planning Documents, Now What Do I Do With Them?
Graduation day. Your wedding. The birth of your child. The day you sign your estate planning documents. We all know that these are the biggest days of your life. Once you get home and you come down from the thrill you experienced when signing your new estate plan with one of our attorneys, you may wonder, “What now?” Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered.
Original Documents
You will keep all originals in a fireproof and safe place in your home. Do not store your estate planning documents in a safe deposit box at a bank – nobody else will be able to get them when
something happens to you! Make sure your successors know where your documents are stored and how to access them.
Copies
While you should generally keep your originals, there are many reasons that you may wish to distribute copies. First, our office keeps digital copies of all of your documents in case you lose them. Copies of documents will suffice in most cases, although courts will want to see original wills in probate cases and some institutions may only accept original powers of attorney.
Keep in mind that if you distribute copies of these documents, and you ever make an amendment or revocation, you will need to retrieve and replace all the old versions. We recommend keeping a written log of all places where you have distributed copies of documents, so you know where to go if you ever make a change.
Durable Power of Attorney
Your Durable Power of Attorney allows your designated Agent to act on your behalf for any financial matter. If you wish for your Agent to be able to act immediately, you may provide them with a copy of your Durable Power of Attorney and then take copies to any institution where you hold money for them to add to your file.
If you don’t wish for your Agent to be able to act immediately, you may keep the original with your estate planning documents and inform your Agent where it is kept so that they may retrieve it when you are incapacitated. Keep in mind that this may create a time delay in your Agent’s ability to act when needed.
Healthcare Power of Attorney
Your Healthcare Power of Attorney allows your designated Agent to act on your behalf for medical decisions when you are unable to make them yourself. You may give a copy to your Agent and to any doctor or medical facility that you see regularly to store in their file. You may also take a copy to your local hospital to store in their file in case you end up there in an emergency. When an urgent medical decision needs to be made, you don’t want your Agent to have to waste time driving to and searching your home for your healthcare documents.
HIPAA Authorization
Your HIPAA Authorization allows your medical providers to share your medical information with authorized individuals. You may give a copy to each of your authorized persons and to any doctor or medical facility that you see regularly to store in their file. You may also take a copy to your local hospital to store in their file in case you end up there in an emergency.
Living Will
Your Living Will contains your end-of-life care decisions. You may give a copy to your Healthcare Agent and to any doctor or medical facility that you see regularly to store in their file.
You may also choose to file your Living Will or Advanced Directive with the Montana End-of-Life Registry. The Registry is a secure filing system that healthcare providers across the state can access. If you wish to file, you will need to send your Living Will and the Montana End-of-Life Consumer Registration Agreement, which can be found online, by mail to the Office of Consumer Protection in Helena. Feel free to call our office if you have questions about this process.
Once it is filed, the Office of Consumer Protection will send you a letter including a wallet card
and a label for your driver’s license so that EMTs and medical providers will know that you have
a Living Will in the Registry.
Healthcare Document Wallet Cards
Even if you do not use the Living Will registry, our office can provide you with wallet cards
upon request that include the contact information of your Healthcare Agent and the location of
your Living Will. These are helpful to have on hand in the case of any medical emergency,
especially if you are unable to speak for yourself.
