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Showing posts from December, 2011

Honey, I lost my will!!

Hopefully you've done the proper thing and put together an estate plan.  But what do you do with the original will?  The original will is an extremely important document.  In Iowa, as in many other states, if the original will cannot be located, there is a presumption under the law that the decedent intentionally destroyed the will.  Even if you can find a copy of a signed will, it may not be enough.  It is possible to argue to a court that it was not revoked, but the law requires you to show by clear and convincing evidence that they did not destroy (revoke) the will. So, some options and things to think about for storing a will: Keep it with the attorney - normally the safest, so long as the family can find the attorney and the attorney/firm is still in business. ( We don't charge for this service, but we are a pretty cool law firm.) Keep it in your freezer - never understood the use of a freezer as storage.  Could get tossed out, cooked, freezer burned, or destroyed