Simply put, store your will in a safe location where your loved ones can retrieve it after you die. It was common practice decades ago for attorneys like my grandfather to keep the original will they drafted for you. They would keep them at their office in a “will safe.” This was a good way to ensure that your loved ones would go to them for the will when you passed and, more than likely, use their services to probate the will. It was a marketing tool as much as anything and an effective one. But times have changed. My grandfather kept the same office in the same town for his entire career. When this was the norm, it was comforting to know that when you passed, your loved ones would know where your will was and that the person holding onto it would be able to help them handle probate. However, as attorneys, clients and society as a whole have become more mobile, leaving a will with the attorney who drafted it just isn’t practical. Now almost every attorney I know, myself included, gives the original signed will to the client upon execution. I would advise everyone to keep their will in a safe place where it will not be destroyed or lost. That could be in a filing cabinet, a home safe, or a shared safe deposit box. It can be just about anywhere so long as you know it will still be there when you pass away, and your loved ones will be able to find it. The fact of the matter is that where you put your will isn’t as important as who knows where your will is. They are the ones who will need it once you have passed away. It is important that your loved ones know where your ORIGINAL Texas will is located when you pass away. I have had many clients come to me knowing their loved one left a will but having no idea where it is. A will that cannot be found is no will at all.
