Storing your future planning documents

Making future planning documents will bring you a great deal of security and autonomy if you should ever become unable to make your own decisions. The time and effort you put into them is a good investment in your own future, and they are something that every adult should write.

The final step in the process is to think carefully about where your documents are kept and how to make sure that your decision-making supporters know where they are.

Storing your future planning documents in a safe, logical and accessible place will help to ensure your family, friends or professional carers can act for you the way you want them to. It will also save you hunting around for your documents if you decide to revoke or change one of them later.

While many people simply keep them somewhere at home, there are alternatives for storing your future planning documents. Some independent statutory bodies, such as public trustees, offer document storage services. These vary between states and territories and from document to document, so the information may seem confusing.

In this article, we’ll help you find the options available where you live.

What are ‘future planning documents’?

‘Future planning documents’ is a term often used to describe the collection of formal documents you can make that record your preferences, wishes and instructions for your future care and decision-making and what is to happen with your property when you die.

Your future planning documents may be called different names in different states and territories, but they generally include your:

• Will

• General and Enduring Power of Attorney (or Advance Personal Plan)

• Enduring Guardian

• Advance Health Directive (or Advance Care Directive).

Storing documents with independent statutory bodies

The advantages of using these services to store your future planning documents include security, accessibility and validity.

• The storage facilities that statutory bodies provide for future planning documents will protect them from loss, theft or damage.

• There can be less risk of you losing the documents or forgetting where they are if they’re stored independently, rather than at home.

• It’s easier to tell others exactly where your future planning documents are stored if you only need to name an organisation, not a specific drawer or cupboard somewhere at home!

• Documents stored at home can be more vulnerable to alteration or destruction, which could lead to problems later if the documents come into effect. Documents stored independently may be less likely to have their validity questioned.

Here is a summary, by state or territory, of the documents you could choose to store with an independent agency. If a document is not listed under your state, there is currently no official storage option available – but read on through the article to find out about other options.

Other options for storing future planning documents

Storing documents with your lawyer

It’s a good idea to engage a solicitor to help you write your documents. If you do, they will have securely locked storage facilities that will keep your documents protected, yet accessible.

Make sure your executor, attorney, family and professional services know who your solicitor is, so they will be able to access your future planning documents should the need arise. You can also instruct your solicitor about who may access your documents.

Storing documents in a safe deposit box

Some banks and professional storage services offer safe deposit boxes for a monthly or annual fee. The cost could add up significantly over time, but if you already have valuables stored in a safe deposit box, this could be a convenient option.

If you do take out a safe deposit box (or ‘safe custody’ at a bank), it’s vital that several trusted people – your executor, attorney or family – know where the box is and how it can be accessed if you are unable to tell them. Access problems could delay you receiving the health care you need or your estate being settled according to your wishes.

Safe deposit boxes are intended to be a highly secure storage option, so it won’t be easy for other people to get into them! Some banks won’t allow access without probate – and you can’t get probate without the original will.

Make sure that your executor, attorney or other trusted person will be able to access the documents if you are unable to. Consider taking out the safe deposit box under multiple names: yours and the name or names of your executor, attorney or other people who might need to access it.

Storing your documents at home

While this is a simple and convenient option and one that many people choose, it can cause problems.

Your documents can easily be lost if you move house, forget where you put them, or experience a house fire or burglary. Home storage could also make it easier for someone untrustworthy to alter or destroy your documents for their own benefit.

If you decide to store your future planning documents at home, choose somewhere logical – for example, with other important documents in a filing cabinet – and label them clearly, to prevent them being accidentally discarded. A fireproof and waterproof safe could be a great solution.

You should also let your executor, attorney or other trusted person know that you’ve stored them at home and where.

Give copies to relevant and trusted people

Whatever storage option you chose, it’s advisable to provide certified copies of your future planning documents to relevant people, such as:

• your attorneys or executors

• family members

• close friends

• your medical practitioners

• your bank.

And, of course, make sure to tell those people where the original is stored.

Disclaimer: The information provided on this website is not a substitute for individual legal advice.