Why I Don't Keep Original Documents for My Clients
I blogged here about estate planning attorneys storing their clients' original documents. The issue came up again today on the ISBA Transactional Law listserv. I thought about my position on why I don't keep clients' original documents, and wanted to share it here.
I don't keep any originals, for a few reasons:
1. "I'm an attorney, not a Will repository, damnit!" (Imagine me saying this in the voice of Bones, from Star Trek)
2. The biggest rationale for keeping original documents -- that you'll get the estate work when your clients die -- always has struck me as a little bit sleazy. Ditto the fact that you are making it uncomfortable for clients who want to hire a new attorney in the future. I don't know how many new clients have come to me and said, "Attorney X has my documents. Can you contact him and get them back? I feel really funny about it."
3. I like to manage risk, and am not interested in managing the risk that my Will repository is damaged in a fire or flood or tornado.
4. While we may have a formal Illinois Will repository in the future, what if we don't? Illinois law imposes a duty on anyone holding an individual's original Will to file the Will with the local probate court upon the individual's death. Do I really want to spend my time checking obits to see if my former clients have died?
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