After You Sign Your Will: Changes, Storage and What Happens Next

Once your Last Will and Testament has been properly signed, there are a few important things to know about storing it, making future changes and what will happen to the Will after your death.

A Will does not expire simply because time passes, but that does not mean you should sign it and forget about it forever. Keeping the original safe and reviewing your Will when your circumstances change can help ensure that it continues to reflect your wishes.

Where Should You Keep Your Will?

Keep your original signed Will in a safe place where it is protected from loss, damage or accidental destruction. Just as importantly, make sure at least one trusted person knows where the original can be found.

The person you named as your Personal Representative or Executor is an obvious person to tell where your Will is stored. You do not necessarily need to give that person the original, but he or she should be able to locate it when it is needed.

You may also make copies of your signed Will for your records or provide copies to selected people. However, copies should not be confused with the original signed Will. Preserve the original carefully.

What Should I Do With My Will After Signing It?

Keep the original signed Will in a safe place where it will be protected from loss, damage or accidental destruction. At least one trusted person, such as the person you named as your Personal Representative or Executor, should know where the original can be found.

You may make copies of your signed Will for your records or for selected people, but the original signed document should be preserved.

Some states allow a Will to be deposited with a court, clerk, recorder or other designated office for safekeeping during your lifetime. This is different from filing the Will for probate. Follow the instructions provided with your TotalLegal Will for any state-specific requirements or options concerning safekeeping of the completed document.

If you completed a Self-Proving Affidavit or a Separate Writing that your instructions tell you to keep with the Will, keep those documents with the original Will as well.

For more information about what to do after your Will has been signed, see After Signing Your Will.

Can You Change Your Will?

Yes. You can change your Will as many times as you want during your lifetime, as long as you have the legal capacity to do so and follow the requirements that apply to making the change.

Do not try to change an executed Will by crossing out language, writing new provisions on the document, removing pages or substituting new pages. Handwritten changes to an already signed Will can create questions about whether the change is legally effective and whether the Will still reflects your intentions.

If you want to make changes, creating and properly executing a new Will is often the clearest way to replace your previous Will. A new Will should expressly revoke prior Wills and must be signed according to the applicable requirements.

What Happens to Your Old Will?

When you properly execute a new Will that revokes your previous Wills, the new Will becomes the document that expresses your current wishes.

Once you are certain that your new Will has been properly executed, destroy the original of the old Will and as many copies as reasonably possible. Destroying a paper Will generally means physically tearing, shredding or otherwise defacing it so that it is clear the document is no longer intended to be used.

Keeping an old Will after replacing it can create unnecessary confusion about which document was intended to control. Make sure the people who need to know about your estate plan know that the new Will has replaced the old one and where the new original is stored.

When Should You Review Your Will?

Even if you do not currently want to make changes, it is a good idea to review your Will periodically. You should also consider reviewing it after a significant change in your family, finances or other circumstances.

Reasons to review your Will may include marriage or divorce, the birth or adoption of a child, the death of a beneficiary, Personal Representative, Trustee or guardian, a significant change in your property or finances, or a move to another state.

A review does not necessarily mean that your Will needs to be replaced. It gives you an opportunity to make sure that the people you named, the property distributions you selected and the other provisions of your Will still reflect your wishes.

What Happens to Your Will After Your Death?

After your death, your original Will should be located and provided to the person responsible for handling your estate. The Will is generally submitted to the appropriate court as part of the probate process when probate is required.

The person you named as your Personal Representative or Executor is responsible for administering your estate after being authorized to act. Depending on the estate and applicable state law, this may include identifying and protecting estate property, addressing debts and expenses, completing required court procedures and distributing property to the beneficiaries named in your Will.

Does Having a Will Avoid Probate?

No. A Will does not avoid probate. Instead, a Will provides instructions for distributing property that is subject to the Will through the probate process.

Whether probate is required depends largely on the property owned at death and how that property is held. Property titled solely in the deceased person's name with no beneficiary designation or other method for transferring ownership may need to pass through probate. Other property, such as assets owned jointly with rights of survivorship or assets with a valid beneficiary designation, may pass outside probate.

Probate is the legal process through which a deceased person's estate may be administered. Among other things, the process can establish the validity of the Will, authorize the Personal Representative or Executor to act, address estate obligations and provide for the distribution of probate property.

The exact probate procedure varies by state and may also depend on the type and value of property in the estate.

Does Everything You Own Pass Through Your Will?

No. Some property may pass to another person independently of the instructions in your Will.

For example, certain accounts or insurance policies may pass directly to a beneficiary named on the account or policy. Property owned with another person may also pass automatically to the surviving owner if the form of ownership includes a right of survivorship.

Because these assets can pass outside the Will, it is a good idea to review beneficiary designations and the ownership of important property when reviewing your overall estate plan.

What Happens to a Trust Created by Your Will?

If your Will creates a testamentary trust, the trust does not operate during your lifetime. It takes effect after your death if the circumstances described in your Will require the trust to be created.

The Trustee you named then manages the property placed in the trust and makes distributions according to the terms of your Will. A testamentary trust may continue after the rest of the estate administration has been completed if property is to remain in trust for a beneficiary.

For more information about creating a trust for your minor children, see Using a Will to Create a Trust.

Keep Your Estate Plan Current

Your signed Will represents your wishes based on your family, property, and circumstances when you created it. Those circumstances can change.

Keep the original Will safe, make sure someone you trust knows where to find it, and review the document periodically. When an important life change occurs, take another look at your Will and the other parts of your estate plan to make sure they still work together and continue to reflect what you want.