Our wills, homeowners ins policy and special jewelry are stored in our safe deposit box. In our last house we had a safe built in to the bottom of one of the kitchen cabinets.

House deed, some fine gold bars, high value savings bonds, special jewelry, a JFK autograph on a campaign brochure I got from him personally when he and Jackie visited my school, Social Security card, car title, birth certificate, and passport.

Going from memory:

Birth certificates, marriage certificate, important papers relating to my husbands business, social security cards, a small envelope of negatives, homeowners insurance policy, an antique silver dollar that my child "called" when we spotted it on a walk.

I used to use a safety deposit box at a bank (they are tax deductable, you know) but not anymore. It was inconvenient to get to. My mom only lives a few miles from me and she has an awesome safe and I trust her completely. Also, if your spouse dies the safety deposit box is sealed until probate is satisfied. (We're still working on trusts for our children instead of a will.) This way, I have access in case of hubby's death. The business papers I need access to immediately if he or his partner dies. I am the executor of my mothers will and she has explained some of the things that she is leaving in there also such as Certificates of Deposits that are Transferable on Death (to me.)

We came up with a hiding place for the combination that we both have access to and practiced opening it many times. When I had the stuff at the bank the bank gave me an inventory sheet that I kept at home for reference.

I have one of those Sentry fire-safe boxes.

Birth certificates, marriage license, mortgage payoff letter, original documents for co-op ownership, savings bonds.

But NOT my social security card; you're supposed to present the original, anytime it's needed.

We should probably make a will.

If you have your own safe (or in my case I share my mom's) you don't have to worry about retrieving documents. My social security card would be easy to get if I needed it. I've had the same employer for over 25 years and my SS card was not even needed then, you just needed the number. But I have it safe and sound in case I ever do need it.

I have a co-worker who has 5 kids. They need their birth certificates when they register for Little League or other activities. I can't count the number of times I've seen her order duplicate birth certificates at a cost of $15.00 each. Even my hubby and I have our originals. Since we've been married I can only recall needing them when we applied for our original passports and in the past when we crossed the border to Canada. Now we have to use our passports but have easy access to them in the safe. One of the things I do at my work is passport photos. I get lots of frazzled people applying for replacement passports because they can't find theirs and they have booked a trip. I love traveling and feel comfortable booking even at last minute because I know where mine is.

I am just trying to highlight the reasons why it is convenient to have a home safe (or in my case I use my mom's) Also, I don't want the government to lock me out in case my husband dies; I'll also have access to my mom's stuff (she is a widow). It is very important to hide the combination in a good place and practice opening the safe.

If you feel more comfortable with a bank's safety deposit box remember they are also susceptible to fire, flood, hurricane, etc. It's just the risk you take.

You might want to keep someone else's will in your safe deposit box, but not your own. How would anyone get to it if you died?

In my bank boxes (plural):
--Tax returns
--Mortgage and refi docs
--Checkbooks (I do 99% of my bills through on-line billpay)
--Paid-off emergency credit cards
--Annual CD records from the on-line billpay company
--Jewelry
--My will & living will
--My parents' will
--My divorce papers
--Insurance policies
--Stock certificates
--I-bonds
--Passport
--Birth certificate
--Hard drive with all my MP3s - ~100G, all legal, thanks

Can you tell I keep this in my PDA? The bank is relatively close to my home, and a block from my workplace, so it's convenient to get to it.

And my parents have a copy of my will, so they can kick things off even while the box is locked up after my death. I've been trying to get them set up as co-owners of the boxes for a few years now, but they're not in town very much.

I've seen those home safes at Walmart but are they completely fireproof?

Re the safe deposit box/will issue. I just went through this with my dad's will. He forgot to remove my mother from the safe deposit box when she died and to add me as an authorized keyholder... so of course I needed the original will for probate... and of course they wouldn't let me IN the box to get the original will.

It's not a crisis, of course, since realistically it takes a while to settle an estate and the survivors can manage for a few days without the original will. Your survivors can get a court order granting them access to the box for the sole purpose of retrieving the will (which is what I did).

However, to save time and trouble, it's wise to always have one other person who has access to the box. Especially if the box contains items you may need in a HURRY, like a living will or Do Not Resuscitate order, or a power of attorney. Or your emergency stash of Y2K-proof gold bullion, or whatever. :)

deeds, pink slips for the cars, birth certificate originals, marriage license original, some military info, passports, certificate of deposit papers, savings bonds for the kids, hmm.... i think that might be it.

1. Passports
2. Original birth certificates
3. special jewelry and coins
4. marriage license original
5. some military papers
6. Loan payoff papers from the banks
7. Car titles

Our lawyer told us not to keep copies of our wills in our safe deposit box in case one or both of us dies over a weekend and the will cannot be accessed. He said it's better to keep them in a safe place at home, so that's what we do. The originals are on file at the lawyer's office.

Check to see if you can file your will with the courts BEFORE you die.

Because, my next-door neighbors passed away at the age of 92, and nobody knew who their lawyers were. We called every lawyer in their address book, with no luck.

How would their lawyers from the 1950s (which is when their will was drawn up) know they had died?

Fortunately, they had a copy in a bottom dresser drawer (which is how I know when they drew it up), which their conservator found eventually.

http://militaryfinance.umuc.edu/help/FAQs.html
Estate Planning

Q: Where should I keep my Will?

A: The originals of your Will and any trusts should be kept in a safe place. In most cases, your family will need your original Will to begin the probate process. Therefore your close family members should know the location. In many states you can file your Will with the court for a small charge. If you do file your Will, it is a good idea to mark a copy with the location of the original so that your family will know where the original is located. For information, see Estate Planning/Wills.Estate Planning

Q: Where should I keep my Will?

A: The originals of your Will and any trusts should be kept in a safe place. In most cases, your family will need your original Will to begin the probate process. Therefore your close family members should know the location. In many states you can file your Will with the court for a small charge. If you do file your Will, it is a good idea to mark a copy with the location of the original so that your family will know where the original is located. For information, see Estate Planning/Wills.

So many of you are writing in about the will not being accessible after your death (safety deposit box is sealed). That's why I have my personal papers in my mom's safe, it's private and no one is going to put a seal on it.

We worked out a special place to put the combination.

I am not writing a will but a trust for my children. But I do have papers that I would have to access immediately if my husband or his business partner died. Taken care of!

I've never had a safe deposit box, and here in California, it came to light recently that the state has been seizing property from 'forgotten' boxes and bank accounts for years. They legislated the time for an account to be considered abandoned to just a couple of years. Even though they're supposed to make every effort to contact the owners, they make no effort. They take the goods from the boxes, sell much of it on Ebay and put the money into the state's 'safekeeping' account, saying that they're protecting it for the owner, who they just stole it from. If this state owes you anything, they will fight to the death to make sure they keep it. When you go to the state website to see if they have any property that belongs to you, and find some amount, they require you to fill out rediculous forms and send all sorts of ID and once that's done, they warn you that the process will take at least 18 months and if you contact them in any way within that time, they will have to start all over. It's just sickening. I believe that the feds have made them stop this for now, but have noticed that some counties here are seizing the same sort of property now. In this state, a safe deposit box may be the worst place to keep anything.

We did wills on legalzoom.com online and got the notary, etc. after we received them. We made each kid (adults) a copy of every paper, put them in folders, told them what was in them, taped them shut with big cellophane tape (so anyone who shouldn't see them has to break the tape to look) and they each have a copy. Included in each copy is the location of the original, which is on an ordinary shelf in our home. Of course, if our house is destroyed, the will won't be there, but having the bank keep it may result in it being shredded by the state. Linda

Here is a link that might be useful: Califonia's seizure of private property

Actually, nothing. We pay the yearly fee and don't keep a thing in it. We have a very small firebox at the house. It's never locked, but just for convenience. Anything we keep in there can be replaced. It would be a bit of a pain, but it's do-able.

Everything like deeds, birth certificates, etc. are on file with the state. Wills are on file also. I need to just make copies of everything and mail to a friend out of state in case we were to have the "big one."

Gloria