New National Secure Document Storage Service

New National Secure Document Storage Service

There are some important questions that will always need to be asked, and often at the time when you would rather not have to deal with the answers.

This is why having a plan in place to answer them, just in case, makes these two questions easy to answer. (Not knowing the answers to these two questions only causes more grief and anxiety).

These two uncomfortable questions will need to be asked every time at the passing of a loved one and are;

• Do you know if a Will was ever made?
• Do you know where the Will is stored?

Introducing a New service for Sapience Financial clients – complimentary secure storage of your Will and estate planning documents — for life.

Read in this article

New National Secure Document Storage service

Sapience Financial now offers access to a secure document storage service by a national service provider, to Sapience clients for their Estate Planning documents and Business Owner and Partner Agreements. These include their Wills, Enduring Powers of Attorney, Enduring Powers of Guardianship, Advance Health Directives, Trust Deeds and related key documents.

Due to the confidential nature of most of the documents held on behalf of clients, the service has a strict access policy in place to regulate the release of these documents.

1.  Collecting a Secured Document

A Will document will only be released to:

1. the client who made the Will. The client can collect the document in person from the secure service office by appointment, bearing his or her photo identification; or
2. the executor appointed under the client's Will. The executor can collect the document in person from the secure service office by appointment, bearing his or her photo identification together with the client's original death certificate; or
3. another law firm (acting on behalf of the client) by providing the secure service trustee with the client's written and signed authority to release the document to them.

Please note the service will not release a Will of a client to a person who is appointed under an Enduring Powers of Attorney nor to a law firm instructed by that person. (The Legal Practice Board of Western Australia - where the service is regulated - can be contacted for more information about this legal requirement).

2.  Requesting a copy of a Will

A copy of a Will may only be provided to the client who made the Will. The client can collect the copy in person from the services office by appointment, bearing their photo identification.

3.  Collecting an Enduring Power of Attorney or an Enduring Power of Guardianship

Enduring Power of Attorney and Enduring Power of Guardianship can be collected from the services office by appointment by the person appointed under the document as the attorney or guardian (as the case may be), subject to any client instructions we may hold to the contrary.

• These same documents can be provided to another law firm instructed accordingly by the client, to seek access.

4.  Collecting other documents

Depending on the nature of the documents, they may be collected from the services office by appointment by the client in person bearing their photo identification, or by another person who holds the clients written and signed authority to release the document.

• These same documents can be provided to another law firm instructed accordingly by the client, to seek access.

All additional questions can be addressed by contacting the National Secure Storage firm directly.

Lifetime secure document storage prevents suggestions of potential document tampering, and important legal documents being lost and answers the two uncomfortable questions that are always asked at the passing of a loved one

• Do you know if a Will was ever made?
• Do you know where the Will is stored?

The Sapience Modern Estate Planning Service can help you get this important part of life, finally sorted.

Drew Browne is a specialty Financial Risk Advisor working with Small Business Owners & their Families, Dual Income Professional Couples, and diverse families. He's an award-winning writer, speaker, financial adviser and business strategy mentor. His business Sapience Financial Group is committed to using business solutions for good in the community. In 2015 he was certified as a B Corp., and in 2017 was recognised in the inaugural Australian National Businesses of Tomorrow Awards. Today he advises Small Business Owners and their families, on how to protect themselves, from their businesses.  He writes for successful Small Business Owners and Industry publications. You can read his Modern Small Business Leadership Blog here. You can connect with him on LinkedIn.  Any information provided is general advice only and we have not considered your personal circumstances. Before making any decision on the basis of this advice you should consider if the advice is appropriate for you based on your particular circumstance.