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Planned Giving
How to Keep Your Documents Safe
What Should and Should Not Go in a Safe-Deposit Box
Where do you keep important documents such as your will, mortgage papers and birth certificate? Are they tucked away in a desk drawer or stuffed into your filing cabinet? There’s a better place for them.
A safe-deposit box offers a protected place for some of your most valuable items. Found at many banks and credit unions, a safe-deposit box can cost as little as $50 a year and up to more than $400.
Not everything should be kept in a safe-deposit box, though. Here are the types of documents that belong in one and those that should stay close to you.
What to Keep in Your Safe-Deposit Box
- Insurance policy documents
- Birth, marriage and death certificates
- Adoption papers
- Mortgage papers and deeds
- Stock and bond certificates
- Personal items that have sentimental value and would be difficult to replace
Tip: Keep a separate list of items in your safe-deposit box and make sure you check your box at least once a year—if only to keep from forgetting where you hid the key.
What not to Keep in Your Safe-Deposit Box
These items, though important, should not be kept in your safe-deposit box. Instead, keep them somewhere safe at home such as in a fireproof, waterproof safe or lockbox.
- Original copies of your will and power-of-attorney documents
- Your “digital estate”: online accounts, logins/usernames and passwords
- Medical care directive papers
- Funeral or burial instructions
- Cash
Don’t Forget the Valuable Places
Now that you know how to keep valuable documents safe, discover how you can include the places you value in your future plans, too. Contact Nancy Graydon at ngraydon@glaucoma.org or 415-986-3162 ext. 231 to learn more.
The information on this website is not intended as legal or tax advice. For such advice, please consult an attorney or tax advisor. Figures cited in any examples are for illustrative purposes only. References to tax rates include federal taxes only and are subject to change. State law may further impact your individual results. Annuities are subject to regulation by the State of California. Payments under such agreements, however, are not protected or otherwise guaranteed by any government agency or the California Life and Health Insurance Guarantee Association. A charitable gift annuity is not regulated by the Oklahoma Insurance Department and is not protected by a guaranty association affiliated with the Oklahoma Insurance Department. Charitable gift annuities are not regulated by and are not under the jurisdiction of the South Dakota Division of Insurance.
