Where do you securely store your legal documents? Well we have information for you and lawyers who can help you both create and safely store your legal documents. It’s tough to know where to store and how to keep track of all the legal-related documents we accumulate. Here are some guidelines that can help you figure out what you need to protect, and how.

Use copies to point the direction to originals. When you give a trusted family member or someone else copies of original documents, let them know where the originals are. You can do this simply by writing the information on the copy. For example: “The original of this document is in the fireproof box in my basement on the top shelf.”

Keep close track of the important stuff. The appraisals and other documents you piled up on a property you purchased years ago don’t have much current legal or practical impact. But knowing where the actual closing statement or final settlement statement is important, because it helps establish your basis in the property for when you eventually sell it.

Safe Deposit Box. If you’re the sole owner of the safe deposit box, someone else might not have access to a document such as a health-care proxy or durable power of attorney. The solution: Give a copy of these documents to your lawyer, to the person you’re making responsible for the health-care proxy or durable power of attorney, and to your physician as well. (Many hospitals and medical professionals now even provide patients with a blank health-care proxy and other forms that individuals can fill out and keep on file with the medical professional.) Another option is to give someone else the right to access the safe deposit box. But if you do that, be sure that you don’t keep any cash or negotiable instruments in the box.