Do lawyers keep original copies of wills?
No state we checked requires a lawyer to hold your original will. Some firms offer it, some decline — and the deadline binds whoever holds it.
This question is usually asked one of two ways. Either you signed a will years ago and are trying to work out whether the firm still has the original, or you are about to sign one and are deciding whether to leave it with them. The law has surprisingly little to say about the first situation and quite a lot to say about what happens to that piece of paper the day you die.
What the law requires: less than you would expect
Across the statutes we read — California, Florida, Ohio and New York — nothing obliges an attorney to take custody of a client’s original will, and nothing obliges one who has taken custody to keep doing so forever. Holding original wills is a service some firms offer. It is not a legal duty.
What the statutes regulate is custody, not profession. They speak about “the custodian of a will,” and that word covers a lawyer, a bank, a spouse, an adult child, or a neighbor equally.
| Party | Required to hold the original? | Required to do something after the death? |
|---|---|---|
| A law firm | No — nothing in the statutes we read requires it | Yes, if it holds the original. It is the custodian, on the same deadline as anyone else. |
| A family member | No | Yes, if they hold the original. Same statute, same deadline, same exposure. |
| A probate court holding a deposited will | It agreed to, and gave a certificate for it | New York: publicly opens and examines the will after death and files it in the court |
The duty that attaches to whoever holds it
This is the part that makes the storage decision matter. The day the will-maker dies, the holder becomes a custodian with a statutory job.
- Florida: deposit the will with the clerk of the court having venue within 10 days after receiving information that the testator is dead (Fla. Stat. § 732.901). The clerk must then retain and preserve the original in its original form for at least 20 years.
- California: within 30 daysof learning of the death, deliver the will to the superior court clerk and send a copy to the named executor or a named beneficiary. A custodian who fails “shall be liable for all damages sustained by any person injured by the failure” (Cal. Prob. Code § 8200). The delivery fee is $50.
The alternative most people do not know about
If what you want is an institution that will still exist in thirty years, the probate court is a better answer than any private office.
Ohio — $25 and a certificate
Ohio Revised Code § 2107.07: a will may be deposited with the probate court in the county where the testator lives, before or after death. “Upon the payment of the fee of twenty-five dollars to the court, the judge shall receive, keep, and give a certificate of deposit for the will.” It is kept in a sealed envelope and not opened or read until delivered to a person entitled to receive it.
New York — sealed until you die
SCPA § 2507: the Surrogate’s Court receives and deposits a domiciliary’s will on payment of the fee allowed by law, in a sealed wrapper “so that the contents thereof cannot be read.” After death the court publicly opens and examines it and files it.
Deposit procedures are state-specific and not universal. Your county probate court or Surrogate’s Court clerk can confirm in one phone call whether they accept wills for safekeeping and what they charge. For the full comparison, see where to store a will.
The question underneath this question
Whether a lawyer holds the original matters far less than whether anyone knows a lawyer holds it. The risk of professional storage is not that the document is unsafe. It is that the executor never learns which office to call, the firm changes its name, and the will is functionally lost.
And a functionally lost will is a legal problem, not just an inconvenience. California Probate Code § 6124presumes a will was destroyed with intent to revoke where it was last in the testator’s possession and cannot be found — a presumption that starts the case against the will rather than for it.
Whichever way you go, write down where the original is and tell the person you named as executor. It is the cheapest step in this entire subject.
Sources
Every rule and figure on this page was read directly from the source below on the date shown. Statutes are amended; check the current text before you rely on it.
- California Probate Code § 8200 — California. Read 2026-08-21.
- Florida Statutes § 732.901 — Florida. Read 2026-08-21.
- Ohio Revised Code § 2107.07 — Ohio. Read 2026-08-21.
- New York Surrogate's Court Procedure Act § 2507 — New York. Read 2026-08-21.
- California Government Code § 70626 — California. Read 2026-08-21.
- California Probate Code § 6124 — California. Read 2026-08-21.
Common follow-up questions
How do I find out whether my old lawyer still has it?▾
Call and ask, and ask for the answer in writing. If the firm has merged or closed, the successor firm or the state bar may be able to say where client files went. Keep whatever they send you with your personal papers — a letter confirming the location is the map your executor will need.
Should I leave the original with my lawyer?▾
That is a personal decision and this site does not make it for you. The trade-off is real on both sides: a firm gives you a professional office and a record, and firms also merge, retire and close. What matters more than the choice is that the named executor knows which choice you made.
Can I ask for my original back?▾
It is your document. Ask the firm to return it, and ask what their process is, and decide where it will live before you collect it — the gap between picking it up and storing it properly is where wills get mislaid.
What happens to the original when I die if the lawyer has it?▾
The firm becomes the custodian, with the same statutory duty as anyone else. Florida requires a custodian to deposit the will with the clerk of court within 10 days of learning the testator has died. California allows 30 days and makes a non-complying custodian liable for all damages sustained by anyone injured by the failure.
Is there anywhere more permanent than a law firm?▾
In some states, yes — the probate court itself. Ohio charges $25 to deposit a will with the probate court and gives you a certificate of deposit, keeping it sealed until it is delivered to a person entitled to receive it. New York's Surrogate's Court will do the same on payment of the fee allowed by law.
Please read
This is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. We are not a law firm and no one here is your lawyer. Wills and estates are governed by state law, and the rules differ from one state to the next — a deadline or a form that is right in Florida can be wrong in Ohio. The statutes quoted on this site are the ones we read, cited by name so you can check them yourself. Before you sign, store, change or file anything, talk to an attorney licensed in your state, or start with your state bar’s lawyer referral service or your state court’s self-help center. More about who we are.