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  • How long should I keep this stuff?

    After mom's death, the lawyers started to wind up her estate. The company kept us updated via snail mail. The dispersal of the estate has long since been completed and I'm wondering how long I should keep those letters? Is there, in fact, any reason at all to keep them any more?

    There was never any dispute about the estate's dispersal; if any of us had thought there was, we had the chance before the final paperwork was done to say so.
    Customer service: More efficient than a Dementor's kiss
    ~ Mr Hero

  • #2
    FWIW - I'd guess three to five years as an absolute minimum, in a secure place. Maybe email one of the lawyers and ask. If it's not a vast amount of documentation, consider scanning it all in and burning the PDFs to blu-ray or the like (as well as a HDD or two; DVDs and CDs start to self-destruct after a decade or so)
    "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
    "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
    "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
    "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
    "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
    "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
    Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
    "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

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    • #3
      Wow, really? That long??

      Okay, I'll do that. Perhaps I'll rent a safe deposit box at the bank and put it all in there.

      Er ... what's an HDD ... ?
      Customer service: More efficient than a Dementor's kiss
      ~ Mr Hero

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      • #4
        Quoth Pixelated View Post
        Wow, really? That long??

        Okay, I'll do that. Perhaps I'll rent a safe deposit box at the bank and put it all in there.

        Er ... what's an HDD ... ?
        HDD = Hard Disk Drive

        Do ask the lawyers how long you should keep the papers, and which papers to keep.
        "I don't have to be petty. The Universe does that for me."

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        • #5
          I've still got their email address, so that'll be easy enough. Thanks.
          Customer service: More efficient than a Dementor's kiss
          ~ Mr Hero

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          • #6
            Seven years for tax purposes. (Former IRS agent here, no I don't miss it at all)
            My son thinks I'm Lucifer Morningstar. I'm not sure he's wrong.

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            • #7
              Quoth YamiNoHime View Post
              Seven years for tax purposes.
              Exactly. For those that don't relate to taxes, I agree with Ironclad, verify with the lawyer.
              I'm trying to see things from your point of view, but I can't get my head that far up my keister!

              Who is John Galt?
              -Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

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              • #8
                HDD = Hard disk drive (assuming you have multiples -- back it up to more than one drive; ideally, one of them should be portable)
                "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
                "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
                "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
                "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
                "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
                "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
                Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
                "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

                Comment


                • #9
                  Pixelated is Canadian. Laws may vary.

                  Lots of good, inexpensive cloud storage is available too. Pick a couple to play it safe.
                  Life is too short to not eat popcorn.
                  Save the Ales!
                  Toys for Tots at Rooster's Cafe

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                  • #10
                    In Canada, there in no inheritance tax. It was all paid by the estate before the final distributions were sent out.

                    I've been going through this with my dad's estate - not a fun process.

                    I've kept all the letters (5) and I have the e-mails with the lawyers filed away for now. I don't think I'll ever need them again.

                    B
                    "Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."- Albert Einstein.
                    I never knew how happy paint could make people until I started selling it.

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                    • #11
                      Ah, thank you for the clarifications, folks. I did not stop to think that some responses might come from countries where inheritance taxes are a thing ...

                      Yes, all of that sort of thing was paid off during the wrap-up process. We got letters about that too.
                      Customer service: More efficient than a Dementor's kiss
                      ~ Mr Hero

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                      • #12
                        The IRS in the USA Can go back 7 years in a audit, hence my suggestion.
                        My son thinks I'm Lucifer Morningstar. I'm not sure he's wrong.

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