The Fragility of Paper: Are Traditional Wills Truly Secure?

For centuries, the physical "Last Will and Testament" has been the cornerstone of estate planning. We have been taught that as long as the paper is in a safe or a desk drawer, our legacy is secure. In reality, paper is one of the most vulnerable mediums for your most important instructions.

The Risk of Unauthorized Changes and Destruction

A physical Will is only as secure as the room it is kept in. There are countless documented cases where a family member, unhappy with their inheritance, has located the physical Will before it reached the probate court.

In many jurisdictions, if the original signed Will cannot be found, the court presumes the testator destroyed it with the intent to revoke it. This often forces the estate into "Intestacy," where the state decides who gets your assets based on a rigid formula rather than your actual wishes.

Real World Vulnerabilities

Consider these common scenarios that occur every year in US probate courts:

• The Safe Deposit Box Trap: Families often store their Will in a bank safe deposit box. However, when the owner dies, the bank may seal the box. The family then needs a court order to open the box to get the Will... but they need the Will to prove they have the authority to get the court order.
• Natural Disasters: Fires and floods destroy thousands of original legal documents annually. Unlike a deed which is recorded with the county, a Will is often a "private" document that does not exist in a public database until after death.
• The "Update" Problem: When people want to change a Will, they often cross out lines or attach notes (codicils). These manual edits are frequent targets for legal challenges, as it is difficult to prove the deceased made the changes themselves without coercion.

Securing Your Legacy with Fallbacks

The solution to the fragility of paper is a secure, automated digital backup that cannot be tampered with by disgruntled heirs. Fallbacks provides a layer of security that traditional paper cannot match.

By using Fallbacks, you are not just digitizing a document: you are securing the access to it.

• End to End Encryption: Your uploaded documents are encrypted so that only you and your designated recipients can ever see them.
• Tamper Proof Storage: Unlike a physical document that can be "lost," Fallbacks ensures your recipients receive documents that only them can view.
• Automated Tasks: You can set up specific actions, such as notifying multiple trusted family member of your specific instructions which prevents any single individual from hiding or destroying your plan.

Redundancy is Security

Relying on a single piece of paper to protect your entire life’s work is a high risk strategy. By combining a physical plan with an automated digital vault, you ensure that your instructions are not only preserved but actively delivered to the people who need them.