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How long do I need to keep my deceased husband's deceased client's files?
Anonymous4 views3 answers
My husband passed away recently. One of his clients passed away one month before he did. How long do I have to keep the deceased client's file which contains financial information? Should I notify the Executor of this client's Will that I have the financial information and would like to know what to do with it? My husband's business has been closed and the client list sold. Thank you.
Different rules apply depending on the type of business, but since your husband's business was sold, perhaps the client files should go to the purchaser. If the purchaser isn't entitled to the file, then it would seem reasonable to contact the executor of the client's estate as you suggest. Lawrence Friedman, Bridgewater, NJ. Certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the ABA approved National Elder Law Foundation, former Chair NJ State Bar Association Elder and Disabilities Law Section, Member Board of Consultors of NJSBA Real Property, Trusts & Estates Law Section, Vice Chair Special Needs Law Section of National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, and Master of Laws (L.L.M.) in Taxation from N.Y.U. School of Law.
It would seem that your requirements are more practical than legal, in this situation. You are not personally responsible for your husband's client files, as HE would have been. But I am also sure that it would be very helpful to clients to have access to the information you possess. I am not sure why you would still have these files, if the business was sold. The client files should have been sold along with the client list. I would want to be rid of ALL of these files, if it were me. I would try to get the purchaser to take them. I would also call the executor of the client that you are aware of and give him/her the opportunity to retrieve the file.
James Frederick
