Q: I have been helping my father out at home trying to get his affairs in order. I found his will and a power of attorney and have put them in a safe place. I also found a stack of stock certificates. Is there anything that I should do with these, other than putting them in a safe place?

A: If you are regular readers, you know that one of the things that I'm constantly emphasizing is organization. A poorly planned but well organized estate is about as complicated as a well-planned but poorly organized estate.

Paper stock certificates are one of my pet peeves. Personally, I hate having paper stock certificates.

Sometimes you really have no choice. If you are a shareholder in a small-incorporated family business, holding paper stock certificates is likely your only choice. That's usually not the case when you own shares of stock in a large publicly traded corporation.

Here are a few of the reasons that I don't like paper stock certificates. First, paper certificates get lost -- a lot. Probably a third of the estates upon which I have worked that had certificated shares of stock had missing certificates.

Most of you probably have never had to replace a lost or missing certificate. I have, and it is not an easy process. You have to track down the transfer agent and notify it that the certificates are missing.

You must obtain the replacement documents, complete the forms and return the documents with what can be a large check for fees and bond. Although the bond will vary greatly, you should count on it setting you back at least a hundred bucks but probably closer to two hundred.

Another problem is having too many certificates. I'm not sure why, but decedent's often have stock certificates for companies that have been acquired or no longer exist. I'm working an estate right now in which the family brought me two certificates for companies that no longer exist. Even with the Internet, it isn't always easy to find out what happened to a missing company. It takes time, and in my business, time equals money.

Finally, transferring or selling certificated shares requires multiple sets of documents. Multiple sets of documents require lots of time.

Remember what I said about time?

Here is my suggestion, deposit the shares of stock in a brokerage or custody account. A brokerage account should be able to hold the shares of all of your father's stock. It's an easy way to keep track of the stock and dividends. It may cost you a few dollars, but it will make record keeping much easier and lessen the chance that something will go missing. It also will be a breeze to transfer after death as you will only be dealing with one party who will only require one set of documents.

You also might be able to deposit the shares of stock with the company issuing the stock in a book entry account. It would bring the same benefits as above except you need to do this with each company in which your father owns stock.

Finally, by using an account to hold the stock, your father can use a transfer on death direction to keep the stock out of probate. Avoiding probate is a generally considered a good thing.

Organization is a big part of any well-planned estate. The more organized you are, the less work for people like me. Less work makes me happy and will make you happy when you get my bill.

Opinions expressed solely are those of the writer. Christopher W. Yugo is a member of the Indiana Bar and a vice president and senior trust Officer for First National Bank's Trust Department. Address questions to Yugo in care of The Times, 601 W. 45th Ave., Munster, IN, 46321. Yugo's information is meant to be general in nature. Specific legal, tax, or insurance questions should be referred to your attorney, accountant or estate-planning specialist.