The number one question we get asked is, "can we scan our documents and the shred the paper to save on storage costs?" And unfortunately the answer is, "it depends?" A new ruling from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware seems to support the idea of shredding the paper copies.

In a ruling about bankrupt American Home Mortgage Investment Company the court approved the company shredding an estimated 1.1 million hard-copy loan files when a image of the document existed. The company says this will save $45,000 monthly in storage fees.

This is obviously a very specific ruling but is a sign that images are becoming more widely expected in the legal world.