Word 2000

We have some documents that contain date fields. Unfortunately, these
fields simply pull in the current date, which is fine for a shell document.
However, once the shell document has been used to create a new document, we
want that date field to hold it's value, and not update every time the
document is opened.

My first thought was to use a field that pulls in the document creation
date. But I have a question about that approach. Would the field show the
date that the shell document was created, or the date that the new document
was created from the shell document? In other words, if I create a shell
document today, and then a year from now I use that shell to create a new
document, would the date field show today's date (the day I created the
shell), or the date of a year from now (the day that I created the new
document using the shell)?

Also, what is the best date field to use for this type of situation?

Currently, we are using Word 2000, but in the next couple of months we will
be updating to Word 2003, so replies regarding Word 2003 specifically will
also be welcomed.

--Tom