Emergency Preparedness Series:
Gather Important Documents
Scenario: You’ve just come home from work only to find that a tropical storm is lingering out in the Atlantic Ocean and is rapidly turning into a hurricane. Your home is in the direct path of the eye of the storm and government officials have called for a mandatory evacuation.
Sound familiar? In this scenario, how long do you think it will take you to gather all of your important documents, assuming that you won’t have a home to come back to? If you said an hour or two, that's too long! It should take you less than 10 minutes to grab all the papers you need. You'll have a very hard time, especially during a crisis, trying to put your life back together if you’re missing important documents.
Start now by using this checklist to gather all of your vital documents and store them in a fireproof, waterproof or safe deposit box. Ideally, you should take these documents with you in a crisis situation. Use plastic covers for passports, birth and marriage certificates, etc.
Important Document Checklist
- Copy of driver’s license
- Passport/ Immigration papers
- Social Security Card
- Certified copy of birth & death certificates/ Adoption papers
- Certified copy of marriage license/ Divorce
- Church records
- Copy of medical & dental insurance
- Home insurance policy/ Photo of valuables
- Property & vehicles titles/ Deeds
- Wills/ Trusts/ Power of Attorney
- Income tax returns (past 3 years)
- Investments/ Stocks & bonds
- Credit card/ Loan information
- Bank information & contact
- Employer benefits statement
- All account numbers & passwords
- Medication list
- Resume/ Address history
- Cash ($2,000 if possible)
- Current pictures of each family member (pets too!)
- Backup computer files
View PREVIOUS ORGANIZING TIPS in the archive.
