Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Important Documents

In the daily scurry of life it’s easy to overlook a step that is vital to long-term family survival - organizing important records.

A major disaster, or a family member’s death, can create havoc for the family if important documents were not created and then duplicated in another location.


Those who have had to assist a family following the death of the person who was the family record-keeper know the difficulty of finding essential information. Sometimes it is not possible to reconstruct key records after that death. There may be funds on deposit in places now forgotten, a paid-up insurance policy misfiled, or other items not listed in accessible records.

In the aftermath of any major disaster essential records that were in a just-destroyed home or business may be irretrievably lost, resulting in a horrible family nightmare; i.e., insurance claims, disaster assistance, even physical access to the area denied for lack of essential records.

Here is a list of items, documents, and information to keep in accessible places: (1) in your house; (2) copy in safe deposit box; (3) copy in a remote location. It’s a protection that is used in business; that is, put copies of essential records in places remotely located from their main site. While this may sound like a chore, it really isn’t. The benefit you gain is an overview of your current situation, and a list of where key records are filed. Review this every five years as it can be surprising how family and personal information can change…


Important Documents

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