We have seen lots of storms the past few months here in SE, Kansas. Lots of thunder and sharp lightening and also some rain. According to weather bureau forecasters, 2025 is to be a year of exceptional severe weather. We have already seen enough of that prediction but we still have 1/3 of the year to go. Are you emergency ready?
Life’s emergency situations require advanced preparation and planning. The first step is to organize your financial information. Many situations require that you take action now to avoid financial problems later.
Here is a list of suggested contents for either a portable fireproof box or a safe.
• Birth certificates for household members
• Social Security cards for household members, including those for children
• Marriage certificate
• Religious certificates
• Adoption papers
• Color copies of driver’s licenses • Color copies of passports
• Deed to your residence
• Mortgage documents and other loan documents
• Titles for vehicles
• Insurance policies and agents
• Inventory list of household and personal items at office or other locations.
• Photographic inventory of household, office, and storage items.
• Copy of wills, living wills, trusts, Power of attorney, Letters of Instruction, and Health Care Power of Attorney
• Name and contact information for family attorney
• List of safe deposit boxes should you have any and who is authorized to open them.
• Documents showing ownership of investments.
• List of all electronic access user IDs and pass words This is a good partial list. You can probably think of others you might want to add. There are two on this list I think many people don’t think about. One is the photographic inventory of household and office items and the other is the list of electronic access user IDs and passwords. If you aren’t able to access those things requiring a password or ID your family or person in charge of helping you will not be able to access things on your computer or phone. It would take maybe days to find someone who could access your stored information that you keep on your computer. I also advise you to scan and download all of your documents on a couple of flash drives. Keep at least one where you can access it quickly and the other at a secure place. There have been banks that have been destroyed and people were not allowed into their safety deposit boxes.
I am sure many people in areas hit by flood and fire this past year can vouch for how important these papers are in the aftermath of such devastating loss.
