Advice for Access to Must-Have Documents in an Emergency
With hurricane season here, it is important to make sure you have a digital copy of your important files. A great way to organize your essential documents, accounts, and more is to create an organized electronic list.
There are many accounts, policies, documents, and other information to organize—and the list of to-dos can quickly become overwhelming. With an ultimate digital planning checklist, you can get organized painlessly.
Use this checklist as a guide to start securely storing and sharing your crucial information:
Insurance Policies
- Life Insurance
- Health Insurance
- Car Insurance
- Home Insurance
- Other Insurance policies (theft, fire, earthquake, etc.)
Bank Accounts
- Checking accounts
- Savings accounts
- Money market accounts
- Certificates of deposit (CDs)
- Debit cards
Credit Cards
- Card number
- Expiration date
- Recent account statements
- Login and password information for online account management
Mortgages Or Loans
- Company through which mortgage or loan was given
- A copy of the mortgage or loan agreement
Tax Returns
- Most recent W-2 forms or federal self-employment tax return
- Income tax returns for the current and previous year, including 1040 variations and 1099s, if applicable
- Gift tax returns
Pension Plans And Retirement Benefit Information
- 401(k) or 403(b) plans
- IRAs
- Roth IRAs
- Simplified Employee Pension (SEP) plan
- Salary Reduction Simplified Employee Pension (SARSEP) plan
Titles Or Deeds To Any Property
- Real estate
- Motor vehicles
- Boats
Investment Portfolios
- Stocks
- Bonds
- Mutual funds
Will
- Copy of the Will
- Copies of previous versions of the Will
- Name of attorney or law firm that helped create the Will, if applicable
Trusts
- Declarations of trust or Trust agreements
- Name of attorney or law firm that helped create the Trust, if applicable
- Bank accounts associated with the Trust
Power Of Attorney
- Name of the person appointed to Power Of Attorney
- Power Of Attorney documentation
- Name of attorney or law firm that helped create the POA, if applicable
Safe Deposit Box
- Location of safe deposit box
- Safe deposit box keys or location of safe deposit box keys
Any Professionals Who Have Helped
- Lawyer
- Accountant
- Insurance agent
Advance Directive
- Living Will
- Health Care Proxy
- Do Not Resuscitate (DNR)
Proof Of Identity And Relationships
- Social Security card
- Armed Forces discharge papers
- Birth certificate
- Death certificate
- Marriage certificates
- Divorce certificates
- Prenuptial agreements
- Divorce settlements
Household Utilities
- Electricity
- Gas
- Water
- Phone
- Cable
- Internet
Automatically Renewing Medications
- Names of medications
- Name of pharmacy where medications are renewed
- Name of doctor who prescribed medication
Email/Online/Social Media Accounts & Passwords
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Treece Financial offers all of our clients—as well as anyone interested—a personal AdviceWorks account. This convenient online resource gives all of your documents a secure yet accessible digital vault.
Simply upload your documents and account data within private folders and access them all with only one password to remember. You can select who else has access to your documents in case of an emergency or after you pass.
Do you already have an AdviceWorks account?
There’s no time like the present to login and start securing your documents.
Do you want to create an AdviceWorks account?
Simply email us to request one.
Give AdviceWorks a try. The worst thing that can happen is you'll become super organized.
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RELATED RESOURCES:
Treece Talk: Hurricanes & Their Financial Impact in Florida with Dr. Hamid, FIU School of Business
Photo by Bruno Kelzer on Unsplash