Important Financial and Legal Documents Are You Ready for a Quick Getaway?

Are you ready for a quick getaway? Whether going on a vacation or evacuating in the case of a hurricane, being prepared is more than packing suitcases or storing water and supplies.

In Part One, we shared our checklist for things to do to prepare for a hurricane and evacuation in the case of an emergency - here we are discussing the important financial, legal and other documents that you should take with you in the case of an emergency evacuation from your home. In Part Three, we will discuss the physical medical plan for evacuation for you, your family and your pets.

We have prepared the following checklist to assist you in gathering the necessary and appropriate financial, legal and other documents that you will need to recover from a Hurricane. Your emergency file (briefcase, plastic expandable file folder, etc.) should be easily accessible and ready to go, especially during Hurricane season. Most of these documents and items can be scanned and stored on your computer, on a backup drive, thumb drive or in the cloud. We recommend a dry/safe copy be available/ stored in a secondary location - e.g., you keep the originals and the copies are stored in a remote location in the cloud or with a trusted child or advisor.

Here is our checklist (you may wish to walk around your house and review your important papers file(s) to see if you need to modify your list):

Important Documents:

• Deed to Real Estate

• Title Insurance Policy

• Birth Certificate(s)

• Marriage Certificate

• Passport(s)

• Vehicle Title(s)

• Homeowners, Automobile, Boat Insurance Policies

• Previous Year Tax Return

• Brokerage Statements

• Bank Statements

• Estate Planning Documents - (Will, Trust, Financial Power of Attorney, Designation of Health Care Surrogate, Living Will, HIPAA Release)

• Financial Insurance Policies including Long Term Care, Life, Annuity and Disability

• Medical Records

Miscellaneous Documents, Lists, and Essential Items:

• Copies of Everything in Your Wallet including Credit Cards (both front and back), Health Insurance Cards and Driver's License

• List of Current Medications (Both Prescription and Over the Counter)

• List of Doctors/Health Care Providers

• List of Financial and Legal Professionals

• Family Members Information - All Contact Information

• Neighbors and Close Friends - All Contact Information
  Passwords

• Disc or Thumb Drive from Backup from Computer

• Photographs of Valuable Tangible Personal Property for Insurance Purposes

• Keys to Safe Deposit Box

• All Other Essential Keys - e.g., Briefcase, Car, Storage Facility Keys

• Pet documentation (ownership papers, care plan, health information)

• Notification list - list of obligations - example if you care for someone else - who should be notified in the case of an emergency

Make a plan in advance to ensure you, and your family is protected during and after the storm.