What to keep
Don’t wait until you need to list property that has been stolen, lost or damaged to find out you can’t remember what you owned or where you put it. Taking a few minutes now to organize and properly record or store your possessions and valuables could save you hours of frustration later. You should keep:
n Items that can be identified with a serial number or owner applied number (appliances, electronics, bicycles, cameras, tools, sporting goods)
n Items that must be photographed or appraised for identification (jewelry, antiques, collectibles)
n Documents for “safe keeping.” These include birth and death certificates, social security cards, marriage licenses, wills, estate planning documents, trusts, powers-of-attorney, deeds, motor vehicle titles, etc.
SOURCE: www.mesaaz.gov/
Be ready
The longer you wait, the greater the chance you will not reach safety. You may interfere with firefighters trying to do their job. In a fire, evacuation routes can quickly be blocked by traffic congestion, downed trees and poles, rocks, etc.
n Make an inventory list of all your belongings (including serial numbers) and keep this list in a safe place outside of your home (with friends or relatives or in a safe-deposit box).
n Check your insurance policy to ensure that you have adequate coverage.
n Place all important documents and photo albums, along with any other valuables or keepsakes, in a box or bin, and keep it wherever it will be readily accessible to grab if you need to leave your home in a hurry.
SOURCE: www.fire.lacounty.gov
Senior Rx
If you’re a senior with medical needs, be sure to have the following ready in case a disaster strikes:
n First-aid kit
n Prescription medicines, list of medications including dosage, list of allergies.
n Extra eyeglasses and hearing aid batteries.
n Extra wheelchair batteries, oxygen.
n List of the style and serial numbers of medical devices such as pacemakers.
n Medical insurance and Medicare cards
n List of doctors and relative or friend who should be notified if you are injured.
n Any other items you may need
SOURCE: www.sussex.nj.us
Guide for organizing and preserving records
Take these steps to ensure you've got what's important to you when fire, earthquake or other disaster hits.
Safe deposit box vs. home-based safe
Can you afford to lose this document or item? If the answer to that question is “no,” then you will want to consider keeping it in either a safe deposit box or a fire-proof home safe. Many people use both methods of storage to gain the advantages of both security and convenience. Renting a safe deposit box from a financial institution (bank or credit union) affords the most security, especially for those valuable items or documents that you never or hardly ever use. A home-based fire-proof safe is not as secure as the safe deposit box, but it will afford you the convenience of having your valuable items and documents within reach.
How long should records be kept?
Knowing how long a document or record must be retained will help keep your valuable papers organized. It will also prevent you from unintentionally discarding a document that you may need in the future or filling your filing cabinet with papers that could have been discarded immediately.
Keep Indefinitely
n Adoption papers
n Birth certificates
n Cancelled checks for payment on taxes, real estate transactions, contracts, etc. (keep with documents)
n Cancelled notes for paid off loans
n Custody agreements
n Death certificates
n Deeds to property
n Divorce papers
n Income tax returns only (no supporting documentation)
n Insurance records, accident reports, claims, etc.
n List of current assets
n List of former employers
n Marriage certificates
n Passports
n Photographic/video home inventory
n Records of any government employment
n Tax forms and supporting documentation for non-deductible IRA contributions
n Tax forms and supporting documentation for real estate transactions
Keep for a prescribe period
n Bank statements - 6 years
n Brokers’ confirmation slips for purchases — until security is sold
n Canceled checks — 6 years
n Contracts — 7 years after expiration
n Credit Card Statements — 6 years
n Insurance papers (all types) — 4 years after expiration
n Mortgage records — 3 years after loan has been paid off
n Owners manuals for appliances — until the product has been discarded
n Receipts for home improvements that add to the tax basis of home — 6 years after the home has been sold
n Receipts for major warranted purchases — until item has been discarded or sold
n Records supporting tax return deductions — 6 years
n Records pertaining to a claim with IRS for a tax refund, tax bad debts or losses on worthless securities — n years
n Warranties and extended service agreements — until expiration
SOURCE: www.mesaaz.gov/
Signal Senior Writer
jwalker@the-signal.com
Posted: Nov. 7, 2008 8:19 p.m.
I still find things I engraved with my Dremel tool back in the day. I think it was around 1982, and it was the last time I tried to inventory and document my possessions. And I also remember scraping my Social Security number off some of those possessions as they went to the Goodwill years later.
Best laid plans.
Now if those few remaining 1980s “valuables” were lost in a house fire, I wouldn’t even care. I mean, how attached am I to the old ice crusher? No, it’s the more recent purchases, such as my new, aggravating, Vista-operated computer, that I’d like my homeowners insurance to reimburse me for after I burn it — I mean accidentally, of course.
In the event of a house fire or other disaster, the safety of your family is your primary concern. But, what about after the disaster? Where will you start to pick up the pieces if everything is lost? You’ll need those valuable documents — and while you’re at it, why not document those valuables?
Buck Buchanan is a battalion chief with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, who is filling in at our local Battalion 6. He understands the importance of being prepared for an evacuation, both in terms of personal safety and in preservation of valuables. “From a fire department point of view, we tell them to be prepared, but not how,” he said. “You see it everywhere, on the news all the time, where people have lost valuables. They need to validate their claim when they file it with their insurance company. I think that people should be ready for any catastrophe, any potential emergency that might displace them from their residence.”
Safety deposit box
Once you have your possessions documented, and your important papers gathered, you have, basically, three choices in protecting these records. Your first choice is to put your valuables in a safety deposit box. Well, that’s fine if you don’t have too much stuff, and you can afford it. The biggest drawback is that whatever you put in the safety deposit box will not be quickly accessible. For example, you’ll have to visit the bank before you can send a copy of your divorce decree to that cute but psychotic girl you met through the computer dating service.
Home safe
Your second choice in records preservation is a fire-proof home safe. These are relatively inexpensive and spacious, but their biggest drawback is that your stuff stays behind when you leave. You can’t just pick up the safe and run. You’ll have to come back later and sift through the ashes and rubble to find your safe and get your documents.
These days, with so much information preserved digitally, home safes are available that are rated to protect your digital media, such as CDs, memory sticks and USB drives.
For example, the Sentry Electronic Safe, model MSW3517, can be purchased at Wal-Mart for approximately $170. It is water-resistant, has proven fire protection (one hour UL classified), has an electronic lock with four live-locking bolts, a multi-position shelf and tray for storage options, a key rack and compartment for small items, and a door pocket. It holds standard and A-4 size papers, folders and binders.
“The MSW3517 fire-resistant/water-resistant electronic safe is ideal for those looking to protect valuables, documents, files, birth certificates, passports and wills,” said Sondra McFarlane, SentrySafe director of marketing communications. “With the multi-position shelf and tray, door pocket, key rack and compartment for smaller items, this safe has many organizational features that can be adjusted to fit the owner’s needs.”
Separately, for electronic file preservation, Sentry now offers the Waterproof hard drive 250GB, model QA0005. It can be purchased online at SentrySafe.com, Amazon.com, BJs.com and Costco.com for about $399.99. This is a fire resistant and waterproof hard drive, which offers direct USB connectivity to a laptop or desktop computer. The hard drive enables backup of critical data in the event of crash, computer failure and fire and water-related disasters.
“With the 250GB hard drive, we’re able to provide consumers and even small business owners with an innovative means to securely back up their important data, digital photos, critical files and documents. Should an unexpected disaster occur, a person’s vital information will be stored on a disaster-proof hard drive,” McFarlane said.
Grab-and-go
Your third choice is a portable document preservation system. These are available in everything from basic lock boxes with handles to flame-retardant, compartmentalized and pre-organized systems such as the Dox Box 9-1-1 ($39.99). The idea here is that your most valuable records are packed and ready for an instant trip out the door.
“Every family should have a Dox Box 9-1-1,” said Mark Stern, founder and CEO of Dox Box 9-1-1. “In the case of an emergency, Dox Box 9-1-1 may not be the only thing you take, but it will definitely be one of them.”
The Dox Box 9-1-1 includes a water-resistant, flame-retardant, protective outer shell (19.5 x 15 x 6 inches); a three-ringed binder with sleeves for important documents and CDs; compartments for bankbooks, flashlights, keys, passport, prescriptions, receipts and more; padded compartments for valuables, such as jewelry or gold coins; a special section for family pictures and photo album; peel and stick labels to identify compartments; lock capability; and a glow-in-dark strip. Visit www.doxbox911.com.
Sentry also offers a grab-and-go type safe. The KS2100 Security Chest can be purchased at Target for between $40 and $50. It features ETL-verified one-hour fire protection of CDs and DVDs, up to 1,700°F, and a waterproof seal.
McFarlane said, “The KS2100 fire-resistant/waterproof is the perfect size safe if you are looking to protect and centralize important CDs, DVDs, birth certificates, wills, titles, deeds, passports and other valuable documents. The KS2100 safe specifically protects its contents from a potential flood or fire, however it is not intended to provide a level of security for owners.”
Additionally, Buchanan suggested you have your important papers and valuables ready to transport on a pull-cart that can be thrown in the back of a car. “The lighter you can travel, the better. Simple is the goal,” he said.
Triage
In medical emergencies, triage is a process of prioritizing patients for the most efficient treatment. You might consider this prioritizing technique at home. You can have your uber-important documents in the grab-and-go, and your can’t-live-without possessions, including photo albums, in a trunk you can haul to the car on a second trip, if time allows. Your second-tier documents, like old tax returns, can stay in the fireproof safe.
Don’t forget
In addition to the typical documents and valuables a homeowner might need to carry with them, seniors have additional concerns, such as medical records and medications. Children’s records are important, too — and you may want your children’s most valuable possessions handy, such as that doll your daughter can’t sleep without.
To carry it even further, you may want your pets’ records packed and ready, especially if you have pet insurance. However you prepare for a sudden evacuation or disaster, the important thing is to be prepared. Beyond that, organizing your documents and possessions helps you know where to find them at any time.
Additionally, documenting your possessions will help in the event any of them are stolen or lost.
So get it together now.
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