Disasters are a part of life. Whether the disaster is a hurricane, tornado or a terrorist attack preparation is the key to survival and to clean up after the disaster. Knowing where your family’s records and valuable documents are and being able to pick them up and take with you, if you must evacuate, can save valuable time. For your “on the go” papers you will want to purchase a packet, folder, brief case or other carrying case for your documents. Place documents in this case in a secure but easily accessed location in your home. Then if you need to evacuate, important documents that need to go with you are in one place.

If you have access to a scanner, you may want to scan your papers, documents, and photographs to a computer disk. Keep the computer disk in the carrying case and leave the original in the recommended storage. You may also want to videotape the contents of your home to supplement your household inventory. If you use a software package to keep track of your finances keep a back-up copy with your “on the go” papers and update the back-up disk monthly.

“On the go” Important Papers and Documents Checklist

Important papers are papers or documents that you will need sometime during your lifetime for a variety of reasons, such as a birth certificate which is used for proof of age and or citizenship to obtain a drivers license or to go on a cruise. Other important papers include adoption, marriage and death certificates, passports, deeds, leases, insurance policies, Social Security records, contracts, wills, trusts, and ownership papers.

Why should you be concerned about important papers?

In case of a disaster, it would be difficult to remember or identify exactly what you lost. Valuable time and money could be lost while you try to remember what possessions you owned or while trying to replace lost documents. Therefore, it is much better to protect valuable papers than to replace them.

Papers to keep on your person (wallet or purse):

• Personal identification: your name, address, telephone number and the name, address and telephone number of a relative or close friend.
• Credit Cards
• Medical Information: blood type, diseases (diabetes, heart disease, epilepsy, etc.)
• Doctor’s name, address and telephone number
• Social Security Card
• Cash for emergencies
• Driver’s license

“On the go papers” filed in special packet

• Disk of family records including the following or a copy of the following:
• Checking Account numbers and bank
• List of savings and investments including CD’s, stocks, bonds, and mutual funds
• Credit card safety record
• Household inventory – videotape, paper copy, and or disk
• List of Insurance policies with name of company, type of policy and policy number
• Copy of your will and trust documents
• Titles (house, car, other property)
• Certificates or a copy of them: birth, marriage, divorce, death, and adoption
• Passports
• List of family advisors: accountant, attorney, banker, doctors, dentist, employer, financial adviser, insurance agents, religious leader, banker
• Bank account numbers
• Educational records
• Investment records
• Military records
• Debt Instruments
• Other special papers that would be difficult or impossible to replace if lost.
• _____________________________
• _____________________________

For more assistance with family records see publications FCS 5209, FCS 7103, FCS 7018, and FCS 7027.

Prepared by: Dr. Josephine Turner, CFP
Professor, Family Youth and Consumer Economics
University of Florida