Many people think of the three “p’s” – People, Pets and Photos
A word about photos – consider having photos scanned and placed on a thumb drive as a “virtual album.” Not as good as the original photos, but at least the memories are retained! While talking about photos, consider taking pictures of your household items to facilitate insurance claims.
We will add two other “p’s” – Prescriptions and Papers
Keep a list of your critical prescriptions; remember eyeglasses and contact lenses.
Papers include financial documents; deeds; vehicle titles; timeshare documents; adoption papers; birth and death certificates; IRS notices; divorce decrees; property settlement agreements and estate planning documents. Also consider insurance documents including policy numbers; banking and securities information; IRA accounts and diplomas. Consider making copies and keeping them in one location. That will make it easier to obtain “original” replacements of these documents.
Many of these documents can be “re-created” and found later, but it will be just another thing to do in the recovery process. You can help yourself by gathering these documents now so you have them later when you may need them.
Also, consider “cloud storage” for your important documents – the documents can be protected against natural disasters, loss, theft and other similar events. Check the terms of service and privacy policies of the “cloud storage” provider so you know the level of privacy protection your documents will receive – for example, is the data encrypted and the cloud provider’s storage servers audited to protect against cyber threats?
What Else?
In addition to the five “p’s” of People, Pets, Photos, Prescriptions and Papers – consider the location of other important items:
- Laptop (tablet) computers with charging cables and backup (thumb) drives (of course you are creating periodic backup of all your important papers!)
- Cash and credit cards
- Identification cards – including passports, social security cards, medical insurance cards
- Cell Telephone and charging cables
- Passwords to all accounts (both online and offline)
Be Proactive!
Four more “p’s” to include – Proactive, Plan, Prepare and Practice
- You may only have minutes to gather your important items so be Proactive.
- Consider “cloud storage” as a viable option for your personal data and documents.
- Place as many items as possible in one location for quick access.
- Firearms – are they in a locked area? Where is the key?
- Home Safe – how accessible is it? Who has the key or combination?
- Vehicles – are all vehicle keys accessible.
- Valuables such as coin collections; paintings and family heirlooms – would you be able to take everything that you want? Do you have a container/carton to remove items from the home quickly?
Prepare and Practice
When you have an evacuation plan, review and practice it from time to time. Will it be feasible to gather what you need in less than 30 minutes?
Review
We have the Nine “p’s” of a successful emergency evacuation:
People – Pets – Prescriptions – Photos – Papers - Proactive – Plan – Prepare – Practice
We all hope never to have to implement the Plan!
Working to Preserve Your Wealth and Protect Your Future in a Constantly Changing World.
This post has been brought to you by the Law Office of Barbara Ann Dalvano. This information is provided for educational purposes only and to generate ideas, provoke thought and facilitate conversation. It is not intended to create an attorney-client relationship. Each person’s situation is different and this information should not be relied upon and cannot be relied upon as legal, tax, accounting or investment advice.
Barbara Ann Dalvano, Esq.
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