Essential Documents to have on file

I’ve been thinking a lot about wills, document emergency kits and ‘what if’ situations.

I HAVE ACTUAL ASSETS NOW!

When I was younger, I didn’t have many assets to be considered significant. Who really worries about the $20 you have stashed as coins in a piggy bank?

However as I am getting older, I am accumulating quite a bit of assets that could be very confusing to wade through unless it was laid out neatly for people to find.

I wouldn’t want to cause problems for people in my life just because I didn’t have my shizz together.

A SAFETY DEPOSIT BOX SOLUTION

I am considering opening a safety deposit box where I keep documents that are very important in a file folder that can be accessed.

I would give access to a trusted family member such as my mother, and if in the event of any problems, she can go to the bank, get the key and find the files she needs for everything.

I have the option of either putting everything on a password protected USB key with a password that only my mother could know, or actual papers.

I am leaning towards the USB key solution for two reasons:

1. It will be password protected, just in case the bank gets robbed
2. It is easier to manage documents as a data file rather than in paper

The only thing I could see being a problem is if authorities would need the originals such as birth certificates and so on.

I suppose I could make an exception for that.

WHAT ARE ESSENTIAL, IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS TO KEEP?

So far, I’ve come up with a list:

1. Contact Information
2. Original Will
3. Letter of Instructions
4. Trust Documents
5. Property Deeds
6. Proof of Loans and Debts
7. Vehicle Titles
8. Stock/Bond/Other Financial Certificates
9. Company Agreements (if applicable e.g. shares in a company)
10. List of Bank Accounts and Online Logins
11. List of Safe Deposit Boxes
12. Living Will
13. Personal and Family Medical History
14. Durable Health-Care Power of Attorney
15. Authorization to Release Health Care
16. Do not resuscitate (DNR) order
17. Life Insurance Accounts
18. Life Insurance Policies
19. Retirement Accounts
20. Certificates: Birth, Citizenship
21. Other Online Accounts: Email
22. Tax Returns (last 3 years)
23. Scanned copies of: Passport, Social Security card

RESOURCES

• LifeHacker: How to create an in-case-of-emergency kit
• Wall Street Journal: 25 documents you need before you die
• Erik Dewey: The Big Book of Everything

SO…WHERE TO START?

I guess I just start making folder on my computer, typing up documents that I can do on my own without a lawyer to notarize them, and go from there!

Maybe this can be my personal goal for 2012.

My books 

Budgeting tool that keep track of my expenses

Investing tool