Document Preperation

Other than my three month supply of food- which seems a large post to tackle at the moment- this was my first big emergency preparation project. Not to daunting, but very important. Having your important documents in one place, as well as copied in another can be useful in case of any fire or natural disaster (you can grab and go) or in the case of a death or other emergency (where another individual may need to access all your personal information). My compiled original documents has already been useful to have all organized even for little things. Since doing this I have found that our life insurance had the wrong beneficiary as well as some fraudulent charges on our credit card. Normally having to deal with these sort of things (ie. customer service that is horrible) over the phone is stressful to me, but having all of my important papers organized and accessible saves me an ounce of sanity just because I know I have all the information in front of me to make things right.
Moving on...
When I did this project it took me about four hours and about $40. I do still need to get a fire safe box though.

What you will need to start
2 4-5"" three ring binders
ABout 200- clear sheet protectors
20-30 dividers
CD's, DVD's or flashdrives with lost of space
Access to Copy Machine

What to gather

Contact
A contact list of friends and family, addresses, and phone numbers (copy your cell phone book)
Emergency contacts- a second list labeled as Emergency contact with who should be contacted in an Emergecny and your Doctor's etc.
Don't forget to add and label your bishop and R.S. President

Family ID
Indiviual Family Member info
Current pictures of each family member
Child ID, DNA and fingerprints
Adoption papers
Birth Certificates
Marriage certificate
Drivers License
Military Record
Passport
Social Security Cards

Auto and Rec Vehicles
Auto Policy, Insurance Card, Registration
Auto Loan Documents
Copy of Title or Leases

Church:
Important Church Certificates
Blessing certificate
Marriage certificate
Patriachial Blessing
Baptizm and Priesthood ordination info

Employment/ School
Diplomas
Resume and reference sheet
Employment Info and Contacts
Professional Licenses
Retirement Pension, Profit Sharin Plan
Wage Statement/ paycheck stub
Social Security Annual Statement

Estate Planning
Advanced Directive
Power of Attorney for Health Care
Financial Power of Attorney
Living Trust and Will
Final Instructions
Documentation of prepaid fees fo cemetery and funeral home

Financial
Bank Name, Account Number, deposit slip
Credit Card, Debit card be sure to write the customer service # on the copy
Investments- stock certificates, bonds, CD's IRA's
Mutual Funds, Money Markets
Safe Deposit box # and location and list of contents
Tax Returns for last 3 years
Book of Checks

Housing
Appraisal
Mortgage Statement
Deeds
Home Insurance and Coverage Info
Property Tax Bill
Land survey and Title Polity
Home Inventory (video, photo or list)
Receipts and Warranty of Expensive Items

Insurance
Disability Insurance
Life Insurance Policy
Long Term Care Insurance
Travel Insurance

Medical
Doctors, Hospital, and Vet contacts
Dental Records
Immunization Records
Prescription list including eyeglasses
allergies information
Copy of Health Insurance policy and cards
Pet vaccinations and license

Keepsake
Photo''s and home movies backed up on Disc
Important files from computer backed up on Disc

What to do
The process after the gathering is easy.
Copy everything (some things like credit cards, car registration, things you have to have in a wallet of car make two copies of)
Put all the copies in one binder
Put all the originals plus the copies of things you can't have in a binder in the other.
Put the "originals" binder in a safe deposit box or fire safe combination lock box
Put the other somewhere in your home and tell key family members or a close neighbor where it is. I made my binder red so it is easy to find.