Important Papers

• What to Keep
• Don’t Be Lost If You Lose Your Wallet
• Keeping Track—A Checklist

If you become incapacitated by a serious illness or are killed in an accident, would anyone be able to find your important papers? And what are important papers, anyway? You don’t have to save everything, but you do need to keep track of these important documents.

A Note on Storage:

• Keep original documents safe but accessible—a shoe box is not a good storage place.
• If you keep them in a safe deposit box, make sure a friend or relative has a key and a list of the contents.
• Consider a fireproof file you keep in a secure location at home. Again, you’ll want to tell a friend or relative where it is and what’s in it, and give them access.
• Have a backup to your friend or relative, in case they’re out of town.