It helps to group your records into categories.
- Personal: Birth certificate, marriage certificate, passport, diplomas and certificates.
- Financial: Ownership papers for your home and car, insurance policies, investment certificates, loan documents, warranties plus proof of purchase, photographs of valuable jewellery and artwork (for identification in case of theft).
- Legal: Will, power of attorney, trust documents, divorce papers, child-support arrangements.
If an important document is lost or stolen, you should notify the issuer straight away.
Having sorted your records and documents, you need to decide how and where to store them. Physical storage is the most obvious option but records and photos can now be digitised and stored electronically.
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