Many families divvy up household chores. One member will manage the joint finances. Another is the family chef. Sound efficient? It is, except for one thing: If the cook doesn’t have time to broil a chicken, they can always order pizza. But if (heaven forbid) anything ever happened, would all members of the family know where to find important documents?

Consider putting your heads together to compile a Vital Documents Map. Don’t worry – it’s not nearly as scary and imposing as it sounds. A Vital Documents Map is merely an index of all your most important records, so that in the worst-case scenario – you lose your wallet; your files are somehow destroyed; you have a sudden medical emergency – you’ll be able to reconstruct them with ease.

If at this point you’re hyperventilating, Where do I even start? Or worse, I’m not even sure where any of these things are! Relax, this whole process shouldn’t take more than a couple of hours.  Once complete, having a Vital Documents Map provides enormous peace of mind. 

GETTING STARTED

Your Vital Documents Map should contain the following:

• Location List of Documents

• A photocopy of every important piece of identification in your wallet.

• A comprehensive list of all your major accounts: Savings and/or Checking, Credit Card, Investments & Insurance Records

• An inventory of your Safe Deposit Box.

Let’s take these one by one:

LOCATION LIST OF RECORDS

Even if your filing system isn’t perfect, it’s easy to create a one-page index of where you’ve stored everything. Begin simply. Open each file drawer (or box) where you keep records, and list the contents.

Example: Top drawer of the black filing cabinet: Car records, club memberships, employment info, insurance policies.  Green box under the guest-room mattress: Medical records, mortgage, tax records, insurance policies.  Bowl on top of refrigerator: Warranties and paid bills.

WALLET CONTENTS

Photocopy the contents of your wallet once a year.  Place as many cards as will fit on the screen, copy, then flip the cards over and do the other side. Make sure you include obscure identification such as medical insurance, Voter’s Registration and health club membership.  If your wallet ever disappears, immediately contact Visa 1-888-423-3000, Amex- 800-992-3404 to report lost/stolen cards. Then register for Fraud Alert with the three credit bureaus: Equifax 1-800-525-6285, Experian 1-800-301-7195; Trans Union 800-680-7289. 

MASTER LIST OF ACCOUNTS (Credit Card, Banking, Investment, & Insurance Policies) 

Millions of dollars go unclaimed every year because people lose track of their holdings (remember that insurance policy you bought in college ten years ago?) Hey, you could have money coming to you! In a single document, create a master list of every bank, credit card, investment and insurance account you have. For each account; list the Institution; Account Owner; Account Type (checking? savings? joint?); Account number; and Contact info at the institution. For example: Citibank, Janet Harmon, Checking, #123-456-7891, Contact Bill Riley at 212-000-0000.  Add a list of frequent flyer accounts,  off-site storage locations, computer logon and other key passwords  to this document.

SAFE DEPOSIT BOX-INVENTORY         

A safe deposit box stores irreplaceable objects, including jewelry, heirlooms, currency, Family History and important photo negatives.  In addition, store originals of critical documents (such as marriage, stock and bond certificates), keeping a copy of each in your household files.  

A comprehensive Vital Documents Map worksheet can be found on Oprah.com. Store a copy of your Vital Documents Map in three different places. 1) Your home or office filing system (in a folder clearly entitled “VITAL DOCUMENTS MAP”) 2) With your attorney, close friend or, family member who doesn’t live with you; 3) In your safe deposit box.

When catastrophe hits (be it losing your wallet, or something more serious), knowing exactly where your documents are will make handling the emergency swiftly and with confidence much easier. Besides, who has time to hyperventilate in the middle of a crisis!