Have you ever lost a really important legal document or keepsake and then found it ?

[brin]

I have just found a very important legal document that I knew I had but had filed it away in a place where I was certain it would be safe and then I forgot where I had filed it...I had done this over ten yrs. ago...I have been looking for it for a few months now off and on and it has been driving me crazy and then today I checked a file cabinet right under my nose in a file I had overlooked and there the folder was with my document...Whew !

I post about this to stress the importance of having a certain place for the very important files or files that may become important....Usually I am a stickler on this but in this case it was so important I set up a special place for it and that backfired....All's good that ends well...File safely....or maybe it is just me...and remember copies on the computer for some documents, like certified or notarized originals does not work...

 

[murphy1244]

I have just found a very important legal document that I knew I had but had filed it away in a place where I was certain it would be safe and then I forgot where I had filed it...I had done this over ten yrs. ago...I have been looking for it for a few months now off and on and it has been driving me crazy and then today I checked a file cabinet right under my nose in a file I had overlooked and there the folder was with my document...Whew !

I post about this to stress the importance of having a certain place for the very important files or files that may become important....Usually I am a stickler on this but in this case it was so important I set up a special place for it and that backfired....All's good that ends well...File safely....or maybe it is just me...and remember copies on the computer for some documents, like certified or notarized originals does not work...

You must return them to their files when your done with them, not after supper or later but when you are done. That's what i'm working on.

 

[grsthegreat]

kinda on the same note, i received a voucher good for ANY one time round trip flight on any Southwest flight in the USA. The wife told me she would put it somewhere we would not lose it.

Never saw it again.

 

[dave1949]

Good thoughts Bob, and I'm glad you found your doc before going nuts

I have a folder that is supposed to contain complete documentation that would be useful to grab in case of a house fire or other calamity. I've told our kids about it in case the wife and I get abducted by aliens. It would be difficult to be the executor of an estate and have no idea what and where the estate comprises.

 

[jerrybob]

We've got lots of files at home but.....really important legal documents are in a safe deposit box....just in case. :2cents:

 

[murphy1244]

Keepem in your gun safe.

 

[dave1949]

We've got lots of files at home but.....really important legal documents are in a safe deposit box....just in case. :2cents:

Where do you keep the safety deposit box key and who knows you have one? I guess they still use keys.

One thing about boxes, heirs can get locked out of them until the contents are inventoried by a probate officer.

 

[creekbend]

About 25 years ago, a Friend of ours parents were selling a Bar in Florida. The Bar had a 6 foot safe and I bought it for $250.00. We keep everything of importance in it. It is rated to 1200 degrees and is very heavy. I have it bolted to a concrete floor and I'm not worried about it being carted away. It was a B***H to move into our house.

 

[hosspuller]

For a full month I looked for a keychain remote garage opener. I finally found it hanging from the keyboard that all our keys are stored on. Just like the found tool thread.

 

[jaotguy]

a Word or Excel document with the document name ... and file folder and location can jog the memory .

Will..... under MISC folder in lower drawer in pink cabinet.

tractor key ... nailed to garage wall beside door in Barn. spare key under seat in magnetic box........ spare spare in wallet.

GUN ... under pillow :confused2:

 

[Willl]

Brin, aren't you the same one who recently found a few loaded ammo cans that you 'forgot' about ?

I'm starting to worry about you.....

 

[MarkV]

My Mother was terrible about putting things in a "safe place". She is now 89 and we do not throw anything away without going through it. Books with $100 bills in them, just in case, shoe boxes in the basement with jewelry, just in case, silver in ammo boxes on top of the metal duct work, so the burglars can't find it with a metal detector, just in case. Its become a real project. The wife and I stick with the safety deposit box and have our daughters name on the account, just in case.

MarkV

 

[yelbike]

Not really as important but we had $250 on two separate gift certificates hanging on the fridge by magnets. Our little guy thought it would make good paper to practice his letter to santa. Ooops. Never did find them.

 

[brin]

Brin, aren't you the same one who recently found a few loaded ammo cans that you 'forgot' about ?

I'm starting to worry about you.....

I know...gee, I forgot about that....Hmmmm ? Now I wonder what all these strings tied on all my fingers are for....

 

[Tollster]

Passport was MIA for 2 years, then I found it.

 

[mjarrels]

First Navy cruise I made was on the USS American (about 8 months long). Very little in port liberty time... was digging thru my brief case one day and found a stack of $20 bills. Most important papers are in grap and go small safes and cases. During my move from Wa. to Va., many boxes were not opened for years... like Christman when I find a few unopened boxes.

mark

 

[Coyote machine]

Original legal docs should be in the attorney's safe, off premises. Same with certified, notarized, docs. Copy of current will should be given to executor/trix, and to named guardians, etc.
Professional estate attorneys provide a binder with copies of will, POA, health care proxy and final directives to clients in a tabbed binder.
Its not hard to keep important records in one easy to locate place if one is systematic about doing so.
In home fire safes are a good idea too. I have two, because we ran out of space for important 'stuff' in the first small one.
We also use safe deposit boxes and keep the keys in the home safes.
A master list of where important papers are stored is a good idea too, on a spreadsheet or word type document, as stated previously.

 

[/pine]

This is just a suggestion...

IMO it is sage to keep a record of all things valuable in ones home/office ( as recommended by most insurance companies) in the case of fires, floods or storm (hurricane/tornado) damage etc...

by "record" I mean written descriptions, photographs, receipts and copies of documents etc. etc...however these records should not be kept in a place that is susceptible to the above mentioned catastrophes...

safety deposit boxes are good but even they can be destroyed in some catastrophic scenarios...

My recommendation is to create the "record" archive in a digital form...the archive can then be compressed into a password protected archive (zipped up) that both protects and reduces the size of the file and then burned to a DVD, or put on a flash drive etc...and kept (again) in a place safe from the above mentioned catastrophes...

A spreadsheet is a good way to create the record...a database record ( saved as a CSV or SQL) is even better...

IMO...one of the best places to keep a digital archive (zipped up and password protected) is on a remote server...i.e., create an account with a site like Google's " g-mail" etc. etc....And just upload (e-mail attachment) to your account...

another option is using your personal web space...almost all ISPs allow subscribers a specified amount of server space that can be accessed via an FTP client...

WinZip and WinRar are both very good archiving tools that allow you create password protected records...

 

[jerrybob]

Where do you keep the safety deposit box key and who knows you have one? I guess they still use keys.

One thing about boxes, heirs can get locked out of them until the contents are inventoried by a probate officer.

Can't tell you where we hide the key.....it's a secret! As for probate.....our grown daughters have access if need be and our living will has us covered. I think we're good to go.....but not for a long time hopefully.:thumbsup:

 

[SPIKER]

I have some REALLY REALLY great places to puts stuff, Some day I'll remember where they are cause I can NEVER find the stuff after I put it there... ??? lol

Right now I'm missing the Browning 22 hand gun I had given to my brother, after he passed I took it back as I was owner of record. I went to shot it and nope can't find that thing for anything. I have a S.S. of the same gun and had them together in the cabin yet only my S.S. one is there. I'm assuming I brought it home to put it into my catalog/home inventory (which it is there electronically on my inventory) but physically MIA. Same goes for a bunch of small things, like a brand new 100' of 1/2" rope & a older used length of same stuff.


Mark