WHAT SHOULD YOU ALWAYS KEEP IN A SAFE AT HOME?

Most people think the safest place to keep valuable items is in a safe deposit box at a bank.  However, the contents of a safe deposit box are rarely insured, while items in your home are usually covered by your homeowner's or renter's insurance policy.

And any cash you keep in a safe deposit box is not covered under FDIC insurance. The FDIC only insures the deposits in accounts held in banks, but not the contents of their safe deposit boxes.

Certain documents such as passports, wills, powers of attorney, medical directives, etc. should not be kept in a safe deposit box as these document can be needed immediately and should always be readily available. Bank safe deposit boxes are only accessible during bank operating hours. And to complicate matters more, bank safe deposit boxes are typically sealed when the bank receives notice of someone’s death. To open a sealed safe deposit box, estate representatives are required to provide court papers to the bank and this can take valuable time.

For these reasons it's good idea to buy a fireproof safe and keep it in your home. What should you keep in your safe?

Here are some useful suggestions of what you should always keep in your safe at home:

·         Your home owner’s insurance policy. You'll need this information right away if your house suffers damage or loss and you need to file a claim.

·         Passports and original birth certificates. These can be a hassle to replace and will come in handy to establish identity when traveling, especially with children.

·         A list of all treating doctors, prescription medications, and contact information for all pharmacies you use. This information can be helpful to medical emergency personnel if you have a medical emergency.  Someone taking care of you may need this information to get new supplies of medications you need on a regular basis.  Also, this information should be kept on your smart-phone or carried with you in a wallet or purse should you have a medical emergency away from home.

·         An external hard drive or CDs containing digital copies of all family photos. In this day and age, most of our precious memories are in digital format.  It is also a good idea to scan all older family photos and keep a digital copy of them as well. Your family photographs are irreplaceable so remember to back up your photographs from your computer to an external hard drive or on CDs.

·         Your important papers related to your investments, retirement plans and bank accounts.  While you may not need these documents to be readily available, if you are incapacitated and your attorney-in-fact has to access these records, they will be easy for him or her to find in your safe.

·         You should keep some cash on hand for ready access in an emergency.  In an emergency like a power outage or earthquake, the ATMs may be down and stores will not be able to take credit cards, so having readily available cash can be very handy.  Keep at least $500.00 in small bills in your safe for emergencies – and don’t touch it!

·        Original Social Security cards. These can take time to replace and may be needed to establish eligibility for benefits.

·         Copies of your important legal documents, including powers of attorney and health care directives — both for yourself and for anyone else for whom you are designated attorney-in-fact or health care agent. Having easy access to these documents can help make it easier for the person named as your attorney-in-fact or health care agent to provide you with the protection your are entitled to under these documents.

·         Copy of will and trusts, and copies of all wills and trusts in which you are designated the executor or trustee. It is important to have unrestricted access to these documents as safe deposit boxes are typically sealed upon notification of the box owner's death and require involving the court to unseal them.

·         Valuables. Jewelry, coins, etc., that you may want easy access to from time to time.

·         Spare Keys and titles to all vehicles. It helps to know where an extra key and your vehicle title is kept in case you need them.

·         Safe deposit box keys. While it is not advisable to keep the items listed here in a bank safe deposit box, if you chose to use one, or keep other important documents or valuable items in one, you will want to make sure you keep the keys to it in a safe place like the fireproof safe in your home.