In recent weeks natural disasters have caused great confusion in over 10 states. The tornado struck Minnesota, Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Georgia, Colorado, Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, North Carolina and hurt human lives. Twister was also reported from the states of Texas, California and Wyoming. Wildfires were also seen in California. The earthquake shook Nevada. To ensure that these events are not enough, the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season is ongoing and says predictors will probably experience more than average season.
No one can predict when an emergency or disaster situation will occur, but if it is not ready it will cost a much greater burden and expense to solve legal problems.
Below are five recommendations that will help you prepare legally properly for natural disasters and other emergencies.
1) Review policies on home, car, life insurance and understand insurance scope and insurance limit. Specifically, see the section on physical damage due to fire, hail, wind, tornado, flood, rain, storm, hurricane, earthquake. Standard homeowners' policies usually cover wind damage, but they do not include damage from floods or storms. Occasionally, flood insurance can be purchased separately. Most standard homeowner insurance does not cover the damage caused by the earthquake. Please contact the insurance company as to whether you can purchase another earthquake insurance. Comprehensive car insurance is likely to cover physical damage to the vehicle due to wind storms and earthquakes. Please check the benefit amount of the life insurance contract and update the beneficiary as necessary.
2) Create a life document file which is a collection of important legal documents. Life document files contain identification records such as birth certificates, social security cards, contracts, certificates, insurance policies, medical records, photographs, catalogs of financial assets. Putting records together in one place is beneficial if you need to grab them and you can go if you need to quickly evacuate your area.
3) Will, Living Will, and Draft of Power of Attorney. Tragically, bad weather and earthquakes can get injured or deprive them of their lives. By preparing the necessary legal documents in advance, your wishes will surely be executed and the burden on the family will be reduced. You can prepare your own legal documents by downloading state-specific documents online, consulting local lawyers to prepare documents.
4) Keep important documents in safe places such as home safes and bank safes. Since these are important records containing a lot of personal information, it is necessary to keep them in a safe place to prevent misuse of information.
5) Please tell me who you trust about the location of your important documents. It can be a lawyer, relatives or close friends. There must be at least one person who can not communicate and there are situations where you know the location of important documents. You can also keep backup copies of important records with lawyers, with families and families residing in different geographical locations.
