Lorrin Lee Home Safe System
Why Have a Life-in-a-Box Home Safe System?
"To ORGANIZE your LIFE and store all your valuable documents in ONE location — a protected fireproof and waterproof Home Safe System. With this system, you (and spouse) or any authorized persons will be able to find ALL your valuable documents within a minute! Not hours, days, weeks. Save time, effort, frustration, and the hassle of replacing important documents. After you have passed on, this will make it easier for your estate executors to carry out your personal requests. Your super organized Life-in-a-Box system will help you enjoy PEACE of MIND." — Lorrin L. Lee, updated Aug. 24, 2011.
NOTE: This page is updated as I discover more valuable information to share with you. Hope this page is useful to you. Come back again. Tell interested friends. For legal questions and answers, see standardlegal.com.
1. AUTO
Car, motorhome, motorcycle, boat registration and renewal records. Transfer of Title form. Original or duplicate keys. Outstanding loans. Receipts from sales, repairs. Car memberships, such as AAA. Account numbers, expiration dates, fees. Transfer on Death (TOD) Registration info and TOD Form to designate the person who gets your car.
2. BANK
Branch names, addresses. Checking/savings account numbers. Direct deposit accounts. Social Security payments. Pensions. URLs. Usernames, passwords. Safe deposit contents and key. Payable on Death (POD) Registration with bank. Name of person to close your account and collect your money.
3. BIRTH CERTIFICATE
Birth certificate. Plus, Social Security card and/or number.
4. BUSINESS
Tax Registration Documents, ID Numbers. General Excise Tax License. Self-employed and business ventures. Network Marketing distributorships. Affiliates. Names, addresses, phones, URLs, emails. Usernames, passwords. Names of persons to inherit your businesses. Addresses, phones, emails.
5. CASH
For emergency use. Especially, during disasters where checks and credit cards may not be accepted.
6. COMPUTER
List of all Hardware and Software. Smart phones. Tablets. iPods. iPads. Electronic gear. CDs, DVDs, memory sticks. Receipts, purchase amounts, dates. URLs, ID numbers, usernames, passwords. Name of person who will get your equipment, delete your data, and sell them.
7. CONTACTS
List of all important contacts. Separate list of Beneficiaries. Names of executors, attorneys. Addresses, phone numbers, emails.
8. CREDIT CARD
Credit cards. General and equity loans. Company names, addresses, phone numbers, account numbers. Auto-payments. Payments and amounts due. URLs. Usernames, passwords. Free Credit Reports from Equifax, Emperian, and Transunion ...annually.
9. EDUCATION
High School and College Diplomas. Professional License Certificates. Significant report cards. Magazine subscriptions.
10. FUNERAL
Plan your own funeral, burial, cremation. Write your own obituary, funeral notice (with selected photos) draft. Name, phone of funeral home. Signed agreements. Record of payments. Party? Menu? Music? Video? Names of persons who will take charge to dispose of your body, make funeral arrangements. Collect guest names, address, phone numbers for Thank You cards.
11. HEALTH
Medical and dental records. Eye and ear exams. Prescriptions.
12. HOME
Deeds, mortgage, reverse mortgage. Condo maintenance fees. Bank name, mortgage balance, payments. Account info. Names, phone numbers. Transfer on Death (TOD) Registration. Name of persons who gets your home.
13. INVENTORY
Home inventory. Photos and value of furnishings, computer equipment, TVs, and other possessions. Here's a software for Home Inventory for ideas.
14. INSURANCE
Home, life, health, liability, hurricane, flood, auto insurance papers. Copies of Medicare/Medicaid cards. Names, phone numbers. Account numbers. URLs. Usernames, passwords. Names of beneficiaries. Addresses, phone numbers, emails.
15. INVESTMENTS
Stocks, Mutual Funds. 401(k). IRA. ROTH-IRA. SEP-IRA. Stock certificates. Savings Bonds. Annuities. Addresses. Phone numbers. URLs. Account numbers. Usernames, passwords. Transfer on Death (TOD) Registration.
16. KEYS / JEWELRY
Keys for home, locks, office, cabinets. Duplicates, spares. For jewelry, coins you want to keep on hand. Otherwise, you can hide or place in a safety deposit box.
17. LEGACY
This is how your life will be defined and remembered. Autobiography and/or chronology. Awards, Achievements. News clippings on you. Include your photos, collections, quotes, videos, authored book list, articles, and other personal items future generations may want for ancestry information.
18. MARRIAGE
Marriage certificates and divorce papers. Family tree.
19. MEMORABILIA
Your most treasured and irreplaceable photos, letters, and greeting cards. Future generations can learn about you through there items. Note down dates, locations, names of people on photos. Names of persons who gets these items.
20. MILITARY
Military discharge and Veteran Benefits papers. For loans, education. Military funeral arrangements, if desired.
21. PASSPORT
Including Citizenship/Immigration papers and Green Cards. Good to know where they are for your foreign travels.
22. PERSONAL
All your favorite quotes plus your self-created YouTube URLs. Countries, states, and cities visited and places to visit ...with any comments. Keepsakes. Memorabilia.
23. RECEIPTS
Keep important receipts for large ticket items. In case of refunds, warranty. TVs. Car. Bed. Furniture. Travel.
24. TAXES
Recent income and property tax records.
25. WILL
Wills, Trusts, and Estates. Living will. To avoid probate. Personal representative. Executors. Trustees. Power of Attorney. Inheritance taxes. Consult a CPA and/or estate attorney to help you prepare these important documents. Detailed instructions for executors. Update these every 5 years as needed. Both a Will AND a Trust are recommended. (70% die without a will or trust.) See Resources on this page.
Fireproof and Waterproof Home Safe
Examples of Waterproof Fire Home SentrySafes are SentrySafe F3300 (70 pounds) or less cost SentrySafe H4100 (40 pounds). Keep in mind that this safe is for water and fire protection for your documents, not burglary. If there is a fire and water is used to put it out, then it is good to have it waterproof. Also, good to have if a flood, hurricane, or earthquake occurs. You can make backup copies (PDFs) of all your most important documents to store in your computer, on disks, at another location. Home safes are available at Amazon, BJ's, Costco, Home Depot, Lowe's, Staples, and Walmart. If you need more room in your safe, you can add another one. If you have children, it is a good time for them to organize their own life-in-a-box system for the rest of their lives. It will help them see the BIG picture of living life.
Safe Deposit Box
A Home Safe could replace a Safe Deposit Box. What you save on a Safe Deposit Box could easily pay for your Home Safe over time. If you do have a Safe Deposit Box (optional), make sure your EXECUTORS know where the key can be found. A Death Certificate (Hawaii info) is needed to get into your box. Allow 7 days to 6 weeks to get this certificate. Name of bank, address, phone. Account and box number. A Home Safe is easily accessible and more convenient for you to update and check on your contents. If you wish, money, jewelry and other valuables may be placed in a Safe Deposit Box or another secret hiding place. Keep an updated list of the contents. What if you lost all of the above? Better to be prepared than sorry.
Resources
• 60-Minute Estate Planner by Sandy Kraemer.
• 8 Ways to Avoid Probate by Mary Randolph.
• AARP Crash Course in Estate Planning by Michael Palermo.
• Ask Suze by Suze Ormon.
• Death and Taxes (for Hawaii Residents) by David Larsen.*
• Guiding Those Left Behind in Hawaii by Amelia Pohl with Michelle Tucker.*
• How to Retire Happy by Stan Hinden.*
• If You Die Tomorrow by Michael Lilly.*
• Living Trust and Simple Ways to Avoid Probate by Karen Ann Rolcik.
• Quick & Legal Will Book by Denis Clifford.
• Simple Will Book by Denis Clifford.
• The Complete Executor's Guidebook by Benjamin Berkley.
• The Complete Idiot's Guide to Wills and Estates by Stephen Maple.
• The Executor's Guide by Nolo.
• The Living Trust by Henry Abts III.
• Understanding Living Trusts by Vickie and Jim Schumacher.
• Who Gets It When You Go by David Larsen.*
* Recommended and easy to understand.
Comments?
If you found this information useful to you,
please let me know your comments. — Lorrin
Today's Lorrin Lee Quotes for You. Refresh page for more. See all.
lorrinlee.com Lorrin Lee Hawaii. lorrin@lorrinlee.com
808-949-5000. Skype: lorrinlee
lorrinlee.com/homesafe
A Life-in-a-Box Home Safe System is essential.
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Home safe. Wills. Trusts. Funeral. Death. Taxes. Revocable. Bank. Estate. Attorney. Mortgage. Title. Registration. Automobile. Marriage. License. Birth. Certificate. Social Security. Passport. Credit Card. Debt. Investment. Brokers. Stocks. Mutual Funds. Insurance. Assets. Liabilities. Safety Deposit Box. SentrySafe. Walmart. Home Depot. Lowes. Home care. Nurse. Physician. Military. Veteran. Retire. Stan Hinden. Amelia Pohl. Michelle Tucker. Michael Lilly. David Larsen. Stephen Maple. Nolo. AARP. Michael Palermo. Vicki and Jim Schumacher. Benjamin Berkley. Henry Abts. Denis Clifford. Karen Ann Rolcik. Mary Randolph. Retire. Retirement.