"Being a survivor of the Oakland Hills fires of 1991, all we had left were the clothes on our backs. It was nightmare having to recreate every piece of paper for the insurance companies. HomeDataGuard did not exist back then, but it does now. There isn’t a bank deposit box big enough to hold all of these valuable, irreplaceable personal documents. For the price of a monthly latté, be...
What to Preserve
Reduce stress. Reduce paper. Reduce recovery time.
Experts recommend that you keep organized copies of as much of below information as possible, whether its in a physical file cabinet, on your computer, on an external hard drive, in a safety deposit box, on HomeDataGuard, etc.
Click the below category links to view recommendations of what to organize and preserve in your HomeDataGuard Online File Cabinet
- Emergency Contact Information
- Real Estate Documents
- Autos/VehiclesInsurance
- PoliciesPersonal
- Records/IdentificationWills
- Trusts & Family PlanningProduct
- Warranties & Serial Numbers
- Student Loans & Education Transcripts
- Awards, Scholarships, Honors
- Letters
- Tax Records
- Health & Immunization
- Legal Documents
- Pets
- Other
Emergency Contact Information
- Family members
- Trusted advisors
- Email address book
- Household repair companies (plumber, handyman, electrician, etc.)
- Work contact information
- Membership IDs, etc.
Real Estate Documents (This folder will save you a ton of space at home!)
- Deed
- Mortgage & Home Equity Notes
- Home Warranties
- Videos and/or Photographs of the property(ies)
- Property Tax Records
- List of Home Inventory
- Photos and/or Videos of Home Inventory and Assets
- Real Estate Purchase Contracts
- Appraisal
- Property Disclosures
- HOA policies, CC&Rs
Autos/Vehicles
- VINs (Vehicle Identification Numbers)
- Insurance Agent/Broker Contact Info
- Insurance Policies
- Deed(s)
- Lease/Financing Documentation
- Registration
- Claims Filed
- Police filings/records
Insurance Policies
- Health Insurance (membership card, policy #, contact/url)
- Homeowner/Renters Insurance (policy info, contact/url)
- Life Insurance (policy info, contact/url)
- Automobile Insurance (if not in Auto folder)
- Earthquake Insurance (policy info, contact/url)
- Flood Insurance (policy info, contact/url)
- Supplemental Policies (jewelry, collections, etc.)
Personal Records/Identification
- Birth or adoption certificates (A digital copy cannot be legally used to replace an original)
- Marriage licenses (A digital copy cannot be legally used to replace an original)
- Passports (A digital copy cannot be legally used to replace an original)
- Student ID cards & work IDs
- Military records
- Death certificates
- Photos
Wills, Trusts & Family Planning
- Powers of Attorney (durable & medical)
- Wills
- Trusts
- Cemetary deeds
- Burial instructions
- Family Tree information
Product Warranties & Serial Numbers
- Electronic equipment
- Kitchen appliances
- Computers
Student Loans & Education Transcripts
- Student Loan documentation
- Report Cards
- Transcripts
- Diplomas
- College Applications/Essays
- School photos
Awards, Scholarships, Honors, Letters
- Scholarship funding documentation
- Sentimental
- Professional
- Community
- Philanthropic
Tax Records
- Federal taxes filed
- State taxes filed
- Property tax statements (receipts)
- Copies of quarterly checks submitted
- Copies of refund checks
Health & Immunization
- List of all Physicians- contact info
- Health Insurance cards
- Immunization records for family members
- Medical/Health records (allergies and conditions)
- Medicare/Medicaid applications
- Lab test results
- Prescriptions
- Pharmacy contact info
- Receipts for Health Savings Accounts
Legal Documents
- Divorce decrees
- Custody orders
- Other court orders
Pets
- Local License Numbers & Chip Information
- Photos
- Immunization record
- Contact info of veterinarian
- AKC Registration Numbers
Other
- Holiday card address list
- Personal photos
- Property photos/videos
- Personal videos (childhood, special occasion)
