– What you need

Following a major disaster, with no aid immediately available, you and your family could be financially devastated. What if all the documents you need are gone, bills will not go away, stores will not magically restock themselves, and most people around you are in the same situation.

We recommend that you prepare a “Financial Disaster Recovery Kit”, and that you keep the items together, current and stored in a fireproof document safe, or a rented safety deposit box.

To make gathering your items together easier, we have a list of some of the more essential items:

__ Birth certificates
__ Marriage license/divorce papers and child custody papers
__ Passports and driver's licenses
__ Social security cards
__ Naturalizations papers and residency documents
__ Military/veteran's papers
__ Critical medical information
__ Cash, in the event ATM or bank services are disrupted
__ Certificates for stocks, bonds and other investments
__ Bank statements
__ Credit card numbers
__ A list of phone numbers for financial institutions and credit card companies where you have accounts
__ Insurance policies
__ An inventory of your household possessions
__ Appraisals of valuable jewelry, art, antiques and heirlooms
__ Home improvement records
__ A backup of critical files on your computer (also keep a copy at work)
__ A list of names, phone numbers and e-mail addresses of critical personal and business contacts
__ Deeds, titles, and other ownership records for property such as homes, autos, Rvs and boats
__ Powers of attorney, including healthcare powers of attorney
__ Wills or trust documents.

Know what your insurances cover!!! Check on what is covered for natural disaster (floods, fire and earthquakes), acts of God (lightning strikes, wind damage including blown over trees, food loss due to power outage), and other things (terrorist, burgular damage and items falling on your home such as planes or meteors).

Federal Disaster Assistance is only available if the president formally declares your area a disaster.
Even if you get disaster assistance, it is usually in the form of a loan, which needs to be repayed with interest.
If you don't qualify for loans, grants may be available – these, however, are only for the most immediate needs, not to replace losses.
You are still responsible for all your existing debts, such as mortgage (even on damaged property), lease, car and credit-card payments.

*** Information gathered from April 17, 2012 Deseret News, Classroom Connections.