One of the best things you can do for yourself is have all of your documents safely stored and ready to grab at a moment's notice. As has been made abundantly clear during the current flooding in Tennessee and beyond, people often don't have a lot of time to go around collecting documents AND they may not have a home to return to after the event. In disasters like these, you will need nearly all of your important documents in order to replace other documents, file insurance claims, etc. Here's the documents that you need (note that they should be originals or certified copies if at all possible):

* Birth certificates for you, the spouse, and your minor children
* Marriage certificates
* Divorce decrees
* Adoption records
* Baptismal (other religious) records
* Prenuptial agreements
* Death certificates for immediate family members
* DD214 (military records)
* List of any arrests
* Final disposition of any civil/criminal court cases
* Copies of bankruptcy filings
* High school diplomas
* College degrees
* Copies of insurance policies (life, health, auto, home, long term disability, etc)
* Copies of tax filings for the past five years
* Current health insurance documents (health insurance card, Medicare card, supplemental medical insurance card, etc)
* Will
* Medical Power of Attorney
* Durable Power of Attorney
* Living Will
* Home inventory information
* Copies of recent bank statements/bank account information
* Copies of mortgages or Deeds of Trust
* Stocks/bonds/brokerage account information
* Retirement account information (401k, 403b, social security statement, IRA, pension plans, etc)
* Debt statements (credit card information, auto loan, utilities, other debt information)
* Property tax records
* Passport
* Social Security card
* Copy of driver's license or state ID card
* Citizenship papers (naturalization certificate, copy of permanent resident card, etc)
* Car titles
* Business incorporation papers and any other pertinent business info (creditors, contracts, etc)
* Contracts/partnership paperwork
* List of next of kin and their info (name, address, phone, email)
* List of professional advisers (lawyer, accountant, executor, etc)
* Medical information (doctor's info, dentist's info, allergies, major medical treatments, list of current medications, etc)
* List of online info (online accounts, passwords, web/blog host info, etc)
* Location of safety deposit boxes
* Information on any death planning (funeral arrangements, cemetery plots, etc)
* Appraisals for valuable items
* Car registration (should be kept in the car)
* Warranties
* Trust documents
* Employment documentation

Gathering all of this information can be quite the slog but having all of this information when disaster strikes will make recreating your life (and getting paid from the insurance companies) much easier.

Nice list there. I printed that one out. Thanks again!

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Please don't take my avatar to seriously. I'm really not a bible thumping armageddon prophet.

Thanks for the list. I had what I thought was a complete set or documents tucked away but there were a few items listed here that I hadn't thought about. Gotta go update my stash this weekend. Thanks!

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If it's in your pack, but you don't know how to use it...it's useless. So, always test your skills as a form of preparation...Don't wait until your life depends on it. That's a lesson you don't want to learn the hard way.

These are very important to have in a secure place in the event of fire or flood. Otherwise you'll be arguing with the insurance company forever and you'll never get the proper value for your items. Trust me. I've been there, done that!

Very good list, I'm going to start working on making several copies of everything I have.

Regarding insurance policies, documentation & appraisals of valuables: it's also advisable to keep photos of unique and/or high-dollar items to further support insurance claims in the event of loss--especially in the case of theft.

Great list--thank you.