“Hacked!”
Are your important financial documents safe, secure and conveniently accessible to you?
You might remember the tragic news in September of 2016 that Jose Fernandez, one of baseball’s brightest young stars, passed away in a boating accident. He left behind a grieving family including his unborn daughter.
Fortunately, some small comfort could be found in the fact that his sports agent, Scott Boras, sets up “in case of death” files for each of his clients. All too often, after tragedies like this occur, your families are caught scrambling to sort out your life insurance policies, financial account information, loan obligations and other important documents they may need.
A shoebox, zip drive or file cabinet doesn’t cut it anymore. Keeping your documents stored securely online can help them from getting lost, stolen, or damaged. Additionally, you and your designated family members can access your documents and information from anywhere that you have internet access. Too many times family members need to spend unnecessary time and resources to gather their financial information in urgent situations. You need to make sure you’re protected during these times.
Some examples of documents you should have safe and convenient access to include:
- Wills and Trusts
- Investment Accounts
- Loan Obligations
- Life Insurance
- Medical Directives
- Powers of Attorney
- Property Deeds
- Recent Tax Returns
- Passports and Licenses
- Social Security Cards
- Birth Certificates
- Wedding Certificate
Ryan and Melissa had all their financial and important life documents together, with the help of their advisor, in a binder they kept easily accessible in their house. Unfortunately, an electrical failure caused a fire in their home that burned through their bedroom, taking the binder with it. They had no secure, electronic backup and spent months gathering the documents again. This time, after going through a Financial Life Inspection®,they will have a secure, online portal to store their documents.
Back to the original question: Are your important financial documents safe, secure and conveniently accessible to you?
If you don’t already have a cyber security and document storage plan set up, we should talk. Pacific Capital utilizes a secure, online portal to store your most important financial documents and can help designated family members obtain information should the need arise.