These are the main documents you should have when you have been the victim of a disaster. Be prepared and have a disaster plan to and to include in your disaster preparedness plan is the most important documents you will need at hand. Find out about the 10 most important disaster documents you will need.

1. Emergency preparedness:
Legal Documents You Should Have

2. A recent survey shows
that 80 percent of
businesses suffering from
a disaster of any kind,
without an emergency
backup plan, go out of
business.
Another important
statistic shows that over
258 million people are
affected by natural
disasters yearly, over the
past decade.
It is disappointing to note
that over 75 percent of
people do not have a
backup plan in case of
disaster.
Furthermore, a whopping
60% of people said that
their recovery plans were
not successful. These
sobering statistics
highlight the need for a
solid backup plan.
Having a solid emergency plan is very paramount in this age

3. Disasters can strike at any time and they can be very devastating.
Worse than the effect of these catastrophic events is that a lot of
people are not prepared for it.
Disasters could come in the form of hurricanes, fire outbreaks,
tornadoes, accidents, flooding, and earthquakes.
They leave behind a trail of injuries, property damage, death,
homelessness and economic loss.
Therefore, preparing an emergency backup plan is of utmost
importance.

4. It is important to note that documentation should be a key part of
any emergency backup kit. In the aftermath of a disaster, it is very
important that you have access to your insurance, medical, financial
and legal documents as they will ease you through recovery.
We will help you prepare for disaster by taking you through a
list of important legal documents you should have in case of a
disaster. You may also want to lodge copies of these
documents with a trusted Attorney.

5. Ten Legal Documents you should have in case of a disaster

6. INSURANCE POLICY DOCUMENT
This is one of the most important documents that you
should include in your emergency preparedness kit
because your insurance policy indemnifies you again
possible disasters.
An insurance policy document contains a contract
between the insured (policyholder) and insurer.
The documents contain the benefits the insurer is required
to pay the insured in case some initially defined events
occur.
The documents that contain the details of your insurance
policy is known as insurance Product Disclosure
Statements (PDS).
Therefore, it is necessary to secure this document as it
protects your loss, it should be an important inclusion in
your emergency preparedness kit

7. WILL AND TESTAMENT
A person’s will is a legal document that contains how they
(testator) want their property to distributed at death.
It also includes the names of the people (executor) who
should manage the property before it is distributed.
Therefore, your will is another must-have document in
your emergency preparedness kit.
The absence of a will or testament often generates
problems for successors during property document.
Securing your will is very important in ensuring the
continuity of your legacy and it is often to have copies of
this document with your family attorney.

8. MORTGAGE AND DEED
DOCUMENT
The mortgage is a legal document that temporarily
transfers the title of ownership of a property to a third party
(known as trustee) to hold as collateral for a loan.
A mortgage and deed document often contain the
following information; the settlement statement (HUD), the
promissory note and the mortgage or deed of trust. it is a
legal necessity to make sure that the deed of trust
documents is secure, even in the happenstance of an
emergency because this documents completely eliminates
the possibility of lenders requesting referee fees on your
mortgage and prevent early foreclosure on your property.

9. POWER OF ATTORNEY DOCUMENT
The power of attorney document is a legal document that
allows you to appoint someone (often known as attorney-
in-fact or agent) to act on your behalf in business
transactions, legal cases or private affairs if you are not
able to do so.
This document grants the agent permission to make short
and long-term decisions in case you are hospitalized,
missing or in a coma.
Unfortunately, if you sustain any serious injuries during the
course of the disaster and you cannot produce a point of
attorney document. It becomes extremely difficult for your
family to access your finances.
Therefore, it is necessary that this document should be
part of your emergency preparedness kit and end of life
plan

10. TRUST DOCUMENTS
A trust is a legal document that contains all the rules that
want to be followed, as regards your property held in trust.
This document defines the trust and it includes information
like beneficiaries, settlor, trustee and the terms and
conditions of the contract.
This document is very important as it reduces property tax
liability, protects your property and it also helps to avoid
probation.
This means that if you have to make a trust or you own
one, then it is in your best interest to ensure that you make
copies of all the documents relating to it in case of an
emergency.

11. TITLE AND DEEDS TO PROPERTY
YOU OWN
In property law, a title refers to documents that contain the
rights of a person in partial or full ownership of a property.
With this document, you can easily transfer ownership of a
property to another person without physically moving the
property.
You should order the titles and deeds regarding all the
property you own and make sure that you include them in
your disaster preparedness kit.
It is also necessary that the documents being secured are
the actual documents from the government and not
photocopies so as to own a legal proof of ownership in
case of a disaster.

12. CITIZENSHIP DOCUMENTS
The citizenship or naturalization document is very
important especially if you are not a citizen.
A citizenship document is a legal document that proves
that you are a legally accepted as a citizen of a particular
country.
Often, people are not asked to show citizenship but when
applying for something (like a job position), you are
required to present a proof of citizenship.
The several documents that could prove citizenship
include birth certificate, passport, certificate of citizenship,
naturalization certificate. It is necessary to get copies of
your citizenship papers safe to ease recovery in case of an
accident.

13. DIVORCE SETTLEMENT
AGREEMENT DOCUMENTS
A divorce settlement agreement document, otherwise
known as marital settlement agreement is a document that
contains information regarding the terms of a divorce
settlement.
The information contained in the divorce settlement
agreement includes child support and custody information,
property distribution, spousal support and other crucial
information.
The availability of this document completely eliminates or
lessens the need for a court to intervene in any issue
regarding the separated couple.
To avoid any issues outside wedlock, it is very important to
safeguard divorce settlements documents.

14. WORK PERMIT DOCUMENTS
A work permit is a legal document issued by the
government to allow a person take up a job in a foreign
country.
If you are not a citizen of a particular country, it is
necessary to safeguard your work permit as it is your key
to earn your living. Work permit documents should be an
important inclusion in your emergency kit.

15. LEASE DOCUMENT
A lease document is a legally binding document that
contains contract between the lessee and the lessor that
gives the lessee rights over an asset controlled by the
lessor.
During the period of the lease, the lessee is responsible
for managing the leased property. In case of any
complications, the lease document which contains all the
terms of the contract is used to rectify such issues.
Reasons like this are why it is necessary to make sure
your lease documents are well secured even in case of an
emergency.

16. Conclusion
It is important to take an inventory of all the important documents in your custody, then make
a list of the most important documents of the lot. The list should contain all the legal
documents listed above amongst other necessary insurance and medical records. Their
documents should be part of your emergency preparedness kit and you should ensure that
they are kept in places where they cannot be destroyed. Recovering from a disaster is
difficult, but what’s more difficult is not having access to all the documents that can make
recovery a lot easier.

17. THANKS!
https://help-lawyer.com/blog/emergency-preparedness-legal-documents-you-should-have-383
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