Records and Documents You Need at Home

The items on this checklist should be kept where they are easy for you—or anyone in your family—to locate without too much detective work.

1. Will (original or a copy depending on your lawyer’s advice) and estate planning documents.

2. Cemetery deeds and burial instructions (copies).

3. Safe deposit box contents. Keep a list of the contents of your safe deposit box as well as copies of the original documents kept there on file: birth and death certificates, deeds to property, vehicle ownership titles, military records, citizenship papers, adoption, custody, divorce decrees, etc.

4. Insurance policies.

5. Household inventory

6. Copies of receipts for major purchases (clip originals to the home inventory list stored in your safe deposit box).

7. Appliance and equipment instructions and warranties with serial and model numbers.

8. Credit card information. Keep a list of all cards, account numbers, PIN numbers, and phone numbers to call if the cards are lost or stolen.

9. Medical/health records for each member of the family.

10. Education records, diplomas, and transcripts. You may wish to keep originals in your safe deposit box.

11. Passports. If you prefer, store them in your safe deposit box, and keep only passport numbers at home.

12. Bank statements. Just to be safe, keep them for seven years.

13. Credit card statements.

14. Investment records.

15. Tax records. The IRS has a three-year statute of limitations on auditing returns. But they can go back as far as six years if auditors suspect fraud. Check with your accountant to be sure you’re following the most up-to-date regulations on saving returns.

16. Employment records