Once you have your important legal documents on hand, you’ll need a system to keep them safe going forward. This is a vital step in ensuring that all our valuable information is available when we need it. From passports to wills, we usually do not think about important documents until we need them most. If you lose a document, though, it can be costly, time consuming, and could open you up to fraud. A report from the Federal Trade Commission states that in 2020 alone there were 2.2 million reports of fraud. Of those, identity fraud was the number one most common claim. Keeping your important legal documents secure will not only protect you from fraud but also from other security risks.
What Important Legal Documents Should You Keep Safe?
Legal documents are often highly sensitive, so it likely comes as no surprise that you should protect them. You should keep vital paperwork like birth certificates, adoption paperwork, name change orders, or social security cards especially close as you can use these to help you attain other important legal documents. Ordering certified copies of documents can also help ensure you always have a copy on hand when you need it. After use, it should be locked up once again. Passports and naturalization papers should all be kept safe also since these documents relate to your citizenship or residency. Wills and trust documents deserve their own section in your important paperwork filing system as well. However, ensure a trusted individual knows exactly where you keep them should anything happen to you.
How Can I Keep Important Legal Documents Safe?
The obvious answer for many people is to keep their important legal documents together in a locked filing cabinet. While this is a great start, it may not provide you the most peace of mind. In the event of a flood, fire, or other natural disaster, those documents can be destroyed in seconds. This can mean time and money spent to regain those documents from the relevant agencies. Certified copies can help save you the headache. In addition to your locked cabinet or safe, you may want to keep your copies in a second location. This may be at a trusted loved one’s house, a storage unit, or in a safety deposit box, for example.
If you feel comfortable with digitized documents, you could also have round-the-clock access to your legal documents by storing digital copies on a high-security cloud-based system. Every person’s comfort level is different when it comes to information security online, so digitized documents may not fit your lifestyle – and that’s okay.
ProSe Legal Service Can Help with All Your Legal Document Needs
At ProSe Legal Service, our team of compassionate LDAs have years of experience managing legal documents. No matter the document, whether it is a will, divorce, or expungement, a ProSe Legal Service LDA is ready to help! With locations all over the Inland Empire and more coming soon to Nevada, Arizona, and Rancho Mirage, we are never too far away.
today or call (909) 497-1349 to schedule your next appointment with our professional LDAs.
