Carrie Criado is a staff attorney and Director of Public Relations for USLegal, Inc., a multi-faceted legal publishing company which owns leading legal websites including USLegal.com and USLegalForms.com. Criado is licensed to practice law in Texas and Tennessee.
Natural disasters have caused havoc in more than ten states in recent weeks. Tornadoes swept across Minnesota , Kansas , Missouri , Iowa , Georgia , Colorado , Alabama , Arkansas , Oklahoma , and North Carolina causing damage and loss of life. Twisters were also reported in Texas and out West in California and in Wyoming . California has also seen wildfires. Earthquakes have shaken Nevada . As if these events aren’t enough, the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season is now underway and forecasters say we will likely experience a well-above average season.
No one can predict when an emergency or disaster situation will occur, but if caught unprepared, a person faces a much greater burden and expense in resolving his or her legal affairs. It is with this in mind, that USLegal is offering its LegalLife Resource Center as a public service. It contains free and vital information to assist individuals in understanding and organizing the legal aspects of their lives. Visit the LegalLife Resource Center today at http://www.uslegalforms.com/legallife/.
Here are also five recommendations to assist you in being better legally prepared for natural disasters and other life emergencies:
1) Review your home, auto and life insurance policies and understand your coverage and policy limits. Specifically go over sections pertaining to physical damage caused by fire, hail, wind, tornadoes, flooding, rain, storms, hurricanes and earthquakes. Standard homeowner policies typically cover damage from wind, but not flooding or storm surge. Sometimes flood insurance can be purchased separately. Most standard homeowner insurance also does not cover damage caused by earthquakes. Check with your insurance carrier to determine if a separate earthquake insurance policy can be purchased. Comprehensive auto insurance will likely cover physical damage to vehicles caused by storms and earthquakes. Make sure to review benefit amounts in life insurance policies and update beneficiaries if needed.
2) Create a life document file which is a collection of important legal papers. A life documents file can include identification records such as birth certificate and social security card, contracts, deeds, insurance policies, medical records, photos, and a financial assets inventory. Maintaining records together in one place is beneficial in the event you need to grab them and go in the event you need to evacuate your area quickly. See the following link to learn how to create a Life Documents File:
http://www.uslegalforms.com/life-documents.htm.
3) Draft Will, Living Will, and Power of Attorney forms. Tragically, inclement weather events and earthquakes can cause injuries and take lives. Preparing essential legal forms ahead of time can help ensure that your wishes are carried out and lessen the burden on family members. You can prepare legal forms on your own by downloading state-specific documents from USLegalForms.com or consult an attorney in your local area to have documents prepared for you.
4) Store your important papers in a secure place such as a home safe or bank safe deposit box. Since these are vital records with lots of personal information, maintaining them in a secure location is necessary to prevent the misuse of your information.
5) Tell someone you trust about the location of your important documents. It can be an attorney, relative or close friend. Situations may arise where you are unable to communicate and a least one person should know the location of your important papers. You might also keep a back up copy of important records with an attorney if you have one or with a family member who resides in another geographic location.
- Related Videos
- Related Articles
- Ask / Related Q&A
- How to Find a Legitimate Home Business
- Making Your Internet Business Legal - A Simple Guide
- Home Business Ideas In The Service Sector
- Legal Aspects of an Online Home Business
- Ensuring Your Home Business is Legal
- A New Internet Home Business Opportunity
- Awesome Tax Advantages of a Home Business!
- Increase Your Income Through a Legitimate Home Business - Register It!
Consequences of Social Security Number Identity Theft
By: Steve Cabouli | 28/12/2009A social security number, otherwise known as a social security account number, appears in the form of a nine-digit card that has been issued by the Social Security Administration to the US citizens and temporary and permanent residents. The Social Security Number is important for a variety of purposes, from government retirement’s record keeping and work identification purposes to Housing and Urban Development applications.
Social Security and the Impending Depletion of Funds
By: Shaneela Khan | 28/12/2009The debate about Social Security’s depleting fund has been going on for years. Recently, analysts have begun discussing possible solutions to ensure the availability of Social Security for future generations. The Social Security Administration’s 2005 trustees report predicted massive annual deficits starting by 2017. This means that by 2017, this Administration will be putting out more money than it’s collecting through taxes. What’s even more troubling is that there’s no definite plan of actio
Social Security Announces Changes in the Digestive System Listings Criteria
By: Shaneela Khan | 28/12/2009While making disability determinations, one of the steps Social Security goes through is to ask whether or not the claimant's condition “meets or equals a listing.” The Listings are a list of impairments that are considered severe enough to prevent a person from doing any gainful activity. Most of the listed impairments are permanent, very serious, or expected to result in death. The impairments are grouped together by the major body systems that they affect. So far, there are 14 categories of
The Pursuit of Social Security Benefits in A Culture of Denial
By: Shaneela Khan | 28/12/2009In the recent months, high denial rates among those applying for Social Security benefits has been the topic of immense concern. Investigations into denials of specific cases have caused some to call the Administration’s strategies a “culture of denial.”
Social Security’s New “Compassionate Allowances:” Are they Really Going to Speed up the Process?
By: Shaneela Khan | 28/12/2009This week, Michael Astru, the Commissioner of Social Security held hearings on a “Compassionate Allowances” program. The proposed program is aiming to get children and adults with serious, rare diseases on disability benefits much faster. This is quite a change, considering the Administration has been notorious for prolonged wait periods and strict guidelines on disability determinations. The December 2007 Compassionate Allowances hearings were the first of the public outreach hearings that the
Using Background Checks to Verify Resumes of Potential Employees
By: Andrew Bicknell | 27/12/2009For the small business owner, hiring manager or human resources personnel manager screening resumes of potential employees is a hard task when you consider the following statistics; studies have found that 75 percent of resumes have been falsified in some way and 89 percent are fully misleading in the information they provide.
Online Public Records Criminal Background Checks
By: Andrew Bicknell | 26/12/2009There are a number of reasons people choose to do a criminal background check by doing a public records search. In this day and age keeping your self, your family, and your business safe from undesirable people is very important. You can check on that new neighbor or look into the background of a potential new employee before you hire them only to find out they have a court record.
Identity Theft: Even Your Child Is Not Safe Any More
By: Douglas M. Parks | 26/12/2009Surprisingly, identity theft has begun to take a whole new turn with identity thieves not even sparing children. The new method being employed by identity thieves is to impersonate a child in order to gain financial rewards. Often, the perpetrator is a member of the family; or, it could be a complete stranger, egged on no doubt by the fact that it will take considerable time before such form of identity theft will be discovered.
How to Legally Prepare for Natural Disasters
By: Carrie Criado | 05/06/2008 | National, State, LocalNatural disasters have caused havoc in more than ten states in recent weeks. Here are five tips to assist you in being better legally prepared for natural disasters and other life emergencies.