(Newswire.net — March 22, 2021) —
Are you finally ready to clear that pile of papers in the back room? It’s easy for these things to accumulate, and soon, you have no idea where anything is. Some forms you need to keep forever, some for only a few years. If you don’t know where to begin, here are a few tips to help get your paperwork in order once and for all.
1. Papers To Keep Forever
Vital documents are anything that has to do with identification. These include birth certificates, passports, marriage certificates and social security cards. You will access these routinely throughout life and, they require a lengthy process to replace if lost. Other essential items that require a lifetime of safekeeping are your final will, life insurance policies, and any power of attorney documents. If you are unfamiliar with any of these, you can read more dhgpl-law.com online.
2. Some Documents Expire
You don’t need to keep everything in that pile of papers forever. Documents that pertain to the purchase of your house, such as title, deed and mortgage contracts, are essential to keep safe while you still own the home. Once you sell the house, you need to keep these for another 10 years, and then you can shred them. The same is valid for automobile title and loan paperwork. On the other hand, taxes and all accompanying items, such as receipts and W2s, only need to be kept for seven years. Many online tax services keep a digital copy of your filing, but it is necessary to keep hard copies of everything. You can keep minor items such as bank statements, credit card statements and paid-off medical bills for a year after the transaction date.
3. The Filing Process
There are two main ways to organize your documents, paper and electronic filing systems. Vital records need to be paper originals. For the most secure option, store these documents in a safe deposit box or a fire-proof lockbox, with copies in a home file box. It’s a good idea to let family members know where these items are in case of an emergency. When organizing your home file box, consider putting these items in specific colored folders, so they are easily identifiable. One suggestion is to put vital documents in a red file folder because you never purge them. You should also keep originals from loans, taxes and bills. Put these documents in another color file folder, with an expiration date listed at the top. This type of filing system makes it easier to keep on top of discarding old paperwork. Scan other documents such as warranties, utility bills and owners manuals and save them as a digital file. Be sure to keep your electronic files backed up to an external hard drive or the cloud, and make sure it is password protected.
Now that you know what documents to keep and how long, you can better organize your papers. Once you create a system, it is much easier to avoid that large pile building up again.