Don't leave home without a contingency plan

(Prepared by the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants.) Do you have a plan for you or your family if a crisis occurs? Imagine not being able to contact your friends or family members. How would you know if everyone was safe? Does your family have a list of basic steps and information to follow? A natural disaster or a family crisis could happen at any time. Because September is National Preparedness Month, the Oklahoma Society of Certified Public Accountants suggests creating an emergency file, or a contingency plan, to lessen the anxiety of a crisis. "Often, when an emergency happens, people can get stressed and make bad decisions just because they're not thinking clearly," explained Marilyn Geiger, CPA, executive director of the Norman Regional Health Foundation in Norman, Okla. "Just having a written strategy to help lead you can help ease pressure and uncertainty." Develop a contingency plan binder. When tragedy strikes, there is often no time to go through drawers, filing cabinets and shoe boxes looking for pertinent information. Those who bear responsibility for your affairs need the relevant material immediately. First, find a folder or binder with dividers and label each section. Some ideas for sections in your notebook are: • Action List • Key Contacts • Medical Notes • Financial Accounts • Insurance • Business Interests • Asset Inventory • Funeral Instructions • Estate Planning Documents • Personal Items • Miscellaneous Gather your important documents and place them in the appropriate file. For sake of your loved ones, begin your contingency book right away. Once you are satisfied it is complete, show it to your family and tell them where they can find it. Surviving the crisis § what's next? Here are some tips on regaining financial balance in the days following a disaster from "Disaster Recovery: a Guide to Financial Issues," published as a public service by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, American Red Cross and National Endowment for Financial Education: • Try to avoid making major financial decisions. • If your home is damaged and uninhabitable, contact the Red Cross, your county office of emergency management or other local disaster relief organizations to guide you to shelters and temporary housing. • If you need cash, contact the Red Cross, and if you are in a major disaster area, call the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). They may be able to guide you to sources of emergency cash assistance. You may receive emergency cash assistance from federal, state or local government following the declaration of a disaster. The money generally is not taxable. • If you don't think you'll be able to pay all your bills, contact your creditors and ask for more time. If your residence is temporarily uninhabitable or totally destroyed, notify service companies - like the utility and phone company - so they can stop billing immediately. Try to pay as many of your bills on time as possible to protect your credit rating. • You may want to consider the assistance of a professional financial advisor. Ask friends or other professional advisors, such as your lawyer, for references. You may also check with organizations like the Michigan Association of CPAs. "Disaster Recovery: A Guide to Financial Issues" offers additional advice on such topics as managing an injury or disability, financial decisions after a death, stabilizing your finances, lawsuits and other settlements, and managing a property loss. The guide, along with "Disasters and Financial Planning: A Guide for Preparedness," is available for free from the OSCPA online at www.KnowWhatCounts.org. If you are having trouble deciding which financial information § or how much of it § you should include in your disaster file, a CPA can help. He or she can assist you in deciding which financial documents are necessary for your contingency plan. §§§§§§§§ Produced in cooperation with the AICPA. © 2010 The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Published: Thu, Sep 23, 2010

––––––––––––––––––––
 Subscribe to the Legal News!
 https://test.legalnews.com/Home/Subscription
Full access to public notices, articles, columns, archives, statistics, calendar and more
Day Pass Only $4.95!
One-County $80/year
Three-County & Full Pass also available