Beyond Batteries
Well, it’s official: Hur-
ricane season has arrived.
It’s time to buy batteries,
stock up on bottled water
and strategically place
those flashlights around the
house. Last year’s season
turned out to be blessedly
uneventful, but if you were
here the year before that,
one quiet season is not like-
ly to make you nonchalant.
Joseph
C.E.L.A.
The year 2005, with its re-
lentless storms and endless power out-
ages, is probably seared into your
memory banks forever.
As you make preparations for pos-
sible wild weather ahead, you really
should think beyond batteries. Give
some thought to how you’re going to
protect your estate planning docu-
ments and other essential documents.
There are no hard and fast rules and
common sense should prevail. The
general idea is to keep the items you
need safe yet handy. Here are some
tips:
• First, your orig-
inal documents
should be kept some- Keep the
place safe. This in- need safe and handy. issue.
cludes your will,
trust, your power of attorney for prop-
erty and your health care power of
attorney. If you keep your documents
at home rather than in a safe deposit
box, make sure you’ve stored them in
a watertight container of some sort.
It’s also best to put them in a high
place so that water is less likely to de-
stroy them. You might even want to
transfer originals to a loved one for
safekeeping.
• There’s also the possibility that you batteries.
may be forced to leave your house,
particularly if you live in a flood zone.
Some people feel more comfortable
taking their originals with them; oth-
ers prefer to leave them at home. If
you do leave your originals at home,
advise someone you trust of where
they are and how to access them. You
should certainly take with you a copy
of your signed documents.
• If your home is in your
trust, you’ll at least need
a copy of the trust should
you need to contact your
homeowner’s insurance
carrier to make a claim. If
you have to deal with oth-
er financial institutions
post-hurricane, many will
insist on seeing the origi-
S. Karp, nals. Others may be more
willing to accept copies of
signed originals, particu-
larly under post-hurricane conditions.
The same is true for medical providers:
some may insist on seeing your orig-
inal health care power of attorney,
while others may consider a signed
copy sufficient for them to take ac-
tion.
• Just as those batteries should be
fresh, so should your documents. Is
your power of attorney updated? Does
it appoint someone to manage your
affairs who is still willing, able and
ready to do the job if need be? Keep-
ing your documents updated is always
a good idea, and hur-
ricane time is as good
items you
as any to revisit this
• Other items you
should take with you are copies of
prescriptions, all your pharmaceuti-
cals, credit cards, register of bank and
brokerage accounts, etc. And, of
course, a copy of your homeowner’s
policy...which you won’t need to col-
lect on if our 2006 luck holds out.
So let’s all hope for quiet tropical
waters from now till November. But
just in case, we should all be as pre-
pared as we can be...and think beyond
Joseph S. Karp is a nationally certified
and Florida Bar-certified elder law attorney
(C.E.L.A.) specializing in the practice of Trusts,
Estates and Elder Law. His offices are locat-
ed at 2500 Quantum Lakes Drive, Boynton
Beach; 2875 PGA Blvd., Palm Beach Gar-
dens; and 1100 SW St. Lucie W. Blvd., Port
St. Lucie. Call him at 561-752-4550 (Boyn-
ton); 561-625-1100 (Palm Beach Gardens);
or 772-343-8411 (Port St. Lucie). Toll-free
from anywhere: 800-893-9911. E-mail: KLF@
Karplaw.com. or website www.karplaw.com