Keeping Track of Those Important Things in Life

One of the objectives of preventive law is to help legally healthy people maintain their legal health. This means that we must keep track of ourselves.

Today we offer another in our continuing series of legal checklists that can help you do that. This one comes from the State Bar of California; we’ve thrown in a few additions.

* I should protect myself when dealing with important documents and agreements by:

Reading them carefully before signing; asking for explanations of anything I don’t understand; keeping copies; putting them in writing; using certified mail to prove that I sent important documents; keeping documents, like wills, up to date by reviewing them after a birth, death, marriage or divorce.

* I should use a bank safe deposit box to store important documents such as:

Adoption papers, automobile ownership certificate (pink slip); birth certificate; marriage license; will; grant deed and policy of title insurance for my home; life insurance policy; stock certificates and bonds; passport.

* I should get receipts when I pay cash or keep canceled checks for:

My rent or mortgage payments; my insurance payments; major medical expenses; purchases of stocks, bonds or real estate.

* I should keep, for at least five years, papers such as:

Agreements, loan papers and similar documents; bank statements and canceled checks; copies of my income tax returns; real estate and property tax bills.

* In case of theft or fire, I should keep a list of my personal property in a safe place, including:

Descriptions of major items and property that I own; identification numbers; receipts; photos.

* I should consider:

Making a will after I am 18 years old; taking and keeping notes of important conversations, especially if we talk about money or property; having a written agreement concerning property and money arrangements with my living companion or my spouse.

* I should also:

Have proper insurance concerning my auto and home; keep, in a place where I can find them, copies of warranties on items I purchase; inform at least one other person in whom I have confidence of my legal affairs and where I keep information; review my legal affairs annually; have a family, or primary, lawyer that I can call on in an emergency and at other times for advice and help.

Legal Brief

The State Bar of California will hold public hearings on the discipline, competence and bar admissions of lawyers at 10 a.m. on Dec. 2 in its Los Angeles office, 333 S. Beaudry. If you’d like to speak about your experiences with attorneys and the bar’s disciplinary process, call Lynn Cerda Price at (415) 241-2018.