Create a Financial Plan for a NATURAL DISASTER

You’ll recover more quickly if your important documents are secure.

- RIVAN STINSON

Severe weather is taking a huge toll on the economy—and the finances of families. The U.S. experienced 20 severe weather events in 2021, coming in second behind a record 22 events in 2020. The total cost of the destruction in 2021: $145 billion.

Although protecting your family from nature’s wrath should always take priority, you need to secure your financial life as well. There’s no worse time to lose access to the documents you’ll need to rebuild your life than in the aftermath of a storm. You should have a plan in place before disaster hits because you may not be home when the evacuation alarm sounds.

Robert Persichitte, a certified financial planner and former probate auditor in Arvada, Colo., recalls a case in which a senior citizen lost everything, including his financial documents, when his house flooded. “That’s just informed my thinking since then,” he says.

Persichitte’s neighborhood was evacuated in 2021 because it was in the path of the Marshall Fire—the devastating blaze that consumed more than 6,000 acres and more than a thousand homes. His wife, Carrie, was home and called him in a panic, asking what items she needed to find before she and their children evacuated. Luckily, he doesn’t keep important documents, such as the family’s Social Security cards and birth certificates, in the house, and he told Carrie to focus on getting their children to safety. Fortunately, the Persichittes’ home was left untouched by the blaze.

WHERE TO KEEP CRITICAL DOCUMENTS