September is National Preparedness Month, an annual reminder to think about what we would do if an emergency suddenly disrupted our lives. For Californians, emergency preparedness is particularly relevant. Wildfires, earthquakes, floods, power outages and other emergencies can occur with little warning.

Most emergency-preparedness advice focuses appropriately on protecting people and pets, having an evacuation plan, keeping medications available, and assembling food, water and other essential supplies. But there is another question worth asking:

If you had to leave your home tonight, would you have access to the legal and financial documents you might need tomorrow?

Estate planning is not just about signing documents. A good estate plan should also be accessible when it is needed.

Know Where Your Original Estate Planning Documents Are

It sounds obvious, but many people do not know exactly where their original estate planning documents are located.

A Trust, Will, Healthcare Power of Attorney, Living Will, HIPAA Authorization and Durable Power of Attorney for financial matters may have been carefully prepared and signed years ago, then placed in a drawer, filing cabinet or safe and largely forgotten.

Take a few minutes to locate your documents now.

If your documents are kept in a home safe, make sure the appropriate people know that the safe exists and how it can be accessed if you are unable to provide that information yourself.

Your successor trustee and the people you have designated to act under your Powers of Attorney should at least know where the documents they may someday need can be found.

Keep Electronic Copies

Original documents remain important, but electronic copies provide another layer of protection.

Consider maintaining a secure electronic copy of your estate planning documents somewhere that can be accessed even if you cannot return home. Depending on your circumstances, that might be encrypted cloud storage or another secure electronic location.

You do not need to carry your entire estate planning binder with you every time you leave the house. The point is to avoid having the only accessible copy of an important document sitting inside a home you cannot enter.

This is especially important for documents that may be needed quickly, such as a Healthcare Power of Attorney or HIPAA Authorization.

Consider Keeping a Certification of Trust Readily Available

If you have a revocable living trust, you may also have a Certification of Trust.

A Certification of Trust provides important information concerning the trust and the trustee’s authority without requiring disclosure of the entire trust agreement. It can be useful when dealing with banks and other financial institutions.

Keeping an electronic copy with your other important records can make it easier to establish trustee authority when necessary.

Don’t Forget Your Financial Information

Your estate planning documents are only part of the picture.

If someone had to step in and manage your affairs tomorrow, would that person know where you bank? Would he or she know about your retirement accounts, investment accounts, life insurance, real estate, or other significant assets?

You do not necessarily need to provide another person with all of your passwords. In fact, passwords and other sensitive information require careful security. But maintaining an organized and current inventory of your important financial information can save your family an enormous amount of work.

That inventory might identify:

• Banks and financial institutions;
• Retirement and investment accounts;
• Life insurance policies;
• Real estate;
• Business interests;
• Important insurance information;
• Your accountant, financial advisor and attorney; and
• Other significant assets or obligations.

The information should be stored securely, but it should not be impossible for the appropriate person to locate when it is genuinely needed.

Make Sure Your Agents Know They Have Been Named

Naming someone as your successor trustee or agent under a Power of Attorney does little good if that person has no idea that he or she has been selected.

You do not necessarily need to provide every fiduciary with a complete copy of your estate plan today. But it is generally a good idea to tell the people you have selected that you have named them and let them know how to obtain the appropriate documents if they need to act.

The middle of an emergency is not the ideal time for your family to discover that no one knows who is supposed to be in charge.

An Emergency File Is Only Useful if It Is Current

There is one more issue that is easy to overlook: When did you last review your estate plan?

Finding your documents is an excellent opportunity to look at the date on them.

Does your plan still name the people you want making financial and healthcare decisions for you? Is your successor trustee still the right person? Have there been marriages, divorces, births or deaths in the family? Have your assets changed significantly? Have you purchased or sold real estate?

An estate plan prepared many years ago may still be perfectly appropriate. But you should not assume that it is.

Add Estate Planning to Your California Preparedness Checklist

CAL FIRE encourages Californians to prepare before a wildfire by creating an evacuation plan, assembling an emergency supply kit and developing a family communication plan.

Consider adding a legal preparedness check to that list:

• Locate your original estate planning documents.
• Maintain secure electronic copies.
• Make sure the appropriate people know where the documents can be found.
• Maintain an organized inventory of important financial information.
• Confirm that your successor trustees and agents know they have been named.
• Review your estate plan periodically to make sure it still reflects your wishes and circumstances.

Emergency preparedness is ultimately about making difficult situations easier to manage before they happen. Estate planning serves much the same purpose.

You cannot predict when an earthquake, wildfire, medical emergency or other unexpected event will occur. You can make sure that if something does happen, the people you trust have the legal authority and information they need to help.

If it has been several years since you reviewed your estate plan, or if you are unsure whether your existing documents still meet your needs, attorney Maureen Lyons can help you review and update your plan.