Any Californians comment on Well's Fargo

[MJ]

I suppose deeds to property, original stock certificates, heirloom jewelry, maybe wills or something... but we like to put these things in cyberspace and encrypt them -- not the original stock certs, (if we had any)... and not all those 'gems'

Akaisha, could you comment further on this? Everytime I leave for even a few days I have some concern that I'll come back and all my important docs will be gone. Maybe you could suggest something fo rme to read in this area?

Thanks, ha

Can't you scan and store your important documents. That's what I am doing now since I'm not planning to have a real homebase for awhile.

 

[OldAgePensioner]

MasterBlaster,
Damn man, I hope your bank was on 4th and Market. Cause my view is of the intersection of 3rd and Market and 3rd turns into Kearney going up to China town. SW corner is a clothing store, SE corner is a BOA with nothing going for it, NW corner is an old hotel or something and the NE corner is being demolished.

But up on 4th and Market are two Pantheon type stuctures of which one is Wells Fargo. The Wells Fargo lobby impressed me.
OAP

 

[OldAgePensioner]

Vagabond,
I'll chime in if it's OK, I scanned and digitized my Living Trust and Pour OVer Will and sent them to my brother. His lawyer said, "Waste of time, Judge will want to see signed original copies.". So I guess it served to give my brother all the info but I still have to keep the originals somewhere. ie. Safety Deposit box at John Hancock in Chicago for now.

Likewise, my birth certificate has a crimped "Official" State of California legitness to it. A scanned or digitized copy is bogus to most officials at banks or govt offices.

Guess some paperwork is forced on us.
OAP

 

[HFWR]

As I always say, "No job is complete until the paperwork is done..."

 

[MasterBlaster]

OAP:

well it's been almost 25 years since I last stepped foot in that magnificent Crocker bank. It sounds like it is now gone. Oh well that's progress for you.

All that marble and walnut out to the landfill- what a waste !

 

[OldAgePensioner]

MasterBlaster,
I'm goning to do some research and let ya know what transpired.

 

[MJ]

Vagabond,
I'll chime in if it's OK, I scanned and digitized my Living Trust and Pour OVer Will and sent them to my brother. His lawyer said, "Waste of time, Judge will want to see signed original copies.". So I guess it served to give my brother all the info but I still have to keep the originals somewhere. ie. Safety Deposit box at John Hancock in Chicago for now.

Likewise, my birth certificate has a crimped "Official" State of California legitness to it. A scanned or digitized copy is bogus to most officials at banks or govt offices.

Guess some paperwork is forced on us.
OAP

Bummer.

Thanks OAP.

 

[OldAgePensioner]

MasterBlaster,
Just took a stroll over to where the old Crocker Building was and there she was in all her glory but now labeled "Wells Fargo" . It's acutally located mid block so it is near Post and Montgomery. They were closing so I'll go back for a grander look.

 

[Billy]

Akaisha, could you comment further on this? Everytime I leave for even a few days I have some concern that I'll come back and all my important docs will be gone. Maybe you could suggest something fo rme to read in this area?

Can't you scan and store your important documents. That's what I am doing now since I'm not planning to have a real homebase for awhile.

Guess some paperwork is forced on us.
OAP

Vagabond and Ha let me  get back with you on this.

We have things like copies of our passports, driver's license, birth certificates, etc. up in cyberspace. We carry the originals with us, putting them into the hotel's safe or carry them on our bodies.

Let me ask Billy or another PT friend what they do about the 'serious stuff'.  We have a division of labor in our household, and I am no digital goddess! Thank God for Billy!  8)

Thanks,
Akaisha
Author, The Adventurer's Guide to Early Retirement

 

[Billy]

Well, I asked around to some PT friends. The general attitudes were the same.

Carry the passports with you wherever you go.

1099 info goes on the computer and referenced whenever it is needed. It is encrypted (PGP encryption http://www.pgp.com/) and backed up.

Wills (and items of this import) are given to family members who either put them into their safes or safety deposit boxes.

And taxes are done online and left online for access later.

ID's such as birth certs and driver's licenses are brought with you with your passports and carried with you at all times.

This info may or may not be helpful to y'all. But it's what we do... 

Akaisha
Author, The Adventurer's Guide to Early Retirement

 

[OldAgePensioner]

Akaisha,
When I was on foreign trips, the passport was my major worry, so I gripped it like a vise. Now that I'm retired, my main worry is having my Living Trust/Pour-over Will, and Medical Directive in a place that my brother can access easily.

That's my main reason for a safety deposit box.

 

[Billy]

OAP, I respect that immensely.

In no way would I pit myself against you on this point.

Everyone must find their own level of personal safety and risk. It's worth sleeping better at nights.

Best,

Akaisha
Author, The Adventurer's Guide to Early Retirement

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Hi again, Akaisha,

Thanks for the information. I have wondered how seasoned travellers manage their important 'stuff'.

My international travels have not been very adventurous so far so it has been more like travel at home. Now that you mention it though, I do keep my passport on me at all times. Got to de better with my other records, though.

Thanks again.

Ed

 

[Martha]

Akaisha,
When I was on foreign trips, the passport was my major worry, so I gripped it like a vise.  Now that I'm retired, my main worry is having my Living Trust/Pour-over Will, and Medical Directive in a place that my brother can access easily.

That's my main reason for a safety deposit box.

Why not just give them to your brother now?

If not, be sure he has a key to the safe deposit box and is a signatory with rights to access the box.

 

[OldAgePensioner]

Martha,
I have a safety deposit box in the John Hancock building in Chicago and my brother has signatory and a key.

I was toying with the idea of moving out here to SF but after getting good feed back on this thread, I've decided to just leave it back there.



Here's a good horror story for all who worry like me. My ex-site manager went paperless and put everything on his computer. Years of data, names, numbers, pictures, accounts, copies of passport, SS card, birth certificate.

It was stolen. He had not backed any of it up. Moral, either an external HD or lots of CDs to be stored somewhere.

 

[Billy]

ED:

Thanks for the information. I have wondered how seasoned travellers manage their important 'stuff'.

You're welcome. I suppose we 'seasoned travelers' may seem a bit more cavalier than those who are more steadfast at home... but the general ideas have been the same for all of us. We do guard our info pretty strongly though, when we are in a foreign country.

Sure, we could get bonked on the head and things get stolen, or someone working in a hotel could pilfer the safes... back ups and copies help to justify our story, should we need to explain.

OAP

Years of data, names, numbers, pictures, accounts, copies of passport, SS card, birth certificate. .. It was stolen. He had not backed any of it up. Moral, either an external HD or lots of CDs to be stored somewhere.

I completely understand. We, unfortunately, are pretty 'data dependent.' These days there are high gigabyte hard drives available to back up one's information and that needs to be done regularly...

We once lost 'everything' due to a lightening strike, and ... uh... it wasn't pretty.        Let's just say, it only had to happen once! 

Akaisha
Author, The Adventurer's Guide to Early Retirement

 

[KB]

I have a nice little USB 40GB hard drive that I back up pertinent data to. I used it yesterday to reload my MS Money backup after a file in MS Money got corrupted somehow.

It's worth the $100 I paid, just to restore that data yesterday.

 

[OldAgePensioner]

Akaisha,
I've been slack for a few months and this has reminded me to do a backup.  My laptop is acting up, so today I do the backup. I'm still putting the data on CDs but a good external HD would be great.

MasterBlaster mentioned an old bank here in SF and I went in to look around.  The interior is maybe one of the most spectacular I've seen.  Very nice.

 

[MJ]

I do a weekly backup religiously. Because each BU is less than 50 meg, so I keep 4 months saved.

 

[Billy]

Yes, we back up often  as well. There are those files we back up each time we use them, and others that we back up weekly.

Like I mentioned... it only has to happen once    the impression left indelible  marks! 

Take care,
Akaisha
Author, The Adventurer's Guide to Early Retirement