| How
to replace lost documents | | |
| Trying to find your car registration?
That is usually handled by the auto-tag office in your home county or parish.
Your banking papers
Remember all
those financial papers you had to sign in triplicate? This is where it pays off.
Survivors "are in luck with banks," says John Hall, associate
director, American Bankers Association. "They are required to have extensive
disaster recovery plans in place and multiple backup systems." If you
have access to a computer and know your account numbers, you can often get bank
and credit records online. If that's not practical, try the toll-free
number for your bank. "Your branch may not be open, but the banks are still
open," Hall says. If you're a normal human being (i.e., one who hasn't
memorized his bank numbers), a bank rep "may ask some specifics about you
to verify your identity," Hall says. What you probably want to get first:
your balance, the last checks that went through, information on any deposits and
a way to access your money. If you want information on your 401(k)
or other retirement accounts, go to the company that's keeping the account. "That's
the best source," says Ron Richards, an independent financial planner in
Pensacola, Fla. Since many are online, you might be able to log on and look at
your account. Or call the company's toll-free number. If it's a work-sponsored
plan and you don't remember which company has the account, try to reach someone
at your employer, preferably in the human resources department, says Richards,
who knows what it's like firsthand after surviving Hurricane Ivan last year. Personal
identity papers
Missing your driver's license, birth certificate or
Social Security card? You're not alone. Social Security
card.This is probably the easiest. Since Social Security is a national
program, you can go into an office anywhere, fill out the paperwork, show some
form of ID (like a driver's license, passport, health insurance card, school ID,
military ID or original or certified copies of marriage or divorce papers), and
they will send you a replacement card. If you fill out the paperwork in person,
you should have a new card in about a week, says Erin Conway, a regional public
affairs specialist with the Social Security Administration's Chicago office. You
can also download the
form and send it in, but you have to send your original ID along with it.
(No copies, says Conway.) Driver's license.For
this, you need to contact the state where you got your license for a replacement.
Some information to start: Louisiana: If you're in-state,
the office of motor vehicles recommends going to a driver's license office in
person, if possible, according to an online
press release. Since it will have your signature and photo on file, you won't
need any ID. If you're in a shelter, you can also call (225) 925-4610 or (225)
925-3993, according to the release.
If you're outside the state, you
can download an application at www.expresslane.org.
and fax it back to the office. Or call (225) 925-4195 or (877) 368-5463 and the
office will fax an application to you. They will put your new license in the mail
in about three days, according to the state Web site. Mississippi:
Go to http://www.dps.state.ms.us/dps/dps.nsf/divpages/hp2ds?OpenDocument.
Alabama: For information, visit http://www.dps.state.al.us/public/driverlicense/
or call: (334) 242-4400.
Birth, marriage and divorce records: For birth
and marriage certificates and divorce papers, you need to be a little more of
a detective. They'll be housed in a vital records department according to where
the event (birth, divorce) took place. In some states vital records are kept in
a central location in the state capital, while in others they are organized by
the counties. Dana Dratch is a freelance writer based
in Atlanta. | 
