Submitted by Anonymous on Sat, 05/14/2011 - 15:21
Posted in
Just wondering if I'm missing something about an article I read on line about shredding documents after tax season to help prevent identity theft. The artilce said you don't really need the checks after your reconcile your bank statement so it's OK to destroy them. But I always heard you should keep records for five years at least. What do you think?
Saving documents and checks for MassHealth
I agree with you. Certainly identity theft is a problem, and you should handle and dispose of your financial documents and checks with care. Shredding is a great idea, but I would wait at least five years before firing up the old shredder. I would say the most common reason for holding these documents for five years is the possibility that you may need to apply for MassHealth. If you need to apply for long-term care you will be expected to produce five year's worth of records, including bank statements and canceled checks. Sure, you should be able to get copies of these items from your bank, but I have heard of elders encountering problems in the retrieval process. I would recommend talking to your estate planning attorney about her take on this issue, but, in my opinion, it's better to keep the documents in a secure location for five years, then destroy them. Good luck.