QUESTION: What happens IF?

ANSWER: Over the past week we’ve seen a massive earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The risk of radiation and conditions that are not yet under control at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant have forced sudden unexpected evacuations there.

We have recently seen large-scale evacuations of expatriates from Tunisia, Egypt and Libya, and it is not unreasonable to assume that we might see a similar exodus from Bahrain and Yemen if developments in those countries deteriorate. So, it’s prudent to address the topic of personal contingency planning. The subject of your own personal contingency plan is readily applicable to crises caused by natural disaster, war and civil unrest, or terrorist attack. When a crisis erupts, having an established personal contingency plan provides people with a head start and a set of tools that can help them avoid, or at least mitigate, the effects of the chaos and panic that accompany crisis events. Click here for more details.

Feel free to contact me if you or someone you know has this type of situation. Financial Planning and tax planning advice presented here is general in nature, and individual circumstances make applying these general rules tricky; thus, the above answer cannot be applied to all circumstances because the slightest variation could cause a different outcome.