You can always "reconstruct the file" in order to replace lost physical documents, assuming there are digital copies elsewhere. The IRS and the courts may lose

You can always "reconstruct the file" in order to replace lost physical documents, assuming there are digital copies elsewhere. The IRS and the courts may lose files occasionally. Then there are fires, like the government records Missouri fire: https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/fire-1973 https://www.archives.gov/personnel-records-center/fire-1973 It happens.