Colin is a writer who lives in New York City with his wife and children. He’s spent more than a decade as a financial journalist. He spent another decade working with financial institutions to turn deeply complex topics into compelling stories, making infographics and firmwide white papers for BlackRock, scripted and unscripted videos for the New York Stock Exchange and Bank of America, and podcasts for Charles Schwab. He has written short fiction for Facebook, The New York Times, and more. His novels, scripts, and films have won multiple awards.
As a 30+ year member of the AICPA, Nancy has experienced all facets of finance, including tax, auditing, payroll, plan benefits, and small business accounting. Her résumé includes years at KPMG International and McDonald’s Corporation. She now runs her own accounting business, serving several small clients in industries ranging from law and education to the arts.
Making an estate plan can feel like a daunting process. For some people, drafting an estate plan will involve attorneys, tax accountants, trust specialists, and financial advisors.
But if youâre like most of us, you can probably handle the bulk of it on your own. One way to simplify the process is to lay out the steps in a checklist.
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Key Points
Documents in your estate plan should be easily accessible to your heirs and the executor of your will.
An estate planning checklist should include your will, account statements, and insurance forms.
You should also have forms that protect your rights and wishes if you should become incapacitated.
You simply need to gather all the information, ensure everything is up-to-date, and make the necessary documents accessible. At minimum, the executor of your estateâthe person youâve designated to carry out your wishesâshould know where to find things when you die or become incapacitated.
Estate planning documents you need
Will (or âlast will and testamentâ). This document is the master plan for your assets and belongings when you die. It specifies who gets what, and also who should receive those possessions and assets if your primary heirs are no longer alive. To make a will, youâll have to choose an executorâsomeone trustworthy you expect to outlive you. And although there are inexpensive and even free do-it-yourself templates online, you might have to pay to have your will notarized. But check with your bank or local libraryâthey sometimes perform notary services for free or at low cost.
List of debts. Make a list of all the money you owe, from mortgages and auto loans to credit card debt. This information will be essential when settling your estate.
Insurance inventory. Over the course of different jobs, memberships, and other professional and personal associations, you may have acquired insurance policies you forgot about. Go through any organization to which you belong or pay dues and see if it comes with insurance you may have overlooked.
Beneficiary forms. These come with your insurance, brokerage, and bank accountsâbasically any financial account. Review all your accounts and double-check the beneficiary forms. Having updated information on these forms will save your heirs a great deal of time and trouble.
Transfer-on-death (TOD) designations. These designations on your accounts allow your beneficiary to receive the assets in the accounts immediately, without having the assets pass through probate. They also let you specify what percentage of the assets in the accounts you want to go to each recipient.
Estate planning documents that protect you
Your estate plan shouldnât just protect your assets when you die, but should also protect you if youâre debilitated by illness or injury. These documents can help make sure your wishes and property are respected, even if youâre unable to make decisions:
Financial power of attorney. This form gives someone you trust the ability to make financial decisions on your behalf while you are incapacitated. One version is the durable power of attorney, for extreme or prolonged states of disability, in which the designated person will make financial decisions until you die.
Health care proxy (or health care power of attorney). You can authorize someone you trustâwhether a family member or friendâto make health care decisions if you become unable to do so. Simply fill out a standard health care proxy form, select the person you want to make decisions, and sign the document in front of two witnesses and/or a notary, depending on your home state.
Living will. You write and sign a living will to specify the medical treatments you do and do not authorize to be used to keep you alive. A living will can also include your preferences for organ donation, pain management, and other decisions you donât want other people making if youâre not in a condition to give your consent. Not all states honor living wills, so to be on the safe side, you should also appoint a health care proxy.
The bottom line
No matter how many heirs you have or how many assets you plan to leave to them, you probably want some say in what will happen to your property when you die. An estate plan can help take care of the people and causes that matter to you, with the least stress, after youâre gone. And a thorough estate plan will also protect you if you should become incapacitated.
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Ready to start? Download the Britannica Money Estate Planning Checklist.
