A practical planning resource for organizing assets, fiduciaries, beneficiaries, and family priorities before creating or updating an estate plan.
A strong estate plan is built from accurate information, thoughtful decisions, and careful coordination. This checklist is designed to help families prepare for a productive planning conversation.
List your spouse, children, grandchildren, dependents, key family members, and anyone who may need ongoing support. Consider whether any beneficiary has special circumstances, creditor concerns, disability issues, substance abuse concerns, financial immaturity, or a need for asset protection.
Gather information on real estate, bank accounts, brokerage accounts, retirement plans, life insurance, business interests, farmland, vehicles, personal property, and digital assets. Identify how each asset is titled and whether it has a beneficiary designation.
Choose an executor, trustee, financial power of attorney agent, healthcare agent, and any successor fiduciaries. These roles require judgment, reliability, and the ability to communicate with beneficiaries.
Retirement accounts, life insurance, payable-on-death accounts, and transfer-on-death assets may pass outside a will or trust. These designations should be reviewed carefully so they do not conflict with the overall plan.
A complete plan addresses not only death, but also incapacity. Durable powers of attorney, healthcare directives, HIPAA authorizations, and trust provisions can help avoid court involvement and preserve continuity.
Closely held business interests, family LLCs, operating companies, and farmland require special planning. Consider management succession, liquidity, buy-sell agreements, leases, control, and transfer restrictions.
Even when estate tax is not the primary concern, planning should address income tax basis, administrative costs, debt, insurance, liquidity, and the practical burden placed on surviving family members.
Plans should be reviewed after marriage, divorce, birth, death, business sale, land acquisition, major wealth change, relocation, tax law changes, or a shift in family dynamics.