Estate Planning from Home Checklist

As stated in our previous webinar, Turning Limes into Margaritas: Recipes for Estate Planning You Can do Today, please see below for a checklist on estate planning you can use from home.

• Talk to Your Heirs
  • About how can they get information in case of incapacity or death
    • Whom should they contact?
    • Where are your important documents kept?
    • How can they access electronic information?
  • About your wishes
    • For end-of-life care?
    • For burial/cremation?
    • For funeral arrangements?
  • About how to access basic financial information
    • Who is your accountant?
    • Who is your financial advisor?
    • What life insurance do you have and where are the policies?
    • What debts and charitable pledges are outstanding?
• Get Organized
  • Have a paper file of information to access in case of incapacity or death.  Include instructions on accessing your digital information, such as through your password manager.
  • Use a password manager (e.g., LastPass, 1Password) to keep your passwords in one place. 
    • Set up the emergency contact feature.
    • Document access to devices and location of any hidden cash or tangibles in secure notes.
  • Review emergency contact features on all email and social media accounts.
  • Digitize and back up important family photos and videos.  If using cloud backup, ensure successor access through password management.
• Catalog Your Tangible Personal Property
  • Take a picture of all valuables.
  • Create a paper or digital book of tangibles.  For each item:
    • Describe the item.
    • If it has a story, share the story.
    • Attach any proof of ownership and receipt.
  • Review insurance coverage for valuables.
  • If you want items to pass to named individuals on death, write a letter as instructed by your attorney.  Invite your family to tell you the items that are meaningful to them as you make your decisions.
• Review Asset Titling
  • If you have a revocable trust, review any assets that need to be transferred to the trust.
  • Call your retirement plan custodians and insurance companies to ask for a copy of the beneficiaries named on record.  Send a copy to your attorney.