It’s never fun to think about the worst-case scenarios. However, putting off tough conversations can lead to headaches, or even heartbreak, for your family in a crisis. This checklist can help you go through some of the big-picture questions involved in creating an estate plan. Our goal is to help you think through these decisions at your own pace and support you along the way.

Do you have an estate plan?

Even if you have an estate plan, it’s important to review it regularly to ensure it still meets your (and your family’s) needs. If the answer is yes, review the following questions to ensure your plan is up to date. If you don’t have a plan yet, skip to the next section on preparing to meet with an attorney.

Review your estate plan:

• When was your estate plan prepared and signed?
• Does your estate plan include the following (and are they current)?
  • Will
  • Executor
  • Current beneficiaries*
  • Trust
  • Trustee
  • Financial power of attorney
  • Medical power of attorney
  • Healthcare directive

Note – The beneficiaries on your retirement accounts and life insurance policies are named and handled separately than beneficiaries named to the basic financial accounts covered in a will and/or trust.

• Does your estate plan achieve the following?
• • Will your children be taken care of financially?
  • Will your children go to a guardian you trust?
  • Are you leaving a legacy beyond family, such as a charitable donation?
  • If not, do you want to be?

 

If you didn’t check any of the boxes above, or if you aren’t sure about the answers, touch base with your spouse or other key family members to see if they’ve taken care of any of these steps (make sure you’re on the same page) OR make an appointment with an attorney that specializes in estate planning. If you need a recommendation, let us know.

Meet with an estate planning attorney

You may need to discuss family dynamics and personal matters during this meeting. Remember, you’re having these conversations now to make the process easier on your loved ones later and to ensure your wishes are carried out. Still, preparing can make this meeting easier, so before your appointment, consider:

• Who do you want to take care of your children if you and your spouse are unable to?
• Make a list of your financial accounts; note who you’d like to receive the funds
  • Retirement Accounts
  • Investment Accounts
  • Bank Accounts

Tip – Create a list of logins and passwords for these accounts and place it somewhere safe and protected. Let your trustee know where or tell them how to access this information.

• List your assets, including property, cars, jewelry, art. Then, list who you’d like to inherit that asset.
• Consider your legacy. What kind of mark do you want to leave? Are you primarily focused on your family, or do you want to support a cause you care about, leave an endowment to a university, or something similar? Note any goals or ideas so you can discuss how to implement them with your attorney (and us).

Note – With a trust-based estate plan, you can be specific about how you want to divide assets. For instance, you can split your estate by percentage, decide who (if anyone) gets someone’s share if they predecease you, and put conditions around when or how a beneficiary will receive funds.

Plan your next steps

The information you gather here will help your attorney draft any relevant documents, including a will, powers of attorney and/or a healthcare directive and trusts. After your meeting with your attorney, you may have additional tasks to check off such as:

• Retitle your accounts
• Notify your trustee
• Notify any named guardians
• Notify your heirs and beneficiaries
• Create a system for reviewing and updating your plan

We’re here to help

While Revo Financial doesn’t provide legal advice, we’re here to support you in other ways. We can help you find an attorney who specializes in estate planning, answer questions about your accounts and/or beneficiary designations, and talk you through any financial or tax implications you may need to know about. We can also help you review and update your plan following major life events and/or once a year.