Below is a checklist of key documents you’ll likely need to prepare your estate.

You may not have these, but you’ll likely need them:


1. Get a last will and testament

  • A “simple will” is a document that says whom you wish to be: 1) the guardian of your kids and 2) who gets your property after your death
  • If both parents of a child pass away, and there is no will naming the child’s guardian, then the courts will decide who the guardian of that child will be
  • If you have a spouse, having “mirror wills” likely works - 2 simple wills that are duplicates but swapping each spouse’s names
  • See below the section titled “FYI: Getting a will vs. a trust?” to learn about revocable living trusts, which are often combined with pour-over wills


2. Get an advance healthcare directive (AHCD)

  • A legal document that combines a “living will” and a “medical power of attorney”
  • The medical power of attorney part of the document gives power of attorney to a healthcare agent that you name - you name a person that is going to make your medical decisions when you are unable to
  • The living will part of the document gives instructions and preferences regarding your medical care when you are unable to communicate or are incapacitated


3. Get a durable financial power of attorney (DFPOA)

  • A legal document that names your financial agent who will make major financial decisions for you when you’re not able to


You probably already have these, but to check off the box, here’s a list to make sure:


4. Designate beneficiaries for non-probate assets

  • Ensure that for all your non-probate assets, you’ve named beneficiaries
  • Non-probate assets include 401(k) accounts, IRA accounts, life insurance policies, pensions, etc.


5. Organize your financial accounts & insurance policies

  • Make a list of your financial accounts and where they’re held (i.e., bank accounts, mortgages, loans, credit cards, etc.)
  • Collect copies of your insurance policies (i.e., life, health, home, auto, etc.)


6. Organize your key identification documents

  • To prove who you are, gather both official and copied versions of your key identification documents
  • Social Security card
  • Birth, marriage and divorce certificates
  • Prenuptial agreements
  • Passport & drivers license


7. Property titles & deeds

  • Collect official and copied versions of your titles & deeds for your properties
  • Such properties include homes, real estate, vehicles, etc.
  • Make sure these documents show the correct owners
  • If you have set up a trust, you need to retitle your properties so that the trust is the official owner


8. Online/digital logins & passwords

  • Make a list of all your digital assets, along with their logins & passwords (stored securely)
  • Online bank accounts, loan accounts, mortgage accounts, credit card accounts
  • Email & social media
  • Streaming services
  • Digital storage services (i.e., Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.) with your files (i.e., photos, documents, etc.) in them
  • A digital executor could be named in your will to handle specific digital assets of yours


9. Funeral instructions

  • List your preferences for your funeral (i.e., cremation, burial, etc.)
  • What denomination/non-denomination you’d like your service to be
  • What you’d like to be read during your service
  • Any other relevant details such as flowers/no flowers


FYI: Getting a will vs. a trust? 

Getting a revocable living trust

  • A simple will does the job for most people – many people think that trusts will save them taxes, but the reality is that trusts typically don’t make sense for most people who own one home and do not have a complex estate or a significant amount of assets – speak to an estate attorney to understand your needs better
  • Note: A revocable trust and living trust are the same thing – a trust in which the terms can be changed anytime. An irrevocable trust cannot be changed after it is created without the consent of its beneficiaries
  • You can set up a living trust in combination with a pour-over will
  • Pour-over wills are used with a living trust and state that any assets not named in the trust should transfer to the trust once the maker of the will dies. However, any assets not in the trust upon death will go through costly/time-consuming probate court before their transfer, even under a pour-over will
  • When assets are held in a living trust (i.e., the trust that owns the assets) while you are alive, you are the beneficiary
  • You can move assets in and out of the living trust or even dissolve the living trust and retake the assets. Typically, you are both the trust maker (i.e., trustee) and the trust’s beneficiary while you are alive; after you pass, your designated successor trustee and beneficiaries take over