Estate Planning Checklist

The other day I did a blog post about Estate Planning for My Special Needs Child, I got to thinking that I should have probably shared some really basic, but important information about estate planning that I learned when my dad passed away a few years ago. I would honestly print this list out and use it as a checklist of things to get handled as soon as possible, if they are not already…

• Make sure all of your bank accounts have direct beneficiaries. Your beneficiaries will just need to go to the bank with your death certificate and an ID of their own.
  
• If you own a home, you will want to have a Transfer On Death (TOD) deed. Completing this document and filing it with your county saves your heirs thousands of dollars as well as time. This document allows you to transfer ownership of your home to your designee when you are gone. All they need to do is take their ID and your death certificate to the county building and the deed is signed over. Doing this will avoid the home having to go through probate.
  
• I recommend having a Living Will. This will allow you to put in writing exactly what you want done in the event you cannot speak for yourself when it comes to healthcare decisions
  
• Let’s say you are still living but unable to make decisions for yourself. You will need a Durable Power of Attorney to designate a person to make legal decisions if you are no longer competent to do so.
  
• Just like the durable power of attorney, there is also a Power of Attorney for Healthcare: This document allows you to designate someone to make healthcare decisions for you if you are no longer competent to do so on your own behalf.
  
• This one is pretty important, and could honestly take you a lot longer than you might think. Creating a Last Will and Testament allows you to designate to whom your personal belongings will go too.
  
• This is one that I still have to figure out for myself. A Funeral Planning Declaration: allows you to say exactly what your wishes are as far as disposition of your body and the services. You might also want to look at prepaying your funeral and purchasing your cemetary plot, etc. This is something I’m currently working on myself…
  
• Make a list of all your banks and account numbers as well as all investment institutions with account numbers, lists of credit cards, utility accounts, etc. Be sure to leave clear instructions as to how and when these things are paid. Make sure your heirs understand where life insurance policies are located as well.
  
• This is going to sound crazy, but in today’s day and age, you need to make 100% sure that someone you trust knows your Apple ID, bank ID account logins and passwords!
  
• As far as physical assets go, you will want to make sure you have titles for all vehicles, campers, boats, etc!
  
• I know it’s awkward, but it’s really important that you talk with those closest to you and make all your wishes known. Be sure to talk to those whom you’ve designated, as well as those close to you whom you did not designate so that there are no hurt feelings or awkward moments when the day does come. It’s always good to explain why your decisions were made and to avoid any lingering questions or hurt feelings.

If you go through this checklist of things and get them done, you should be able to avoid probate. If all the above is not done, you will likely have to open an estate account at the bank. All money that doesn’t have direct beneficiaries will go into this account when you are gone. You have to have an attorney to open the estate account. The attorney also has to publicize your passing in the paper etc., to allow anyone to make a claim on your property. Just ask anyone that has had to go through the probate process, it’s a total pain. If you are like me, you want to make things as easy as possible on your loved ones when you are gone.

Disclaimer: I’m not an attorney. Everything I’ve listed above are simply lessons that I’ve learned on my own. Of course only you can make decisions for yourself! My hope is that the above list at least helps you start an important conversation with your loved ones and an attorney that can help you complete all the necessary steps.