12 Things Your Family Should Have in Place

Estate planning is more than signing a will or creating a trust.

A well-organized plan usually includes legal documents, healthcare instructions, beneficiary decisions, property information, and financial records.

But there is another question that matters just as much:

Would your family know what you have, where to find it, and what to do with it?

Use this checklist to see where things stand today.

The Legal Foundation

1. Last Will and Testament

A will provides instructions for what should happen to certain property after your death. It can also name the person you want handling your estate and nominate guardians for minor children.

Even people with a living trust commonly have a pour-over will to address assets that were not transferred into the trust during their lifetime.

Ask yourself:
Do I have a current will, and does the person I named know where it is?

2. Revocable Living Trust, If Appropriate

A revocable living trust can provide instructions for managing assets during your lifetime and transferring properly titled assets after your death.

One important point is often overlooked:

Creating the trust is only part of the process.

Assets that are intended to be controlled by the trust generally need to be properly coordinated with it.

Ask yourself:
If I have a trust, do I know which assets are actually connected to it?

3. Durable Financial Power of Attorney

A durable financial power of attorney allows someone you choose to handle financial matters for you if you become unable to manage them yourself.

That could include paying bills, dealing with financial institutions, managing property, or handling other financial responsibilities.

Ask yourself:
Who could legally step in and manage my financial affairs if I could not?

4. Guardianship Instructions

Parents of minor children should consider who they would want raising their children if both parents were unable to do so.

A guardian is often nominated through a will, although state procedures vary.

It is also wise to identify an alternate and talk with the people you are considering.

Ask yourself:
Have I clearly communicated who I would want caring for my children?

Your Healthcare Instructions

5. Healthcare Power of Attorney

A healthcare power of attorney names the person you want making healthcare decisions if you cannot speak for yourself.

Without written instructions, state law may determine who has authority to make those decisions.

Ask yourself:
Does the person I trust to make healthcare decisions know that I chose them?

6. Living Will or Advance Directive

A living will or advance directive communicates your wishes regarding certain medical treatments and end-of-life care.

The healthcare power of attorney answers:

Who should make decisions?

The advance directive helps answer:

What would I want?

Ask yourself:
Have I written down my wishes so my family does not have to guess?

7. HIPAA Authorization

A HIPAA authorization can allow healthcare providers to share medical information with the people you designate.

This can be especially important when family members or other trusted people need information to help coordinate your care.

Ask yourself:
Have I authorized the right people to receive information about my medical care?

8. Medication and Physician List

This is not usually a legal document, but it can be one of the most useful pieces of information your family has during an emergency.

Include:

• Current medications

• Dosages

• Allergies

• Physicians

• Specialists

• Pharmacy information

• Important medical conditions

And remember to update it.

Ask yourself:
Could someone quickly find accurate information about my medications and doctors today?

Money, Property, and Beneficiaries

9. Beneficiary Designations

Some assets transfer according to a beneficiary designation rather than instructions in a will.

These can include retirement accounts, life insurance, and certain payable-on-death or transfer-on-death accounts.

Beneficiary designations should be reviewed periodically and after major life changes.

Ask yourself:
When was the last time I actually looked at the beneficiaries listed on my accounts?

10. Life Insurance Information

Your family should know whether life insurance exists and how to locate the information needed to make a claim.

At minimum, keep a record of:

• Insurance company

• Policy number

• Insured person

• Beneficiary information

• Agent or contact information

• Where the policy records are stored

Ask yourself:
Would my family know that a policy exists?

11. Deeds, Titles, and Property Records

Keep records for significant property and ownership interests, including items such as:

• Real estate deeds

• Vehicle titles

• Business ownership documents

• Cemetery or burial property

• Important contracts

• Other titled property

The exact records your family needs will depend on what you own.

Ask yourself:
Could someone identify everything I own and how it is titled?

The Part Almost Everyone Forgets

12. Account and Asset Inventory

Think of this as the map to everything else.

Your inventory may include:

• Bank accounts

• Investment accounts

• Retirement accounts

• Credit cards

• Mortgages

• Loans

• Utilities

• Automatic payments

• Insurance

• Business interests

• Digital assets

• Subscriptions

• Email accounts

• Cloud storage

• Important online accounts

You do not necessarily need to place passwords on the same document.

What matters is that your family knows what exists and how to begin locating it.

Paperless statements have made this more important than ever.

There may no longer be an envelope arriving in the mailbox that tells your family an account exists.

Ask yourself:
If I were not here tomorrow, how would my family discover everything I have?

You Can Have All 12. But Could Your Family Find Them?

Having the right documents is important.

But imagine something happened to you unexpectedly.

Would your family know:

• Which documents exist?

• Where the originals are kept?

• Who is supposed to make financial decisions?

• Who is supposed to make healthcare decisions?

• Which accounts have beneficiaries?

• Whether your trust is properly connected to your assets?

• Which insurance policies exist?

• What bills are automatically being paid?

• Where your important digital information is located?

An estate plan should not simply exist.

Your family should be able to understand it and use it when the time comes.

Where Should You Keep Estate Planning Documents?

Original documents should generally be kept somewhere protected but reasonably accessible.

Depending on the document, that might mean a secure location in your home, with your attorney, or another appropriate location.

Most importantly, the people who may need those documents should know:

What exists.

Where it is.

And how to access it when the time comes.

A perfectly organized binder does very little good if no one knows the binder exists.

So, Where Do You Stand Today?

You may have checked every box on this page.

You may have discovered a few things you need to look at.

Or you may simply be thinking:

“I’m not really sure.”

That is exactly why we created the Self-Guided Family Legacy Review™.

It gives you a simple way to look at what you currently have, what may need attention, and what questions you should be asking.

There is no pressure.

There is no obligation.

You can complete it privately and at your own pace.

Start by understanding where you stand.