Estate Planning Checklists | PDF | RTF | Word
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Estate planning is not just about what happens after you die. In this day and age in our peaceful country, for better or worse, must of us will experience a period of relative incapacitation at the end of life. During that period, you may not be able to express your wishes, or may be medically incompetent to do so. To make sure that our wishes are adhered to during those trying days, two documents are essential. They are the Springing Durable Power of Attorney and a Living Will.
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Durable Power of Attorney & Living Will
With the Springing Durable Financial Power of Attorney, you appoint an individual to run your financial affairs during any period of incapacitation that might occur before you die. Having a trusted individual ready to take over the reins is vital in preserving your estate for your loved ones. And, through a Living Will, you can set down, in writing what sort of medical procedure you would or would not consent to in case you are too ill to articulate your wishes.
Be advised that these documents are known by different names in many of the fifty states. The rules under which they operate vary to some extent, also.
Will/Last Will and Testament
A Will figures prominently on your Estate Planning Checklist. This document is not the same as your Living Will, it is concerned with the disposition of you property after you die, not your medical care while you are still alive.
If you die or become disabled without all three of these documents in place, it will be the job of the courts in your state to decide the details of your care and in the distribution of your assets. These impartial jurists will have no idea of your wishes, so it is unreasonable to expect them to know what you would have wanted.
Financials/Assets
Another checkpoint on your Estate Planning Checklist must be the creation of a complete financial inventory. List all your bank accounts, all your insurance policies of any type, IRA’s, 401K’s, stocks and bonds. List also your liabilities, such as loans, mortgages and credit cards.
It’s important to note that the beneficiaries you have listed on your retirement accounts and on your insurance policies can take precedence over those listed on your will. So an important item on your Estate Planning Checklist is to make sure the beneficiaries you listed in these two sources are in agreement.
Similarly, the best way to keep brokerage accounts and bank accounts out of probate after your death is utilize the transfer-on-death feature. Then on the event of your death, the transfer you would have wanted will proceed unambiguously.
Versions
ABA Version
Nature Conservancy Version
Merrill Lynch Version
Sources
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