Estate Planning Checklist: 12 Tips and Advice

An effective and fail-safe estate plan starts with the right foundation. Use these 12 tips as your roadmap to start estate planning, guiding you along as you begin to navigate this legal process. Having a basic checklist can help you stay organized and improve the outcome of your planning efforts.

Use an Experienced Estate Planning Lawyer in St. Louis

Get a strong start by finding the right attorney to help you with estate planning from the very beginning. An experienced estate planning lawyer in Missouri can be critical to the success of your plan. Your lawyer will work by your side every step of the way to help you achieve your goals for the future.

Gather the Right Documents

Together with your attorney, you can create a list of all of the documents and tools your estate plan should include based on your needs and goals. Common choices include a will, living will, powers of attorney and funeral instructions.

Consider Establishing a Living Trust

A revocable living trust is a flexible option for protecting your hard-earned assets. With this arrangement, you establish a trust as the grantor and name beneficiaries who will inherit from the trust upon your death. You will have the option to alter or cancel this type of trust throughout your lifetime.

Choose Your Powers of Attorney Wisely

A power of attorney (POA) is a legal document that can determine what will happen should you pass away or become incapacitated and cannot make important decisions on your own. You need to carefully consider whom to name as your powers of attorney, as they may have control over your finances, assets, estate, business, medical treatments and end-of-life care.

Learn the Current Tax Laws

The taxation of your estate is a complicated subject that is best entrusted to a knowledgeable estate tax planning lawyer. An attorney can help you minimize the taxation of your estate as much as possible with smart and forward-thinking legal strategies based on current federal tax laws.

Plan to Avoid Probate

In Missouri, most estates with a net value of $40,000 or more must go through probate – a court process where a judge determines how to distribute assets to beneficiaries. A comprehensive estate plan can provide tools and techniques to save your estate and family from probate.

Verify Property Titles

It is important to make sure all property titles included in your estate plan are correct. How an asset is titled can impact how it is passed to beneficiaries upon your death. Fine-tune these details with an attorney for peace of mind.

Don’t Forget Money Owed to You

A commonly overlooked estate planning element is money that may be owed to you. An individual or entity may owe you money that has not yet been collected. This may include insurance policies, old bank accounts, security deposits and unclaimed property.

Include Your Funeral Arrangements

A complete estate plan should include suggestions, instructions or funding for your memorial, funeral, burial or cremation services. Making these prearrangements can save your family from the burden of planning after you have passed.

Update Your Estate Plan Regularly

The entire future of your estate can depend on the systems and safeguards laid out in your estate plan. It is crucial to keep your estate planning documents up to date to ensure your assets are properly protected. Make updates every few years or after important life changes. Update beneficiary designations as appropriate.

Organize and Store Key Documents

Once your estate plan is complete, store these vital documents and records safely and securely. Inform trusted family members of the locations of these documents so that they can be easily recovered if you are no longer available.

Start Now – Tomorrow Isn’t Promised

Estate planning is one of those things people often put off under the assumption they will have plenty of time to get to it later. This is risky, however, as the future is not guaranteed. Prepare your assets and estate for anything by starting your estate planning journey now. Contact TdD Attorneys at Law for a free initial consultation.