Just be sure that your designations sync with other aspects of your estate plan, and that you are giving due consideration when leaving assets to minor children and/or loved ones with special needs. Know Before You Go: You can name beneficiaries for your company retirement plan and IRA assets, and use transfer on death/payable on death instruments for your taxable brokerage and bank accounts, respectively. ![]() Why you need to do it: Beneficiary designations will determine who ultimately inherits most of your major financial assets, trumping any bequests in your will or other parts of your estate plan. Keep your master directory up to date and alert a (preferably younger) trusted loved one to its existence, as well as how to access it in a pinch. Because your master directory is chock-full of sensitive information, be sure to password-protect the document or keep any physical versions under lock and key. Know before you go: If you use your own spreadsheet, consider appending a separate tab with details on your digital affairs, including user names and passwords for sites where you store data, photos, and other valuable information. If you meet with an estate-planning attorney, for example, he or she will start the process by having you list your major assets and liabilities. Moreover, a master directory can serve as the foundation for any other aspects of your estate plan. Having such a document helps ensure that if something happened to you, either death or disability, your loved ones would not have to do any sleuthing to find your assets and be aware of any debts you owe. Why you need to do it: A master directory, while not part of the official estate planning lexicon, is simply a document enumerating your financial assets and liabilities. As you do tackle your estate plan, here are the key jobs to check off your list. Crafting an estate plan involves a series of steps, some of which you have probably already undertaken and are probably going to need to revisit as your life unfolds. Indeed, it is helpful to think of estate planning as just that: a process, rather than something that is one and done and begins and ends in an attorney’s office. The same is true if you have picked a guardian for your young children-even if you have not yet formalized it-or compiled a list of all of your household’s liabilities and assets. If you have designated beneficiaries for your retirement accounts, you have started the estate planning process. Afterward, the individual can decide who they believe is the best fit to handle their end-of-life decisions as well as who to give their property after death.Whether you realize it or not, you have probably already done a little bit of estate planning. To create an estate plan, an individual will need to understand the laws in their State and gather a list of their assets. This is especially useful in the chance a person can no longer pay bills or take care of everyday matters for themselves. Power of Attorney – Select an individual to act as an agent and make financial decisions while alive. Select a spouse or family members and detail exactly who will and who won’t be a beneficiary. Last Will and Testament – Used to designate how personal assets will be distributed after death. Also allows the selection of end-of-life treatment options. Estate Planning Checklists: By StateĪdvance Directive – Choose a person to assist and make medical decisions in the chance someone cannot do so for themselves. ![]() ![]() In addition, someone can establish who will get what after they die and whether it’s best for the estate to go through the probate process. This will allow a person to decide who they would like to handle their personal finances if they should not be able to themselves. By following the checklist, an individual can get an idea of the estate laws in their State and choose which forms suit their personal financial situation best. An estate planning checklist is a guide on how to plan an individual’s assets and end-of-life health care if they should die or become incapacitated.
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