Estate Planning Checklist: Documents to Prepare for the Future

Estate planning is about more than deciding who receives your assets after you die. A comprehensive estate plan can also help you prepare for incapacity, make your health care wishes known, protect your finances, and give your loved ones clear instructions during an emergency.

For individuals and families working with an estate planning attorney in Missouri, the National Institute on Aging (NIA) offers a helpful resource, “Getting Your Affairs in Order Checklist: Documents to Prepare for the Future.” The checklist provides practical guidance for organizing important documents and communicating your wishes.

Here are several important steps to consider when getting your affairs in order.

1. Create an Estate Plan for Your Finances and Assets

A will and financial power of attorney are common components of an estate plan.

A will explains how you want certain property and assets distributed after your death. However, a will generally must go through probate, which is a court-supervised process. Depending on your circumstances, a trust may provide advantages that a will alone cannot.

A financial power of attorney allows you to name someone you trust to manage financial and legal matters if you become unable to do so yourself. Without appropriate planning, your family may need to pursue a court proceeding to obtain authority to manage certain aspects of your affairs.

An estate planning attorney in Missouri can help you determine which documents and strategies are appropriate based on your assets, family circumstances, and goals.

2. Plan for Future Health Care Decisions

Estate planning should also address what happens if you become unable to communicate or make your own medical decisions.

Advance directives allow you to provide instructions about your future medical care. Depending on your plan, these may include a living will and a health care power of attorney.

A living will can communicate your preferences for certain medical treatments if you cannot make or communicate decisions yourself. A health care power of attorney allows you to designate someone to make health care decisions on your behalf when you are unable to do so.

Having these documents prepared in advance can help your family and medical providers understand your wishes when difficult decisions need to be made.

3. Organize Your Important Documents

Even a carefully prepared estate plan can become difficult to use if your loved ones cannot find the documents.

Keep important estate planning and financial records in a secure, organized location. Depending on your circumstances, this could include:

• Your will and trust documents

• Powers of attorney

• Advance directives

• Insurance policies

• Financial account information

• Property records

• Business documents

• Tax records

• Contact information for your attorney and other professional advisers

A fireproof and waterproof safe may provide additional protection. Most importantly, make sure the people who may need to assist you know where the documents are located.

4. Communicate Your Plans With Trusted People

Estate planning is not simply about signing documents. Your plan is more effective when the people you have chosen to help you understand their roles.

Tell a trusted family member, agent, or other person where your important documents are kept. You may also want to discuss your general wishes with the individuals you have selected to act on your behalf.

Open communication can help reduce confusion and conflict if an emergency occurs.

5. Discuss Advance Care Planning With Your Family and Physician

Your physician can help you understand potential future health care decisions and discuss the types of treatment you may or may not want.

The NIA recommends discussing advance care planning with your loved ones and health care providers. Sharing your wishes in advance can help ensure that the people around you understand what matters to you if you later cannot communicate for yourself.

6. Give Permission for Others to Access Certain Information

In some circumstances, your caregiver or another trusted person may need to communicate with your doctors, attorney, insurance company, financial institutions, or other organizations.

Giving appropriate permission in advance can make it easier for someone assisting you to obtain information when needed. This is separate from naming a health care agent or proxy. A health care agent generally has authority to make decisions when you are unable to communicate, while an authorization to receive information may allow someone to discuss or obtain information even when you remain capable of making your own decisions.

Your attorney can help you understand what authorizations may be appropriate for your circumstances.

7. Review Your Estate Plan Regularly

Estate planning should not be viewed as a one-time task. Your documents and strategies may need to change as your life changes.

Review your estate plan periodically and after significant life events, such as:

• Marriage or divorce

• Birth or adoption of a child or grandchild

• Death of a beneficiary or person named in your documents

• A significant change in your assets

• Moving to another state

• Changes in your health

• Changes involving a business or property

Regular reviews can help ensure that your estate plan continues to reflect your current wishes and circumstances.

Get Help With Your Missouri Estate Plan

Getting your affairs in order can provide greater clarity for you and your loved ones. An experienced estate planning attorney in Missouri can help you evaluate your current plan, identify potential gaps, and create documents designed around your individual circumstances and goals.

Contact Beck, Lenox & Stolzer Estate Planning & Elder Law, LLC for all of your estate planning needs by booking a call: https://beckelderlaw.com/book-a-call/

Reference: National Institute on Aging (July 25, 2023) “Getting Your Affairs in Order Checklist: Documents to Prepare for the Future”