Now you are super educated and ready to go! Besides finding a good Estate Attorney and Financial Planner, what do you do?

Steps:

1. Lists are your friend: It is time consuming, but so important. Make a list of your assets. Your financial planner will help by creating your net worth, but even before that make a list of assets in the following categories:

A. Bank Accounts

B. Investment Accounts

C. Retirement Accounts

D. Real Property (Land & Houses)

E. Automobiles, Boats, Motorcycles or any other significant asset

F. All other valuable things, Jewelry, Furniture, Sentimental Items

G. Life Insurance

H. As a bonus, your kids accounts that you control like UTMA Accounts or 529 Plans. This isn’t for your Estate Plan, but will help you later when we discuss the “Death Book”

As you are making this list, start thinking about who you would like to have these things whether it be friends, family, or charity.

2. Drafting your Documents: Take your list of stuff to your financial planner, and they will make sure your Net worth Statement is up to date, and then both of you meet with the Estate Attorney. I think it is important to meet with a financial planner first, and hash out your desires. Financial Planners typically do not charge hourly, so they can help get your thoughts together, and begin creating your plan while using terminology that makes the lawyers happy. This will speed up the process in the attorney’s office thus cutting down on those billable hours. Once the attorney drafts the documents, the financial planner can review to make sure all of your desires and needs are covered, explain the tax (income and estate) impact of the documents, and then once the documents are signed will begin the part of your estate plan that should be implemented during your life.

3. Implementing the Plan: Once all your documents are updated and perfect, you will sign them according to your states laws. You usually need witnesses and notaries present. We now need to make sure all the existing accounts are set up correctly. One mistake people make is signing all the documents, but not completing the implementation process. Typically, you will have beneficiary designations to change, titles on property/accounts/cars to change, funding your trusts, sometimes even setting up new life insurance policies. Your financial planner will ensure everything is organized and set up correctly, which will allow your Estate Plan to be executed at your death per your desires. (Your executor will thank you)

4. Inform People: People need to know before your death if they are going to be your executor, your trustee, and the guardian of your children (it is only funny in the movies to be surprised by this). The person with your power of attorney needs to know, and your health care advocate needs to know. You need to review your documents with them and express your desires to avoid confusion at death.

5. Storing Documents: You will have a copy of your documents and you need to put them somewhere safe (preferably a water and fire proof safe) where your family can find them. Your attorney will have a copy, as will your financial planner. You also should give a copy of your health care directive to your primary care physician. I suggest the creation of a “Death Book”. This is a lot of work, but will save your family so much time at your death, and will give you and your family comfort.

The Death Book is a binder which contains: Your net worth, your estate documents, a good summary of those estate documents in laymen’s terms, a list of your personal items and who you would like them to go to, a list of all your life insurance policies, a list of your property insurance, a list of your social media sites and passwords (so they can shut them down), and a list of your passwords for bill pay, bank accounts, investment accounts, etc. They don’t need to get into your pottery barn account, but it is helpful to clean up your affairs with appropriate access to your financial and billing accounts, especially if you were the one that always paid the bills. Your spouse will need a list of what needs to be done. Also, if you have important things in places people do not know about, a list of those places and safety deposit boxes/where the keys are for these boxes. This binder is essentially a description of your daily life, so your spouse or executor can take over where you left off. You may want to also add a list of friends or family members and their contact information, so they can be notified of your death. Your sister 8 states over may not know all your good friends.

You are unfortunately never really done with your estate plan. As your life evolves and changes, so should your documents. It is important to review these documents every 7-10 years or more frequently with life changes such as marriage, divorce, births, and health issues. It is awful to face our mortality, especially when we are young, but death is part of life. We all want to leave our loved ones in a place where they have a clear, easy path to close out our financial lives according to our desires thus leaving them free to morn and move forward.