Tools Estate Plan Checklist

Free tool · Estate Plan Checklist

Is my estate plan complete?

An estate plan is more than a will: it is the set of documents and account forms that decide who gets your money, who manages it if you cannot, and who speaks for you in a hospital. Answer a few yes or no questions to see what share of your plan is in place, which area is weakest, and what to do first.

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Step 1 · About you

These decide which checklist items apply to you.

Are you married or in a long-term partnership?
Do you have children under 18?
Do you own a home or other real estate?
Do you have a retirement account (such as a 401(k) or IRA) or life insurance?

Step 2 · Documents

Do you have a signed will?

It names who inherits what is in your name alone, and an executor to handle it. Signing rules, such as witnesses, vary by state.

Do you have a durable financial power of attorney?

It lets someone you choose pay bills and manage your money if you cannot. Without one, your family may need to go to court.

Have you written a letter of instruction listing your accounts and where your documents are, and told someone where to find it?

It is not a legal document, but it is the map your family will use.

How many years since you last reviewed your will, powers of attorney and beneficiaries?

Type 0 for this year. Count a review after any marriage, divorce, birth or death. Or pick an option.

Have you considered whether a trust makes sense for you?

Many people only need a will. A revocable trust can help if you own property in more than one state, want money for children managed over time, or have a blended family. Answer yes if you looked into it, even if you decided against one.

Step 3 · Beneficiaries

Do your bank and brokerage accounts have payable-on-death or transfer-on-death beneficiaries where you want them?

A POD or TOD beneficiary receives the account without probate. It also overrides your will, so it should match your plan. Answer yes if your accounts are joint with right of survivorship and that is what you want.

Step 4 · Health care

Have you named a health care proxy (health care power of attorney)?

This person makes medical decisions if you cannot speak for yourself.

Do you have a living will that records the treatments you would or would not want?

With a health care proxy, it makes up your advance directive. It only applies if you cannot decide for yourself.

Do your health care proxy and your doctor have copies of your advance directive?

A directive no one can find in an emergency cannot help.

Have you signed a HIPAA authorization naming who may get your health information?

A health care proxy can generally see your records once it is in effect. A separate authorization lets the people you name talk with your doctors sooner.

Step 5 · Digital accounts

Could someone you trust get into your password manager, or a list of your accounts, in an emergency?

Many password managers have an emergency access feature. A secure list kept with your documents also works.

Have you set legacy contacts on your main accounts, such as Apple Legacy Contact or Google Inactive Account Manager?

These let you choose who can get your photos, email and files after you die.

Have you written down what should happen to your email, photos and social media accounts?

What an executor may access differs by state and by service, so put your wishes in writing.

Private by design: everything is calculated in your browser. Nothing you choose is saved or sent.

Beyond the paperwork

An estate plan protects the people you love. It is one part of your Security Wealth.

Security Wealth is how well your household could absorb a shock: a job loss, an illness, a death. The free, two-minute Security assessment scores your emergency savings, insurance and planning from 0 to 100 and shows what to strengthen first. It is one of eight dimensions in your Wealth Score, alongside your finances, retirement, health, relationships and time. No sign-up needed.

  • Financial
  • Retirement
  • Security
  • Medical
  • Physical
  • Mental
  • Social
  • Time
Take the Security Assessment

Want the background first? Read the Security Wealth guide, or see how your Wealth Score is calculated.

How this checklist works

Score = items you answered yes ÷ items that apply to you

The checklist follows the documents most guides agree on: a will, a durable financial power of attorney, a health care proxy and living will, and, in certain cases, a revocable trust, as the American Bar Association lists them. It adds the account forms that pass money outside your will (beneficiary designations, payable-on-death and transfer-on-death accounts, and how your home is titled), the National Institute on Aging’s advice to keep documents together and tell someone where they are, and a plan for your online accounts. Your answers in step 1 add items for a partner, children under 18, a home, and retirement accounts or life insurance, so you are only scored on what applies.

  • Yes counts as done. No and Not sure both count as not done: if you cannot find a document, your family probably cannot either. Not sure items get a “check” step instead of a “do” step.
  • Big gaps is under 50% done. Well covered is 85% or more with every core item in place: a will, a durable financial power of attorney, a health care proxy, current beneficiaries on retirement accounts and life insurance, and a guardian for children under 18. Anything between is Partly in place.
  • A review counts as current within 5 years, the long end of the ABA’s suggested three to five years. A marriage, divorce, birth or death since then means it is time for another.
  • The to-do list puts the gaps that would cost your family most first: a guardian for your children, a will, beneficiary forms, then powers of attorney.

Estate law is set by each state, so signing rules, forms and what passes outside probate differ. This checklist tells you what to ask about, not how your state handles it. For the full background, read Wills and Estate Planning Basics, and if you are naming beneficiaries on a new policy, How Much Life Insurance Do You Need? covers sizing the coverage.

Words you’ll see

Executor
The person your will names to gather your assets, pay debts and hand out what is left. Also called a personal representative.
Durable financial power of attorney
A document that names an agent to handle your money and property. “Durable” means it stays in effect if you become incapacitated.
Health care proxy
The person you name to make medical decisions if you cannot speak for yourself. The document is also called a health care power of attorney.
Living will and advance directive
A living will records the treatments you would or would not want. Together with a health care proxy, these are called advance directives.
Beneficiary designation
The name on a retirement account or insurance policy form saying who receives it when you die. It overrides your will.
Payable-on-death (POD) and transfer-on-death (TOD)
A beneficiary added to a bank account (POD) or brokerage account (TOD). The account passes to that person without probate.
Contingent beneficiary
A backup who inherits if your first-choice beneficiary dies before you.
HIPAA authorization
A signed form that lets the people you name receive your health information from doctors and hospitals.
Letter of instruction
An informal letter listing your accounts, advisers, where your documents are kept and how to reach your online accounts. It is not legally binding, but it saves your family a search.
Probate
The court process that validates a will and appoints the executor. Assets with a beneficiary or a surviving joint owner pass outside it.
Revocable living trust
A trust you control while alive that passes the assets you move into it without probate. It works alongside a short “pour-over” will.

Common questions

What documents should be in a basic estate plan?

Most adults need a will, up-to-date beneficiary designations, a durable financial power of attorney, and a health care proxy with a living will. Parents of minor children also use their will to name a guardian. A HIPAA authorization, a letter of instruction and a plan for your online accounts fill the most common gaps.

Does a beneficiary designation override a will?

Yes. Retirement accounts, life insurance and payable-on-death or transfer-on-death accounts go to the beneficiaries named on the account, whatever your will says. That is why this checklist asks about them separately and why they should be reviewed along with your will.

How often should I review my estate plan?

The American Bar Association suggests revisiting your plan every three to five years, and after major life events such as a marriage, divorce, birth or death. Check your beneficiary forms at the same time, since they pass outside your will.

What is a HIPAA authorization, and do I need one?

It is a signed form that lets the people you name get your health information from doctors and hospitals. Under federal HIPAA guidance, a health care proxy can generally see your records once the proxy is in effect, but a separate authorization lets family get updates sooner. It is quick to add when you sign your health care documents.

What happens to my online accounts when I die?

It depends on each service’s rules and your state’s law. Apple’s Legacy Contact and Google’s Inactive Account Manager let you choose who can get your data, and a password manager’s emergency access or a secure list of accounts helps your executor find everything.

Sources

  1. Getting Your Affairs in Order Checklist: Documents to Prepare for the Future, National Institute on Aging
  2. A Beginner’s Guide to Estate Planning Documents, American Bar Association
  3. Introduction to Wills, American Bar Association
  4. Plan Now to Smooth the Transfer of Your Brokerage Account Assets on Death, FINRA
  5. Planning for diminished capacity and illness, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
  6. Does having a health care power of attorney allow access to the patient’s medical and mental health records under HIPAA?, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  7. About Inactive Account Manager, Google
  8. How to add a Legacy Contact for your Apple Account, Apple

This tool is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not legal, financial, or tax advice. Estate law differs by state; consult a qualified estate planning attorney for guidance specific to your situation.