Estate Planning Checklist for Will County Residents

How to use this list

Print the page and check each box as you go. Skip what does not apply. If you cannot find something, write down what you remember about it. A rough note about an old account is still helpful.

Keep the papers together in one folder. Do not mail original documents or send account passwords. Bring copies, or bring the originals to the meeting yourself.

Each part of the list answers a question the plan has to settle. Your family details decide who the law treats as your heirs and who needs a guardian. Your existing documents show what is already in place and what a new plan has to replace. Your property list shows what can pass by a will, what passes by title and what passes by beneficiary form. Your list of people tells Jeff who will carry out the plan, since a good plan can fail if the wrong person is in charge.

Do not worry if an answer is a guess. Mark it with a question mark and move on. Jeff will help sort out the rest.

About you

• Full legal name, and any other names you have used.
• Date of birth and address.
• Marital status, and the full name of your spouse.
• A copy of any divorce judgment or marital settlement agreement.
• Name, age and address for each child, including stepchildren and adopted children.
• Notes about any child or relative with a disability or a money problem.

Existing legal documents

• Your current will, with any changes.
• Any trust, with its amendments.
• Property and health care powers of attorney.
• A living will.
• Any prenuptial or postnuptial agreement.
• A recorded transfer on death instrument or a deed in trust.
• A document naming a guardian for minor children.

Property, accounts and insurance

Real estate

• Deeds or tax bills for your home and any other property.
• The title or closing papers, if you bought recently.
• Mortgage statements and the lender's name.
• Property in another state, with the address and who owns it.
• Notes on who is on title and how title is held.

Accounts and retirement

• Recent statements for checking, savings and brokerage accounts.
• 401(k), 403(b), IRA and pension statements.
• Annuity contracts.
• The beneficiary on each account, taken from the form itself.
• Payable on death names on bank accounts.
• Vehicle titles.

Insurance

• Life insurance policies: company, policy number, owner, insured and beneficiary.
• Long term care and disability policies.
• Homeowner's and umbrella policies.

Business and digital accounts

Business interests

• Operating agreement, bylaws or partnership agreement.
• Any buy-sell agreement.
• A list of key people, licenses and accounts.
• Names of anyone who could run or buy the business. See business owner estate planning.

Digital accounts

• Email, cloud storage and photo accounts.
• Social media and subscription accounts.
• Any online account that holds money or valuable files.
• Where you keep your passwords. Do not write passwords on this sheet. See digital assets.

People you want in charge

• Executor, and a backup.
• Successor trustee, and a backup.
• Agent for your property power of attorney, and a backup.
• Agent for your health care power of attorney, and a backup.
• Guardian for minor children, and a backup. See guardian for minor children.
• Phone numbers and addresses for each person.

Your wishes

• Who you want to receive each major asset.
• Any gift you want to leave to a charity.
• Any person you want to leave out, and why.
• Any health care wishes you want your family to know.
• Your funeral or burial preferences.

When you are ready, contact Jeff or read about what affects the cost.

Some of the most useful answers do not fit in a box. Take a few minutes to write them on the back of this page.

• What worries you most about what happens if you die or cannot manage your own affairs?
• Who in your family depends on you today, and for what?
• Is there anyone who might disagree with your choices?
• Is there a family heirloom, a pet, a home or a business that needs a specific plan?
• What would you like to have settled by the end of this year?

After the first meeting

After your first call or meeting, Jeff will tell you what documents fit your family. Once they are signed, keep the originals somewhere safe and tell the people you named where they are. Give your agents and your executor a list of your accounts, with the contact for each. Put a reminder on your calendar to review the plan every few years and after any big change in your family.

Reviewed by Jeff McCarthy, Attorney, Inspired Law Group, 136 E 9th St, Lockport, IL 60441.