The Estate Planning Checklist

Estate planning isn't really about your death. It's about making things easier for the people who love you, whenever they eventually need to step in and help.

Most checklists stop at the legal documents and call it done. Those documents matter, and we'll cover them here. But the paperwork usually isn't the hard part. Finding it is.

35 checklist items across 8 categories, plus the mistakes that trip up families most and the questions people usually ask next.

Why This Matters

Only about three in ten American adults have a will. Fewer, about two in ten, have made arrangements for their own funeral. And most people don't get around to any of it until their 70s: roughly two thirds of adults in their 70s have a will, compared with under half of those in their 60s, and a third or fewer of anyone younger, according to a 2025 Pew Research Center survey of U.S. adults.

There's also a real income gap. Among adults 70 and older, 83% of those with higher incomes have a will, compared with 51% of those with lower incomes in the same age group.

The same gap shows up around medical wishes and personal belongings. Somewhere between "I told them" and "they heard me," a real amount of information gets lost. That's exactly the gap this checklist is meant to close, on paper, in one place, instead of in a conversation someone might not fully remember.

What This Actually Costs

Costs vary widely by state, attorney, and how complex your situation is, so treat any number here as a rough starting point, not a quote. Commonly cited ranges put a simple, single-person will in the low hundreds of dollars, and a fuller plan for a couple, including trusts, well into the thousands. Individual documents like a financial or medical power of attorney tend to cost less on their own. Ask any attorney you're considering for a specific, written estimate before assuming what your plan will run.

The Legal Documents

• WillNames who receives your property and, if you have minor children, who you'd want raising them. Without one, state law decides who inherits, and it rarely matches what people actually wanted.
• Trust (if it applies to you)Not everyone needs one, but a trust can help property pass without going through probate court, which can take months and involves public filings. Worth asking an attorney if you own property in more than one state.
• Financial power of attorneyNames your agent, a trusted person who can manage your money and property if you're unable to. This only applies while you're alive, and ends automatically when you pass.
• Medical power of attorneyA separate document naming your agent for healthcare decisions if you can't communicate them yourself. Often held by a different person than the financial one, worth confirming both actually exist.
• Advance directive (living will)States your general wishes about life sustaining treatment, so your family and doctors aren't guessing during a crisis.
• POLST or MOLST formDifferent from an advance directive in a way that matters: it's a specific, physician signed medical order, and it's what emergency staff actually act on in the moment.
• Guardianship designationIf you have minor children, confirm this is spelled out clearly in your will. Vague or missing guardianship language is a common gap in DIY wills.
• Beneficiary designationsRetirement accounts and life insurance pass directly to whoever's named, no matter what the will says. An outdated one, still naming an ex spouse, overrides the will entirely.

Two of these get confused constantly — the table below is the fastest way to see the difference.

What a Will Doesn't Cover

• Every account, in one placeNot just "I have a 401k somewhere." The institution, the account type, and where the paperwork or login lives, enough for someone to know where to start looking.
• Who to contact, and in what orderSpouse, children, employer, attorney, financial advisor, accountant. The people your family would actually need to reach in the first few days, with a number that still works.
• Where physical originals areA will sitting in a safe deposit box nobody knows about, or knows how to access, is functionally the same as not having one yet.
• Digital accessNot your passwords, but where your password manager is. Include backup and two factor recovery codes specifically, since those are often what actually locks a family out permanently.
• Care instructions for kids and petsDaily routines, doctors, allergies, school contacts, and who you'd want stepping in temporarily before a permanent guardianship arrangement takes effect.
• Your personal wishesFuneral preferences, who to notify, what you'd want a specific person to have. Not legally binding like a will, but it saves your family from guessing.

Financial Accounts

• Payable on death designationSet one up in advance, or add a joint or secondary account holder, so a frozen account doesn't disrupt bills right when they matter most.
• Authorized user vs. primary holderIf you're only an authorized user on a shared card, you can lose access entirely when the primary holder passes, even after years of using it. Note who's actually primary.
• Cash kept at homeWrite down where. This comes up more often than people expect, and it's the kind of thing that gets discovered by accident, or never.
• Recurring bills and autopayMortgage, utilities, subscriptions, and which bank account funds each, so nothing lapses or double-charges during a transition.
• Income sourcesSalary, freelance income, rental income, pensions. A simple list saves significant reconstruction work later.

Insurance and Benefits

• Life insuranceCarrier and where the documents are kept. Confirm your beneficiary is current, since this bypasses the will entirely, same as retirement accounts.
• Health, homeowners/renters, auto, disabilityFor each policy, note the carrier and where documents live, not just that coverage exists.
• Social Security or pension informationWhere records and statements are kept.

Home and Property

• Ownership status and mortgage servicerOwned or rented, and who services the mortgage.
• Vehicles, storage units, safe deposit boxesWhere titles are kept, and how to access each.
• Valuable personal propertyWorth noting for insurance or distribution purposes.
• Trusted contractors or vendorsSo a family member isn't starting from zero just to keep the house running.

Digital Life

• Email, cloud storage, social media, subscriptions, domainsNote what exists and where access instructions live, never actual passwords.
• Password manager locationPoint to it, don't store passwords here.
• Backup and two factor recovery codesFrequently what actually unlocks an account when the primary login fails or the device itself is locked.

Children, Dependents, and Pets

• Daily routines, school info, doctors, medications, allergiesComfort items and emergency contacts for children specifically.
• Vet info, feeding schedule, medicationsFor pets, so care doesn't lapse in a transition.
• Temporary care preferencesWho you'd want stepping in immediately, which may differ from a long term guardian.

Personal Wishes

• Funeral, burial, cremation, or memorial preferencesWho to notify and how, organ donation wishes.
• Traditions, music, or readings that matter to youPersonal items meant for specific people.
• Guidance, not a legal directiveOften the section people are most grateful someone actually wrote down.

Common Mistakes

Frequently Asked Questions