Your Estate Planning Roadmap

Understand your current situation before making key decisions.

• Take the Estate Organization Quiz to see how prepared you are. This quiz applies to your estate or someone else’s, such as a parent.
• Use our free Estate Essentials Bundle to collect key details. This document helps track important information like whether you have a will, assets, liabilities, and where key documents are stored.

• Use an Estate Organization System like the CLEAR Kit to centralize all key estate and end-of-life documents, including financial records, legal paperwork, and personal instructions.
• For a simplified approach, the Executor’s Summary Report provides a structured, easy-to-follow personalized report that consolidates the most crucial estate and end-of life information without collecting sensitive data like account numbers.

• Create or Update Your Will to decide how your assets will be distributed. Without a will, state laws determine what happens.
• Decide if a Trust is Right for You to protect assets, avoid probate, or provide for loved ones with special needs.
• Establish a Financial Power of Attorney to appoint someone to handle financial matters if you cannot.
• Set Up Advance Healthcare Directives to document medical treatment preferences and choose a healthcare proxy.

• Review property ownership and Payable on Death Beneficiaries for bank accounts, retirement polices, etc to ensure assets transfer smoothly.
• Ensure you’ve taken your digital legacy in to account by securing access to your email, social media, and online banking. This also includes accounting for you online presence, including social media, email, and cloud storage.
• Use a password manager to securely store and share account credentials with trusted individuals.
• Ensure your spouse or loved ones understand the family’s financial picture, including income, expenses, debts, and key financial accounts. This knowledge helps them manage finances confidently if needed.

• Review your plan annually on April 16 using our Annual Estate Plan Review Checklist and other specialized checklists to ensure everything stays up to date.
• Make adjustments when major life events happen such as marriage, divorce, the birth of a child, the death of a loved one, or significant financial changes.

Estate planning goes beyond legal documents. Buried in Work provides practical tools, expert guidance, and engaging resources to help you and your loved ones navigate planning, conversations, and decision-making with confidence.

• Information Hubs: Access our Information Hubs for resources on estate planning, caregiving, grief support, financial preparedness, and more.
• Service Provider Directories: Find trusted professionals, including estate attorneys, financial advisors, funeral homes, and other end-of-life service providers.
• Conversational Games: Use One More Story and Nothing Left Unsaid to spark meaningful discussions about life, legacy, and final wishes.
• Podcast: Listen to conversations with experts in estate planning, grief support, financial wellness, and end-of-life care.
• Courses, Services, & Workshops: Participate in virtual or in-person sessions designed to help families start important conversations and organize their estate plans with professional guidance.
• Estate Organization Tools: From the CLEAR Kit to the Executor’s Summary Report, find the right system to keep your affairs in order.
• Templates: Access bundled template sets covering estate planning, funeral and end-of-life planning, and estate executor assistance. These templates save you time, money, and stress by simplifying the planning process.