How to Get Organized to Meet With Your Estate Planning Attorney

OK, great! You’ve finally decided it’s time to meet with an estate planning attorney and get your affairs in order. It’s time to make sure your family is protected. Now that you’ve scheduled the first appointment, what’s the next step?

Posted on July 1, 2014

You can do one of two things: (1) Simply wait for the meeting date to arrive, or (2) Get yourself organized and prepared for the first meeting.

Before You Meet With Your Attorney: 3 Things

Taking the time to sort through your important papers and get your thoughts in order will go a long way to making the meeting productive and valuable. Otherwise, the meeting will become a fishing expedition for your attorney and both tedious and confusing for you.

Here are 3 ways to get yourself organized and prepared for your first meeting:

1. Make a complete list of your assets and liabilities.

a. List what you own (e.g., bank accounts, investment accounts, real estate, retirement accounts, and life insurance). Fortunately, you do not need to make a list of your personal property.

b. Jot down how you own it (e.g., in your sole name or in joint names with your spouse or someone else such as a child or sibling).

c. Indicate whether you have already designated a beneficiary for the account or policy.

d. Record how much you owe (e.g., mortgages, car loans and credit cards).

2. Think about who you want to inherit your estate, when they’ll inherit it, and how they’ll inherit it.

There are many ways to pass your property to beneficiaries, including outright, in stages (such as after college or after getting married), at specific ages, or in lifetime discretionary trusts.

It’s wise to consider the advice of your attorney, but, at the very least, think about each beneficiary’s current needs and what they may need in the future.

3. Think about who you want to be in charge if you become incapacitated or die.

Along with naming Guardians for your minor children, deciding who will serve as your fiduciaries (including the Executor of your Will, Successor Trustee of your Trust, Attorney in Fact of your Power of Attorney, and Health Care Agent in your Medical Directive) is, by far, the most important decision you will need to make.

Why? Because if you choose the wrong person for the job, or if someone you choose declines to serve or can’t serve, the estate plan that you have so carefully put together will come to a grinding halt.

If you’re like most people, you’ll need the advice of your attorney to choose the right people or institutions to serve as your fiduciaries, but think about which family members or friends will be good candidates - and which will not.

It’s a lot to think about and organize, but it will be well worth it. You got this.