Essential Steps for a Complete Estate Plan

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Laws and family circumstances change. Have you reviewed your estate plan lately? Below are some steps to ensuring a complete estate plan:

• Make a complete and accurate inventory of all assets and their values.
• Determine the form of ownership of each asset; understand its effect on the transfer of property at death.
• Estimate the size of the estate to determine whether estate tax planning is needed.
• Decide whether certain family members or assets need special protection.
• Verify beneficiary designations on life insurance policies and retirement accounts.
• Select beneficiaries and determine what provisions should be made for each.
• Determine how financial and health care decisions will be made in the case of illness or disability.
• Determine how health care will be funded.
• Estimate the cost of alternative estate planning methods that will meet your goals.
• Select and implement the estate plan.

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