Estate Planning: 11 Things to Do Before You Die

1. Gather Important Documents and Contact Information.
2. Execute a Last Will and Testament.
3. Complete a Living Will or Advance Directive.
4. Put in Place a Power of Attorney.
5. Establish a Living Trust.
6. Update Your Beneficiaries.
7. Secure Your Digital Assets.
8. Plan Final Arrangements.

How do I prepare an estate planning document?

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1. Consider a trust.
2. Make health care directives.
3. Make a financial power of attorney.
4. Protect your children’s property.
5. File beneficiary forms.
6. Consider life insurance.
7. Understand estate taxes.
8. Cover funeral expenses.

Who is in charge of your estate after you die?

After you die, this is the person who handles your estate (all of your property), finances, debts, and everything else. It should go without saying this is a person you would trust to handle your estate when you’re alive. Once you die, a probate court will officially give power to your executor to handle your affairs.

What happens to assets bequeathed in a will?

Assets bequeathed in a will go through probate, as do assets if someone dies intestate. However, many accounts such as bank savings, CD accounts, and individual brokerage accounts are unnecessarily probated every day. If you hold these accounts, they can be set up—or amended—with a transfer on death feature (TOD) to avoid the probate process.

Which is the second step in preparing for death?

The second step for preparing for death is picking your durable power of attorney for healthcare, also called a healthcare proxy or agent, which is the person you choose to speak for you if you can’t speak for yourself.

Who is the author of preparing for death?

The following guest post about preparing for death is by Chris Sipola, a reader I met while we were stuck in Frankfurt after our plane back to San Francisco broke down. We drowned our sorrows over free drinks at an airport hotel courtesy of United.