Piece of Cake: 12 Ways to Boost Your Estate Plan
By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi
January 13, 2025
Now firmly planted in a new year, my office newsletter is off to the printer for processing. This year the “winter edition” theme is getting your ducks in a row. Continuing with that focus, today’s blog post offers 12 ways to improve your estate planning game; one for each month of this new year.
One, embrace your inner luddite and turn to paper over digital documents. If this recommendation shocks you, consider how hard it is to get into your phone, email or computer at times. Now project that situation to someone else trying to gain access to your digital world when you are incapacitated. Part of estate planning is the goal to make life easier on our loved ones. Having well-organized hard copies of documents to look through may be far easier during a time of crisis and or grief.
Two, find yourself a three-ring binder or divided storage box. Any office supply store or thrift store carries numerous options. This simple tool gives you a structure to fill in, creating a tangible and organized estate plan. Personally, I use a three-ring binder with subject dividers: powers of attorney, will, beneficiary forms; letters of instructions; financial documents; titles & deeds; contact information for loved ones; and information for an obituary.
Three, assess what you have created in terms of estate planning documents. Perhaps it is nothing, but chances are you have a beneficiary form for the life insurance and retirement at work or a simple power of attorney from a surgery you had six years ago. Before striking out into new territory, take time to make an honest and accurate assessment of what you already have in place. Then you can determine what is missing or out of date.
Four, decide on who will act for you if you are alive but too sick to make decisions. In the State of Wisconsin this is called your Power of Attorney. There is one for healthcare decisions and another for financial matters. Note, each state has its own set of laws and regulations about estate planning and probate, so it is important to understand the legal structure where you live. Creating powers of attorney is your way of saying who is in charge and speaks for you if you are alive and too sick to act. Rather than list your first born simply because they are older, I encourage you to nominate the person who is best suited for the role. Who is comfortable in the medical setting and making decisions in the ICU? Who is confident when it comes to hiring a CPA, reviewing long-term care insurance, and understanding your retirement system?
Five, determine what will happen to your assets at death. Make a plan for what will happen to your assets once you have died and final bills are paid. Once you know, sort out a contingency plan. This will give your documents a lot more longevity. For example, I leave my entire estate to my spouse. If my spouse has predeceased, then to my children in equal shares. If they too have died, then equally between four nonprofits that have been pivotal in my life.
Six, settle on the person or entity that will handle your final affairs. Wisconsin calls this person your Personal Representative, other states use the term Executor. It can be a person or it can be an entity, such as a bank or other financial fiduciary. This is the person who will determine what final bills need to be paid, liquidate your assets, empty your fridge and medicine cabinet, sell your car, and distribute your assets per the instructions in the will. It is not an easy job; imagine going through what feels like an IRS Audit while grieving. Then ask yourself who is the best person for the job.
Seven, consider who will step in to care for dependents. If you have minor children, you will need to name a guardian. This is the person who will step into the day-to-day role of packing lunches, buying school supplies, coordinating birthday parties, taking them to urgent care, and celebrating milestones like birthdays and graduation. If you do not have minor children in your life, you may have a furry or feathered companion who also needs a loving caretaker to step in should you pass away. Who might that be? Make your decisions legally binding and create a will nominating a guardian for children and a caretaker for pets.
Eight, decide if a nonprofit organization belongs in your plan. Many people wish to make a final gift to a nonprofit they are involved with. This may be a small percentage of life insurance or donating your personal library to the library book sale fundraiser or designating the entity in your will. If you do opt to name a nonprofit, make sure you list it by its full and correct legal name.
Nine, once you have made all of these decisions you need to draft legal documents in your state of residence. While you do not need to work with an attorney, doing so may make this daunting task just a bit easier. If your budget does not allow you to hire counsel, take the time to learn about how to properly execute documents. Witnessing, signatures, and dating requirements must be followed.
Ten, review and update beneficiary forms as needed. Beneficiary forms on life insurance, retirement accounts, and other financial instruments control where an asset will go on your death. Oftentimes this controls, not what your will says. It is imperative that you know if you have beneficiary forms and what they say. If they are out of date, updating them is key. And keep a hard copy of them in your paperwork. It is not only a road map to your loved one on where you hold assets, it is proof of what you wanted to happen to those funds upon your death.
Eleven, purge the unnecessary from your life - both tangible and intangible. Look around your home. All of that stuff will need to be dealt with; you will either move and deal with it, or you will die and someone else will deal with it. Do not put off until tomorrow what you can do today. Purge - donate, re-home, recycle, or trash it now rather than later. It is a true gift. And do not overlook the clutter piling up in your digital world as well. It may not be as obvious, but storing it online consumes precious energy.
Twelve, write guidance letters to those you have appointed. While not legally binding, letters of instruction can save a tremendous amount of time and energy for those whom you appoint to act on your behalf. Focus on the big picture. Who does your taxes? What is your neighbor’s phone number? How do you get in touch with your employer? A simple list of important phone numbers or emails can be a wonderful support to those stepping up during a time of grief.
Routinely I drop the African proverb “There is only one way to eat an elephant: one bite at a time” into my work with clients when developing an estate plan or administering a probate. Break it down into small, easy to process tasks. As we work our way through 2025 I will blog in more detail about these 12 steps to a better estate plan.
A blog is not legal advice; it is meant to spark thought and reflection. Please seek legal counsel from an attorney licensed in your home state. Thank you for reading, and be well!
