Estate Planning Checklist: 6 Essential Steps to Secure Your Legacy

A clear estate planning checklist helps you decide who handles your affairs, who inherits specific assets, and how decisions are made if you’re unable to make them. The basics aren’t complicated: list what you own and owe for your estate planning documents checklist, choose trusted people for key roles, prepare the right documents, and keep everything easy to find.

In the steps below, we’ll walk through must-have forms, how to fund a trust (if you use one), and simple ways to keep your plan current, so your family has clarity when it matters most.

A good estate planning documents checklist starts with a clear picture of what you own and what you owe. Make a simple list you can update over time.

Start with assets: bank and brokerage accounts, retirement plans, life insurance policies, real estate, vehicles, valuable personal items, and any business interests. Include digital assets too like cloud drives, domains, crypto wallets, and subscription accounts. For each item, note the institution, account number or identifier, how it’s titled (individual, joint, trust), and who the beneficiary is (if any). Add transfer-on-death/payable-on-death designations where you use them.

Then list liabilities: mortgages, auto loans, student loans, business loans, credit cards, and any other debt. Capture balances, interest rates, and payment due dates. Keep statements and key contacts together so your executor can find them quickly. A one-page summary with logins stored in a password manager makes everything easier on loved ones.

Your plan will work best when the right people can act when needed. Choose them with care, name backups, and let each person know what their role involves.

Choose an Executor or Personal Representative

Your executor settles the estate: gathering assets, paying final bills and taxes, and distributing what’s left according to your will. Pick someone organized, calm under pressure, and willing to follow your instructions. If your estate is complex or your candidate lives far away, consider a co-executor or a professional (such as a corporate fiduciary). Always name at least one alternate in case your first choice can’t serve.

Appoint a Financial Power of Attorney (POA)

A financial POA authorizes a trusted person to handle money matters if you can’t, such as paying bills, managing accounts, filing taxes, or even handling real estate. Decide whether you want the POA effective immediately or only if you’re incapacitated. Choose someone financially responsible and available. Name a backup agent, and make sure institutions know who can act by keeping your signed document on file.

Assign a Healthcare Power of Attorney / Living Will Proxy

This person makes medical decisions if you’re unable to speak for yourself. Pair the healthcare POA with an advance directive (living will) that outlines your preferences for treatment, pain management, and end-of-life care, plus a HIPAA release so providers can share information. Tell your agent what matters to you and where the documents are stored.

Designate a Guardian for Minors, if applicable

In your will, name a guardian to care for minor children if both parents are unable to do so. Consider values, stability, and the person’s capacity to take on the role. It often helps to separate caregiving from money management: a guardian raises the child, while a trustee manages funds for the child’s benefit according to the terms you set.

As with other roles, name at least one backup and talk to everyone in advance to confirm they’re comfortable with the responsibility if needed.

This is the paperwork part of your estate planning documents checklist. Keep it simple, get the essentials signed correctly, and store everything where your helpers can find it.

Last Will and Testament

Your last will and testament names an executor, sets out who receives assets that pass through probate, and can name guardians for minor children. Keep the language clear and specific. Sign and witness exactly as your state requires, and attach a short list for personal items if your state allows.

Trust Documents (if applicable)

A revocable living trust can help you avoid probate and provide backup management if you become incapacitated. The key is funding: retitle selected accounts and real property to the trust where appropriate, and align beneficiary forms to match your plan. Name a trustee and at least one successor, and include practical guidance on how you want funds used.

Living (Advance Healthcare) Directive

This document records your preferences for medical treatment, pain management, and end-of-life care. Pair it with a HIPAA release so your healthcare agent can receive information. Give copies to your agent, your doctor, and one trusted family contact, and note where the original is stored.

Financial & Healthcare POA

A financial power of attorney authorizes someone you trust to handle bills, banking, investments, taxes, and real estate if you cannot. A healthcare power of attorney names who can make medical decisions on your behalf. Decide whether your financial POA is effective immediately or only upon incapacity, as allowed by your state. Name backups and let each person know what the role involves.

Insurance policies, account beneficiary forms, property titles

Beneficiary designations on life insurance and retirement accounts usually control who receives those assets, even if your will says otherwise. Review and update beneficiaries so they match your will to avoid any confusion. Keep a file with policy pages, account confirmations, deeds, and vehicle titles. Add transfer-on-death or payable-on-death designations where they fit, and keep a short index of accounts and contacts to make things easy on your executor.

This is where you spell out what you want for end-of-life care and memorial plans so your family isn’t left guessing. Put these instructions in a document your executor and healthcare agent can access quickly. Don’t rely on the will alone, since it’s often reviewed after arrangements begin. Keep a copy with your other estate papers and tell one or two trusted people where it is.

Preferences for burial, funeral arrangements, and personal messages

Decide whether you prefer burial or cremation, and note any cemetery, plot, or urn details you’ve chosen. Share the type of service you want (religious, secular, celebration of life), where it should be held, who you’d like to speak or perform readings, and any music, poems, or traditions to include. List pallbearers, charity preferences for memorial gifts, and guidance for an obituary or online memorial.

If you’ve made pre-need arrangements or set aside funds through savings, a pay-on-death account, or a small final-expense policy, make sure you indicated where that information can be found. Finally, include any personal messages or letters you want delivered and note who should receive keepsakes or manage digital items like photos or social media accounts.

This step is two-fold : your original estate planning documents must be safely stored, and the right people must be able to reach them quickly. Use a mix of physical and digital storage for your estate planning documents checklist, label what is an original versus a copy, and keep a short index so helpers know what exists and where it lives.

Keep documents in secure locations

Use a fire-resistant, water-resistant home safe for signed originals you may need on short notice (will, powers of attorney, healthcare directive, trust certificate). If you prefer a bank safe-deposit box, arrange access ahead of time. Add a co-renter or follow your bank’s process so your executor or agent is not blocked. Your attorney may also hold a copy or original in their vault. If they do, note this in your papers.

Digitally, store PDFs in an encrypted “vault” (secure cloud folder or password manager), and back up to a second location. Keep a simple file structure (e.g., “Will,” “POA,” “Healthcare,” “Trust,” “Beneficiaries,” “Titles and Deeds”). Don’t store the only original at home in an easy-to-misplace folder; and don’t rely solely on email attachments as your digital archive.

Inform key people of location and access details        

Tell each person what role they hold and how to reach the documents. Give your executor and agents copies of the relevant pages and a one-page index listing where originals are stored, who to contact at the bank or attorney’s office, and any box keys or safe combinations.

If you use a password manager, enable its emergency-access feature or share a sealed recovery kit (master password, two-factor backup codes, account recovery keys). For guardians, include medical consent forms and insurance details they may need on day one. Do a quick walk-through once a year to confirm nothing has moved and everyone still knows how to access everything.

Estate plans are living documents. Set a light cadence to review them, and update when life shifts, even a little bit. Small edits along the way keep everything aligned and save headaches later.

Use codicils for minor tweaks vs. new wills for major changes 

A codicil is a short amendment that updates a signed will without replacing the whole document. It’s best for small changes like swapping an executor, updating a guardian, or adjusting a specific bequest. Sign and witness a codicil with the same formalities as a will, and store it with the original so they are never separated.

Create a brand-new will when changes are broader such as a different distribution plan, a new spouse or divorce, blended family provisions, large gifts to charity, or multiple sections to revise. A fresh document is cleaner, avoids confusion, and lets you confirm today’s choices from start to finish.

Revisit when major life events occur

Even though you have a plan in place, your duties aren’t quite over. Plan to review your whole plan after key milestones like marriage or divorce, a new child or guardian change, buying or selling a home, starting or selling a business, a significant change in health or finances, moving to another state, or the death or incapacity of someone you named.

Otherwise, a quick check every two to three years works well. During each review, confirm beneficiaries, verify your executor and agents, make sure any trust is funded, and check that documents are stored where helpers can reach them.

A simple estate planning checklist goes a long way. List what you own and owe, name the right people for each role, sign the core documents, and keep everything easy to find. Add your end-of-life preferences so loved ones aren’t guessing, and set a reminder to review after major life changes.

If life insurance is part of your plan, align beneficiary forms with your documents and consider comparing options. At Ethos, we know how important it is for families to be prepared for major end-of-life moments, so we include a free will with every life insurance purchase.