Worksheet
Estate Plan Readiness Check
Build a simple estate review file, then use it to see whether your next step is routine cleanup or a more focused attorney-review agenda.
Estate review file
Build the estate packet map
Start with the documents you can confirm, then review the people, accounts, titles, authority, changes, complexity, and access around them.
Core documents
Which estate documents do you currently have?
Select the documents you can confirm today. Leave anything unchecked if it is missing or uncertain.
Document checklist
0 of 6 selected
Not every plan needs every document. The goal is to inventory what is actually available before reviewing coordination gaps.
Named people
How current are the people named in the plan?
Executor, trustee, agent, and backup roles can make or break how usable the plan is.
Beneficiary forms
Have beneficiary forms been checked?
Account-level forms can control major assets even when the will says something else.
Titles and trust funding
Do asset titles and trust funding match the plan?
A trust, will, and beneficiary plan only work cleanly when ownership records agree.
Incapacity authority
Could someone act during incapacity?
A plan should work during life too, not only after death.
Life changes
Have major life changes been reflected?
Estate plans age when family, property, health, residence, or wealth changes.
Family and asset complexity
How complex is the household or asset picture?
Some situations deserve attorney review even when the paperwork looks organized.
Document access
Can the right people find what they need?
A good plan is weaker if survivors or agents cannot locate documents, accounts, and contacts.
Estate checkpoint board
Use this board to see which document, beneficiary, title, authority, life-change, complexity, and access areas are still open.
Open
Core documents
Will, trust, powers of attorney, health directives, HIPAA authorization, and asset inventory.
Answer this section before relying on the estate review file.
Open
Named people
Executors, trustees, financial agents, health care agents, and backup decision-makers.
Answer this section before relying on the estate review file.
Open
Beneficiary forms
Retirement accounts, life insurance, annuities, bank accounts, and brokerage beneficiaries.
Answer this section before relying on the estate review file.
Open
Titles and trust
Account titles, deeds, trust funding, and transfer instructions that should match the plan.
Answer this section before relying on the estate review file.
Open
Incapacity authority
Financial and health care authority that lets someone act while you are living.
Answer this section before relying on the estate review file.
Open
Life changes
Marriage, divorce, death, birth, moving, inheritance, retirement, diagnosis, or major wealth changes.
Answer this section before relying on the estate review file.
Open
Complexity
Blended family, minor children, business interests, multi-state property, taxes, or conflict.
Answer this section before relying on the estate review file.
Open
Document access
Where documents, account records, professional contacts, and instructions can be found.
Answer this section before relying on the estate review file.
- 1Answer core documents next.
- 2Use signed documents, account records, beneficiary confirmations, deeds, and trust records rather than memory alone.
- 3Pause legal-document, title, trust-funding, or beneficiary changes until the review file points to a clear lane.
How to use this review file
Use this review before changing documents, titles, trust funding, or beneficiary instructions. The goal is not a perfect score; it is a clearer review agenda.
1
Answer from the packet
Use the actual documents, beneficiary confirmations, deeds, trust records, and account list rather than memory alone.
2
Find the coordination gap
The result separates administrative cleanup from issues that may need state-specific legal review.
3
Leave with a review agenda
Use the next actions and attorney-review signal to decide what to organize and what to bring to a professional.
About this tool
What this helps you do
This review file turns estate-plan details into one practical lane: periodic review, administrative cleanup, or attorney review.
Why it is not just documents
Beneficiary forms, account titles, trust funding, named agents, and document access can matter as much as the will itself.
How to interpret results
A lower readiness score does not mean the plan is invalid. It means the next review needs more context before the plan is relied on.
Limitations
This tool is educational only. It does not determine whether a will, trust, power of attorney, health directive, deed, or beneficiary form is legally valid.
Estate planning is state-specific. Before relying on a document, changing asset title, updating trust funding, or changing beneficiary instructions, confirm the legal and tax consequences with a qualified professional.