Getting Your Affairs in Order: The Ultimate Checklist

These documents ensure your wishes are followed and your family is protected. Without them, courts decide what happens to your assets.

• ☐ **Will**: Directs asset distribution, names executor, names guardians for minor children
• ☐ **Revocable Living Trust**: Avoids probate, provides privacy (optional but recommended)
• ☐ **Financial Power of Attorney**: Names someone to manage money if you're incapacitated
• ☐ **Healthcare Power of Attorney**: Names someone to make medical decisions
• ☐ **Living Will/Advance Directive**: Documents end-of-life care preferences
• ☐ **HIPAA Authorization**: Allows family to access medical records
• ☐ **Letter of Intent**: Non-legal wishes for funeral, personal items (supplement to will)

Create a master list of all financial accounts. Your family shouldn't have to search through mail for months to find your accounts.

Insurance provides for your family and covers final expenses. Make sure policies are current and beneficiaries are correct.

• ☐ **Life insurance**: Policy numbers, company, beneficiaries, agent contact
• ☐ **Health insurance**: ID numbers, coverage details
• ☐ **Long-term care insurance**: Policy details, when it activates
• ☐ **Auto/Home insurance**: Policy info for ongoing coverage
• ☐ **Medicare/Medigap**: Plan details for surviving spouse
• ☐ **Burial/Final expense insurance**: If separate from life insurance

Our increasingly digital lives mean important accounts, memories, and even money can be lost forever without proper documentation.

• ☐ **Password manager**: Use one and share master access with trusted person
• ☐ **Email accounts**: Main email often unlocks everything else
• ☐ **Social media**: Document accounts, consider legacy contacts (Facebook, etc.)
• ☐ **Subscriptions**: List recurring charges that should be cancelled
• ☐ **Cloud storage**: Photos, documents stored online
• ☐ **Cryptocurrency**: Wallet access, recovery phrases (critical!)
• ☐ **Online banking**: Access credentials

Beyond financial assets, document wishes for personal items and final arrangements.

• ☐ **Personal property list**: Who should receive specific items (jewelry, heirlooms)
• ☐ **Funeral preferences**: Burial vs cremation, service type, location
• ☐ **Organ donation**: Document wishes, tell family
• ☐ **Obituary notes**: Key facts, photo preference
• ☐ **Pets**: Who will care for them, funds allocated
• ☐ **Charitable wishes**: Organizations to notify, final donations

The best-organized plan fails if nobody knows about it. Take these steps to ensure your family is prepared.

1. 1Schedule a family meeting specifically for this topic
2. 2Share location of all documents and keys
3. 3Introduce family to attorney, financial advisor, accountant
4. 4Explain reasoning behind major decisions
5. 5Give executor a copy of this completed checklist
6. 6Set recurring reminder to review annually together