Worksheets

The PDF file of the 3-page worksheet is designed to be printed out and filled in with pen & ink (instead of at the computer). I recommend to my clients that they not worry if there are questions for which they do not have answers because that means that the easy questions are out of the way and we can spend time on the "tough" questions during a conference.

An estate plan is likely to include: wills (possibly with a testamentary trust or a separate trust), Advance Directives for Health Care and General Powers of Attorney. Additionally we will address the subject of your beneficiary designations for life insurance and retirement accounts. Those are non-probate assets that are often not distributed through the will.

For the choices (on page 2) for executor, guardian for minor children (if applicable) trustee (if applicable), agent for medical directives, and the attorney in fact for the General Powers of Attorney you can name a primary person and two different successors (in order of preference).

One tip on the tabulation of assets on page 3 of the worksheet: you can round any figure off to the nearest $5,000 to $10,000.

I would recommend that you double-check your primary and secondary beneficiary designations on your life insurance and retirement accounts as part of the planning process to ascertain what are the current designations.

• Married Couples worksheet in PDF format

  Includes an estate planning form, questions to consider, and an estate evaluation sheet that pertain to the estate of a married couple with or without children.

• Single Person worksheet in PDF format

  Includes an estate planning form, questions to consider, and an estate evaluation sheet that pertain to the estate of a single person with or without children.