✅  The Estate Checklist You’ll Be Glad You Finished ✅     

Written By Luke Brasuell

"I am creating an estate plan to make it as easy as possible for my [kids/parents/heirs]. I don't want to leave a headache." 

Easily one of the top three reasons I hear why clients want to create a plan. However, most estate plans typically fail within the first 24 hours... 

Not because the documents are wrong, but because no one knows where to start. We fixed that.

Avoid leaving your family searching for passwords, policies, or “where the trust is.” This free, fill-in checklist puts everything that matters in one place so the right people can find the right things at the right time.

Why This Matters

Believe it or not, estate planning is more than legal documents. It is access, instructions, and context. Even the best plan breaks down if no they don't know where to start. This checklist closes that gap.

 

So, What is Inside the Checklist?

1.  Personal & Family

     🏡 “Start Here” page your executor/trustee can easily find and follow

     🏡 Letters/wishes, memorial preferences, emergency contacts

     🏡 Estate documents (Will, Trust, POA, Healthcare POA)

2.  Life Admin

    💻 Passwords & passcodes (phone, computer, key accounts)

    💻 Passports, ID, insurance details, medical/dental info

    💻 Trusted mentors and emergency contact list

3.  Business (if applicable)

    ✉️ Entity docs, org chart, key logins, trusted advisors

    ✉️ Continuity notes (who handles what, immediately)

4.  Assets & Financial

    💵 Funded assets (what’s in the Trust)

    💵 Real estate & titles; bank, brokerage, retirement accounts

    💵 Beneficiary designations; loans/mortgages; crypto keys (if any)

5.  Final Steps

   📞  Who to notify (personal + business)

   📞  Any instructions not in your estate plan (trust memo)

    📞  Funeral/burial/celebration notes

 

How to Actually Get this Done

Block 45 minutes. Start with Personal & Family and Final Steps. Do it in layers. Finish Life Admin next, then Assets.

Tell your Executor/Trustee where the file lives (and how to access it). Review annually (or after major life changes).

If you have a Revocable Trust, star/label the items that are already titled to the Trust vs. those that still need funding. That single step reduces future friction more than anything else.


What Happens After you Complete it?

  • Your family can start with a clear first step (“Start Here”).

  • Your executor/trustee has faster access (less panic, fewer delays).

  • Your plan moves from paper to practice.

Luke Brasuell
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