Estate Planning

Estate planning typically requires you to make important decisions about who is to receive your property when you pass away, and who will act on your behalf when you cannot do so. You can help us design an estate plan that is right for you by doing three things: 

• Prepare a basic financial statement listing all of your property

• Prepare a list of people who might be involved in your estate plan, either as beneficiaries or as persons asked to help ensure that your wishes are carried out.  In addition to names, you should gather contact information (addresses, phone numbers, etc.) for each of these persons

• Begin thinking about some basic questions, such as: Who gets your property? Who will be in charge of carrying out your wishes if you pass away or become incapacitated? Who will be guardian for any minor children?

For a more detailed discussion of the information you need to collect, please see the FAQs memo, Getting Started with Your Estate Planning on our "Learn More" page.   Prior to meeting with us, you should also complete the appropriate data gathering form and provide the completed form to us:

Estate Planning Data for Single Persons

Estate Planning Data for Married Couples 

Probate, and Trust and Estate Administration

When someone passes away, the person who acts on behalf of the estate will have a number of duties to fulfill.  For a description of an executor's common duties, please see our memo, Summary of Executor's Duties.  Prior to meeting with us, you should:

• Collect basic personal information, including the decedent's full name, social security number, and date and place of death, name of surviving spouse (if any), and whether the decedent was divorced or had any children after the date of the Will

• Collect basic financial information, including a rough idea of the decedent's net worth, and a general description of the decedent's assets (including investments, land, etc.) and debts

• Obtain the original Will (or at least a copy of it), if there is one, and obtain originals or copies of any trusts