Estate Planning: The Documents You Need

Given my previous career as a financial planner and investment advisor, I used to tell people to "do estate planning". With the recent passing of my father in-law, I realized that there are lots of things you can do beyond meeting with a qualified estate attorney (which I highly recommend) to make the settlement of your estate easier for your heirs.

Here's a list of what you need:

Legal Documents:

Will
Letter of Instruction
Power of Attorney
Health Care Proxy
Trusts (not necessary, but many people have either revocable (changeable) or irrevocable (not-changeable), depending on family situations)
"DNR" or "Do Not Resuscitate" order (this may need to be completed upon each new entry to hospital or nursing home)

Accounts

List of all bank accounts
List of all user names and passwords
List of automatic pay accounts with name and contact information of each payee (hat tip to listener Eileen R!)
List of safe-deposit boxes
401 (k) accounts
IRA's, Roth IRAs
Pension documents
Annuity contracts
Brokerage account information (with broker's name and contact phone number)
Detailed list of savings bonds
Life insurance policies (private and through employer)
Long Term Care insurance policies

Other Documents

Housing, land and cemetery deeds
Mortgage accounts
Proof of loans made
Vehicle title
Partnership and corporate operating agreements
Previous three year's tax returns
Marriage license
Divorce papers
Military discharge information (we recovered my father in-law's 1945 discharge papers and actually needed them!)
List of contact information (not only contacts on accounts, but the names, current addresses and Social Security numbers of all people named in the legal documents, as well as the contact information for the estate attorney and CPA who will be handling the estate.)

Once you have done all of this hard work, you need to inform your executor/executrix as to where everything is stored. Some people recommend an at-home fireproof safe, but my brother in-law, the engineer, told me that many of these safes are often useless in a serious fire. I prefer keeping a copy of all documents with your attorney or in a safe-deposit box at the local bank.

A well-planned estate is a wonderful legacy you can leave your heirs--instead of untangling a messy estate, they can concentrate on mourning their loved one.

Jill Schlesinger

Jill Schlesinger, CFP® is the Emmy-nominated Business Analyst for CBS News. She covers the economy, markets, investing and anything else with a dollar sign on TV, radio (including her nationally syndicated radio show), the web and her blog, "Jill on Money." Prior to her second career at CBS, Jill spent 14 years as the co-owner and Chief Investment Officer for an independent investment advisory firm. She began her career as a self-employed options trader on the Commodities Exchange of New York, following her graduation from Brown University.

Twitter

More from CBS News