Adding Details to Estate Planning

Over the past few months, I have had to the occasion to help clients organize the assets of deceased family members as they prepare to settle estates (including my own family). In most cases, wills or trusts were prepared, however details regarding the assets referred to in these documents could not be found. Stock certificates were missing, investment statements and tax returns were not available even contact information for accountant, financial advisor and attorney was buried in old boxes, drawers or had disappeared over the years.

The experience of trying to help locate missing documents has led me to suggest as part of an estate plan’s preparation to create a “Detail Book.”
1) Start with a list of contacts, be sure to include; financial advisor, attorney, accountant, tax preparer, physician, and funeral home (if chosen).
2) Next a list of requests you might want carried out at your death; i.e. cremation, family only, favorite song, prayer or poem, type of service.
3) If you have prepaid for your funeral a copy of the agreement should be included. Usually arrangements are made years in advance and a readily available copy can help family members as they prepare the arrangements.
4) Location of original will, or trust.
5) Copies of end-of-year bank, brokerage, investment, and retirement accounts, if you have multiple investment accounts held directly consolidating them in a brokerage account might make sense. If you have physical stock certificates, depositing them into a brokerage account or having them held in book form by the transfer agent can save a lot of the time and cost associated with replacing them.
6) Include a copy of the previous two or three year’s tax returns. The information on these forms and their support paperwork (W2’s, 1099’s, 1099R’s etc) can be invaluable. They will list sources of income, dividends, and transactions, probably one of the best sources of information.
7) Copies o f life insurance and annuity statements, these are tax deferred and will not show up on tax forms it is important to have information regarding issuers and policy numbers.
8) Review your beneficiaries on accounts, make any changes necessary with the appropriate custodian, trustee or issuer of the account, make a copy of the form and keep it in the book. If you are satisfied with the current listings, make a copy and save that in your book.

Depending on your situation you mad have additional items to include in your “Detail Book”, I tried to list the most common issues. Once you have completed the book put it away for safekeeping and make sure you let the administrator of your estate know where it is. When the time comes, it will help to make a difficult time easier.