Assisting Those You Leave Behind

One of the goals of a good estate plan is to ease the burden of estate administration for those we leave behind. Failing to communicate with your heirs, executor or trustee about the structure of your estate plan and your assets can cause considerable difficulty and result in added administrative expenses. The “nuts & bolts” of your estate administration will often depend on your recordkeeping during your lifetime. Your records should include:

       
        
​

• Full legal name
• Social Security number
• Legal residence
• Date and place of birth
• Names and addresses of spouse and children (location of death certificates if deceased)
• Location of will or trust
• Location of birth certificate and marriage, divorce & citizenship certificates
• Employment records
• Education and military records
• Religious affiliation (name of church)
• Memberships in organizations and awards received
• Names and addresses of doctors, lawyers and financial advisers
• Requests, preferences, or prearrangements for burial

 
Keep these records in one secure place and make sure that a trusted family member or friend knows the exact location of the files. You should also provide financial information to make certain that your assets are easily discoverable. Check to be sure all the following information is in one convenient place:

• Sources of income and assets (pension funds, interest income, etc.)
• Social Security and Medicare information
• Insurance information (life, health and property with policy numbers)
• Bank accounts
• Location of safe deposit boxes
• Copy of most recent income tax return
• List of liabilities (to whom and when due)
• Mortgages and debt (including how and when payments are paid)
• Credit card and charge account names and numbers
• Property tax records
• Location of personal items (jewelry & family treasures)

 
Having all this information organized will greatly assist those who will be administering your estate and help keep costs down.

For more information on how to ease the burden of your passing on your loved ones, please contact Davis & McCann, P.A. We are members of Wealth Counsel, a national consortium of Estate Planning Attorneys and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). We focus our practice on providing clients with the best legal advice on Estate Planning, Medicaid and Long-term Care Planning, Family Business/Small Business Succession Planning, Probate, Trust Administration, Real Estate Transactions, and related matters.​

---