Estate Planning Checklist: Your Step-by-Step Guide

Even if you don’t think of yourself as wealthy, it’s wise to use an estate planning checklist sooner rather than later. Setting up the right documents and systems now gives your loved ones clarity, helps you avoid stress down the road, and ensures your wishes are honored.

At My Banyan Life, we believe estate planning is more than filing a will: it’s about organizing your legacy, accessing digital vaults securely, and aligning your assets with your values. This guide will walk you through each step, including how to use modern estate planning services and set up estate planning trusts where needed.

What Estate Planning Really Means

Estate planning involves mapping out how you want your financial, legal, healthcare, and personal affairs handled both while you’re alive and after you die. According to sources like National Council on Aging and Charles Schwab Corporation, it’s not just about death, but about incapacity too. (Schwab MoneyWise)

Using the right estate planning services and considering estate planning trusts (if applicable) ensures that your plan is efficient, clear, and backed by legal strength. Below are the key steps your checklist should include.

Step 1: Take Inventory of Your Assets and Liabilities

Begin your estate planning checklist by listing everything you own and owe. Schwab advises gathering information on real estate, vehicles, jewelry, bank and brokerage accounts, and even digital assets. (Schwab Brokerage)

Action items:

• Make a list of assets – homes, cars, investments, business interests, digital accounts.
• List liabilities – mortgages, loans, credit lines.
• Store this inventory securely in your digital vault with My Banyan Life for easy access and updates.

Step 2: Choose Your Key Decision-Makers

An effective estate plan names the right people ahead of time. This step is essential because clarity prevents confusion later.

Important roles include:

• Executor or personal representative – manages your estate.
• Agent under a power of attorney for finances and for healthcare decisions.
• Guardian for minor children if relevant.

Resources emphasize that using professional estate planning services can help you select the right people and documents. (Ethos Life) When using My Banyan Life, you can upload these documents, tag who’s responsible, and set reminders for reviews.

Step 3: Draft Your Core Documents

Now it’s time to create or update the foundational documents in your estate planning checklist.

Typical documents to include:

• A Last Will and Testament – specifies asset distribution and guardianship.
• A revocable living trust (if needed) – can help avoid probate and manage your assets during incapacity. (National Council on Aging)
• Durable powers of attorney (financial and healthcare).
• Advance healthcare directive or living will.
• Beneficiary designations on accounts and life insurance.

Using a smart digital vault like My Banyan Life means you can store scanned copies of each document, share securely with advisors, and let your family know where originals are kept.

Step 4: If Applicable, Set Up Estate Planning Trusts

For more complex situations, estate planning trusts may be appropriate. Trusts can provide privacy, help manage assets for beneficiaries with special needs, and reduce costs of probate. (National Council on Aging)

Things to ask:

• Do you have assets in multiple states?
• Will you leave assets to minors or dependents with special needs?
• Do you want to control how assets are distributed (e.g., over time rather than in a lump sum)?

Trusts add another layer to your estate planning checklist, but they can offer meaningful advantages.

Step 5: Store Everything Securely & Use Technology

Once documents are created, storing and organizing them is critical. An estate plan is only useful if your agents can access what they need, when they need it.

Key considerations:

• Keep originals in a fireproof safe or locked cabinet.
• Digitize everything – scans of wills, POAs, insurance policies, asset inventories.
• Use a secure platform for digital storage. My Banyan Life offers encrypted storage, multi-user access, and a robust digital vault built for organizing life’s critical records.

Using technology in your estate planning checklist means your plans will be accessible, organized, and ready in any situation.

Step 6: Review and Update Regularly

Life changes, and so should your estate plan. Factor in updates to keep everything aligned.

When should you review? According to Schwab and other experts: after major life events (marriage, birth, divorce, acquiring property) or at least every 2-3 years. (Schwab Brokerage)

Checklist items for review:

• Have beneficiaries changed?
• Has your trust been funded and properly titled?
• Are your selected agents still appropriate?
• Are your documents stored properly and accessible?

A well-maintained estate plan continues to support your goals, not become an outdated set of files.

Why Using My Banyan Life Elevates Your Plan

While many estate planning checklists end with filing documents, the right platform helps you live your plan. My Banyan Life isn’t just storage; it’s your foundation for digital legacy organization.

With My Banyan Life you get:

• Secure digital vault with AES-256 encryption (bank-level).
• Organized branches (e.g., Legal, Property, Legacy) so everything has a place.
• Collaboration features so family, advisors, and executors can access what matters.
• Peace of mind that your estate planning checklist is live, trackable, and modern.

Whether you’re drafting your plan now or revisiting one you set up years ago, this digital toolkit supports your estate planning services and gives you confidence your legacy is protected.

Your Legacy, Your Plan

Your estate planning checklist isn’t about fear, it’s about clarity, intention, and care. By documenting your wishes, naming the right agents, organizing assets, and leveraging technology to store everything safely, you’re doing more than signing forms, you’re shaping how your legacy lives on.

Estate planning can feel daunting, which is why using the right checklist and the right tools matters. If you’re ready to take control of your plan, upload your documents, set your connections, and keep your family informed. Because once everything is in place, you can focus on what really matters.

Peace-of-Mind feels better.