At the very least, handwrite your wishes. Though, if you have a simple financial/family life, you can get away with using an online template. The best way to write a will is with a competent estate planning attorney. Each state has different laws that govern wills, so make sure yours is state-specific. Your will should include who you want to receive your assets, who you want to raise your minor children, and who should be in charge of making sure it all happens. Go Southern Baptists! You get a D while everyone else gets an F. That’s better than the general population, though, where 60% of people don’t have a will. Several years, ago, the Southern Baptist Convention did a survey of their pastors that found that almost 40% of them have no estate planning documents at all. However, a lot of pastors have never actually gotten around to making one. Most people are familiar with a will, which is the document that states what you want to be done with your stuff after you die. Here is a checklist of everything you need to create a complete estate plan: Don’t know where to begin? You’re in the right place.

So, let me say it again, everyone needs an estate plan. If you’re broke and single, the loved ones that you leave behind still need to know if you want to be kept alive artificially, what to do with your car, what to do with your body, and how you want to be remembered. If you have breath in your lungs, you need an estate plan. It doesn’t matter if you have any money or any kids. Estate planning encompasses all of the end-of-life matters, including what you want to happen to everything that is currently in your control.Įveryone who is a legal adult needs an estate plan. It’s about who will raise your children and take over your church and whether or not the doctors should pull the plug on you. It also covers what happens if you become incapacitated or cannot handle your own affairs.Īnd, it’s not just about money. In fact, estate planning isn’t just about what happens after you die. What do you think of when you hear the term “estate planning?” Rich old people? Estates are all of the property that has to be divvied up and kept from taxes when rich people die, right?

Estate planning checklist 2019