Most people know they need an estate plan, but few know where to start. Without a clear plan in place, your assets, retirement accounts, and home could be subject to probate, unnecessary taxes, and court intervention.

This estate planning checklist walks you through every key step, from setting up a Power of Attorney, Advance Medical Directive, and Long-term Care Directive to choosing the right type of living trust and naming beneficiaries and decision makers.

Estate Planning Checklist [Complete Guide]

Step 1. Sign a Power of Attorney

A Durable General Power of Attorney (POA) is the most important legal document that every person needs as part of a good estate plan and incapacity plan. A power of attorney document authorizes a trusted person (called your agent or attorney-in-fact) to manage your legal and financial affairs if you become incapacitated. Without a named agent, your family may need to go to court to get legal authority over your finances via the judicial process known as guardianship and conservatorship.

A financial Power of Attorney and a medical Power of Attorney are two separate legal documents that every estate plan should include. The Farr Law Firm drafts both with special provisions allowing your agent to conduct asset protection and Medicaid planning on your behalf if needed.

Step 2. Create a Advance Medical Directive and Long-term Care Directive^®

An advance directive, also called an advance care directive or advance medical directive or living will, tells your doctors and family what medical care you want if you cannot speak for yourself. It removes uncertainty and reduces family conflict during a health crisis.

The Farr Law Firm offers our proprietary 4-Needs Advance Medical Directive^® — which also includes our proprietary Long-term Care Directive^®. These documents go beyond a standard and very old-fashioned “one-size-fits-all” living will to cover:

• naming of a health care agent (sometimes called a health care proxy or health care surrogate) to make medical decisions if you’re temporarily or permanently not able to;
• expressing your long-term care preferences through our Long-term Care Directive, in the event you need any type of long-term care and can’t adequately express your own wishes;
• expressing your near-death decisions if you have a terminal illness with no chance of recovery;
• expressing your after-death wishes, such as whether you want to be buried or cremated, whether you want to an organ donor, etc.

Step 3. Choose Between a Will-Based Estate Plan and a Trust-Based Estate Plan

A Will, the full name of which is a Last Will and Testament, can be the foundation of your estate plan. It can name who receives your assets, who raises your minor children (it’s the only document that can do this, so is very important if you have children under age 18), and who acts as your executor to carry out your wishes with the probate court. In some states, and in some situations, probate can be simple and straightforward. For example, if you have a small estate (what constitutes small varies by state, but is typically between $50,000 and $100,000), a Will may be sufficient. If you have only one child and you’ll be naming that child as the executor of the Will, then a Will may be sufficient. If you are doing crisis-level Medicaid Planning in a state where all assets in a revocable trust are considered countable, a Will-based estate plan may be essential. Regardless of your reason for using a Will, working with an experienced attorney, such as the experienced estate planning attorney and elder law at the Farr Law Firm, ensures your will is properly executed and legally binding in Virginia, Maryland, or DC.

As important as a Will sometime is, in most states, and in most situations, the probate process started by using a will as your foundational estate planning document requires a nightmare of court appearances, court filings, court accountings, probate taxes, and mandatory waiting periods.

Most people understandably want to avoid this nightmare of probate by using a living trust. That leads to the next most important question . . . what type of living trust?

Step 4. Choose What Type of Living Trust Makes Sense for You

A living trust is simply a trust created by you while you’re living. A revocable living trust is the most common type of living trust for people of all ages, especially people under age 65, as it lets you control your assets during your lifetime and transfer them to your family at death without going through the nightmare of probate. Most estate planning attorneys only offer this type of trust because most estate planning attorneys are not familiar with elder law and Medicaid asset protection trusts.

The Farr Law Firm, as one of the leading law firms in Virginia, Maryland and DC in the areas of estate planning AND elder law, also offers their proprietary Living Trust Plus^® Medicaid Asset Protection Trust, a special type of self-settled living trust that protects assets from probate PLUS lawsuits PLUS nursing home expenses simultaneously. This goes far beyond what a standard revocable living trust provides, giving seniors a powerful layer of asset protection that basic estate planning cannot match.

Step 5. Choose Your Beneficiaries

Choosing beneficiaries of your Will or Living Trust is one of the most important steps in any estate plan. Most married couples with children name their spouse and then their children in equal shares, per stirpes (meaning if a child dies before you, their share goes to their children in equal shares). Most widows and widowers name their children in equal shares, per stirpes. But everyone is different and many people don’t have children. Whoever you name as beneficiaries, whether individuals or charities or other organizations such as educational institutions, it is typically best to use percentages rather than fixed amounts, unless the fixed amount is relatively small.

Review your beneficiary designations after every major life change: marriage, divorce, birth, or death in the family. Outdated designations are one of the most common and costly mistakes in estate planning.

Step 6. Choose Your Decision Makers

In addition to choosing your beneficiaries, you must choose your decision makers — the person(s) who will make decisions for you in the event of your death or incapacity. There are two primary types of decision makers — financial/legal decision makers (for your Power of Attorney, Will, and Trust) and medical decision makers for your Advance Medical Directive).

Step 7. Protect Your Retirement Accounts

Your retirement accounts, including IRAs and 401(k)s, may be among your most valuable assets. Who you name as the beneficiary on each account determines how and when those funds are distributed after your death.

Retirement account planning must coordinate with your overall estate plan to avoid unintended tax consequences for your heirs. The Farr Law Firm integrates retirement planning with trust and estate strategies, so your full financial picture is protected.

Step 8. Plan for Estate and Inheritance Taxes

Depending on the size of your estate, your family may potentially owe federal or state estate taxes after your death. Maryland and DC both have their own Estate Tax, while Virginia does not. Some states, including Maryland, also impose inheritance taxes on certain heirs, which makes state-specific planning critical for DC Metro families.

Proper estate tax planning may include irrevocable trusts, charitable giving strategies, annual gift exclusions, and special type of after-death trusts designed to minimize or eliminate estate taxes.

The Farr Law Firm helps families structure their estate documents to minimize tax exposure and preserve more of what they have built.

Step 9. Review and Update Your Estate Plan

An estate plan is not a one-time task. Life changes, marriage, divorce, new children or grandchildren, a move across state lines, a significant change in your assets, or a major health change can make an outdated plan worse than no plan at all.

The Farr Law Firm’s Lifetime Protection Plan^® sends annual review reminders and an Annual LPP Checklist to help clients keep their estate documents current. Members receive updated documents at no charge when the law changes or their circumstances shift.

Step 10. Work With a Qualified Estate Planning Attorney who is also an Experienced Elder Law Attorney

Online templates cannot account for your state’s laws, your family’s situation, or how Medicaid planning, disability planning, and asset protection all interact with your estate plan.

Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA) Evan H. Farr has been named by SuperLawyers.com as one of the top 5% of Elder Law attorneys in the DC Metro area every year since 2007 and has been listed in Best Lawyers in America every year since 2013.

The Farr Law Firm serves clients across Virginia, Maryland, and DC from offices in Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Rockville, Annapolis, and Washington, DC.