Estate & End-of-Life Checklist
Here is our checklist for end-of-life planning.
Data & Documents
Create a password list. Include phone, tablet, computer, email, social media accounts, etc. Consider using password software like LastPass or 1Password, which allows you to pass on your passwords to your heirs.
Review your social media accounts and decide what you’d like to happen with them when you die. Every social media platform has different options.
Document your bank account information, including safe-deposit box locations.
Document any life insurance policies and beneficiaries, including information on funeral insurance or pre-paid burial plot, if applicable.
Make sure beneficiaries on all accounts are updated.
Include your will. Consider updating it if things have changed in your life since you last updated it.
Make a list of bills with due dates and amounts. Note how statements are received and payments made. Identify which bills are ongoing and which have an end date.
Make a list of your liabilities and assets. Designate how these debts will be paid and who will receive assets.
Your Care
Create an advance directive, a document that articulates your wishes concerning medical treatments at the end of your life and designates an individual—your healthcare agent—to ensure those wishes are honored should you no longer be able to speak for yourself. Make your advance directive specific. Address a variety of different scenarios, e.g., in what situation you would want to receive morphine, when would you not want to be intubated, etc.
Consult tools and resources like The Mayo Clinic’s detailed guide to completing an advance directive or a comprehensive tool for creating an end-of-life care plan at MyDirectives.com.
Elect your Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare. This is also called a Healthcare Proxy and should be assigned to a loved one.
Make copies of your advance directive to provide to your healthcare agent or trusted family/friends.
Talk to your physician about your advance directive. Explore whether your wishes can be turned into a POLST/ MOLST (Physician/Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) form in your state.
Plan for end-of-life housing arrangements. Decide where you would like to live, specifically nursing facilities or in-home care.
Your Possessions
Designate meaningful items to be given away to specific people. Consider doing so now, rather than spelling it out in your will. Consider reading The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning, by Margareta Magnusson, to give yourself some guidance on how to slowly distribute important things to your loved ones.
Dispose of any items you own that you wouldn’t want your heirs to find, or include instructions about disposing of sensitive items, e.g., your high-school diaries, for a trusted friend or family member.
Identify the location of any cash you have stored for emergencies and provide instructions on how to use it.
Draft a “Where to Find...” document identifying the location of important things your heirs might need after your death: the deed to your house, the title and keys to your car, your social security and insurance cards, etc.
Your Legacy
Write your own obituary. Doing so will give you control over how you are publicly remembered. You may also ask a loved one to do so in the event of an unforseen death.
Write down instructions for your final disposition. What do you want to happen to your body when you die?
Plan for your funeral/remembrance ceremony. Who are your chosen speakers? What music would you like to include? Write down and share your vision.
Create a message for loved ones. Write a letter, make a video, or whatever you think will be most meaningful for the people who matter most.
Say “I love you”, “I forgive you”, “thank you”, and “I’m proud of you”. Reconciling relationships and practicing grace and gratitude are essential steps in end-of-life planning.
Secure Your Life File
Purchase a fireproof home safe and a USB thumb drive to store your Life File. Include cloud-based copies using a service like Dropbox or iCloud.
Make copies of the Life File’s contents and leave them with a trusted friend or family member.