Top Three Organizing Tips for Legacy Planning
What if you died today? Are your legal and financial affairs in order? The task of administering a loved one’s Will and/or Trust is not easy so you will want to follow these organizing tips for legacy planning to help your loved ones find the information and documents they will need. I have run a successful law center for over two decades helping clients with estate planning documents and their loved ones with probate and/or trust administration. Clients contact my office when they are in the season of legacy planning and they are seeking legal guidance and assistance. To help you leave more than possessions and leave a legacy, I am sharing my top three organizing tips for legacy planning:
Tip #1: Hire An Attorney To Organize Your Estate Plan
Tip #2: Choose One Place To Organize Important Paperwork & Information
Tip #3: Organize Your Estate By Scheduling A Deadline
Tip #1: Hire An Attorney To Organize Your Estate Plan
My top organizing tip is to hire an attorney to organize your estate plan. The legal documents required for a comprehensive estate plan include the Trust Declaration and Trust Certification; an Itemized Schedule of Trust Assets; a Last Will & Testament – Pourover Will; a Healthcare Directive, and a Power of Attorney. I recommend a Trust for people living in California whose estate assets exceed $100,000 or if they own real estate. When you hire an attorney to organize your estate plan, they will prepare all the legal documents that are required and they will not leave you questioning whether you have made the right decisions. When a licensed attorney guides you through the decision-making process and puts them in writing, they provide legal counsel specific to your circumstances and objectives. When clients invest in legal counsel, there is less risk of court administration or litigation upon their incapacity or passing because they have received necessary legal counsel. There are additional benefits to hiring professionals, for example, my company, The Estate Planning Law Center, retains a copy of all signed legal documents and also provides complimentary legal services for existing clients including review of their estate plan every fives years; complimentary updates to their Itemized Schedule of Trust Assets; complimentary notary services and a complimentary updated Certification of Trust when a co-Trustee has died.
Tip #2: Choose One Place To Organize Important Paperwork & Information
Another top organizing tip for legacy planning is to choose one place to organize important paperwork and information. When choosing my company’s silent auction prize for the June 20, 2026, Botilleas Dinner on Main Street Jackson Archway Fundraiser I chose the original Next of Kin box (“Nokbox”) and a hardback copy of my Legacy Love Letters book. As an advocate for legacy, I chose these special gifts because estate planning gives people peace of mind and legacy love letters give people peace of heart. The Nokbox is an excellent legacy planning tool for those who want one place for the documents and details needed to settle their estates. The original Nokbox includes exactly what to drop into each folder, making it easy to fill it and keep it updated. You will need to collect all information pertaining to insurance and retirement accounts. You will also want to have copies of birth and death certificates; real property deeds; and adoption papers and divorce decrees. When organizing your documents and details make sure to add your legacy love letters as a protected document. Then your loved ones are not left empty-handed because you have left a final gift of love, faith, hope, and gratitude to help them grieve differently.
Tip #3 Organize Your Estate By Scheduling A Deadline
Another helpful organizing tip for legacy planning is to schedule a deadline for yourself. Consider scheduling a deadline if you are about to go on a trip or celebrate a milestone birthday or anniversary. When you prioritize your estate planning by scheduling a deadline, you will make progress. If you don’t have an estate plan, then schedule an initial consultation with a licensed attorney and mark your calendar. Your estate planning attorney will help guide you in gathering the information needed to review your circumstances and objectives so they can prepare the legal documents required. If you already have an estate plan but the documents are more than five years old, then schedule a review consultation and mark your calendar. If you already have an estate plan but there has been a change in circumstances, then schedule a review consultation and mark your calendar. A change in circumstance might be due to a change in your marital status: you need to add a spouse because of marriage or remove a former spouse because of divorce or death. A change in beneficiaries: you are adding or removing a named beneficiary or increasing or reducing a gift amount. A change in real property ownership: you have inherited, purchased or sold real estate. A change in financial accounts: you have opened or closed accounts with banking/financial institutions. Thank you for letting me share my top three organizing tips for legacy planning so you can leave more than possessions and leave a legacy.
