An estate planning checklist helps you organize your estate, protect your family, and decide how your assets should be handled. A thoughtful estate plan covers more than a will. In Massachusetts, it also has to account for rules that don’t exist in most states: a state estate tax that applies at a much lower level than the federal tax, a health care proxy in place of a living will, and homestead protection on your home.
For families building generational wealth, that means looking at your home, investments, retirement accounts, life insurance policies, business interests, and the people you trust to make decisions for you.
For example, you might update your last will and testament after having a child but forget to update a retirement account beneficiary. Your will is current, but the account still goes to whoever the old form names.
Start with the checklist below to see what you already have in place and where your family may have questions.
Your Estate Planning Checklist at a Glance
Use this checklist to review the main parts of your estate plan:
- Inventory your assets and debts
- Identify your beneficiaries
- Create or review your last will and testament
- Consider whether a living trust fits your goals
- Choose financial and health care decision-makers (a durable power of attorney and a health care proxy)
- Name guardians for minor children
- Review real estate and business interests
- Protect your home’s homestead status
- Check beneficiary designations
- Organize important documents
- Review how your assets are owned and titled
- Plan for probate and the Massachusetts estate tax
- Cover digital assets, pets, and funeral wishes
- Revisit your estate plan after major life events
The goal is not simply to collect legal documents. Your documents, beneficiaries, and ownership arrangements should work together.
1. Start With a Clear Picture of What You Own
Before deciding what should happen to your estate, take stock of what you own and owe.
Your inventory of assets should include:
- Bank and investment accounts: Checking, savings, brokerage, and other investments.
- Retirement accounts: IRAs, 401(k)s, and other retirement plans.
- Life insurance policies: Include policy information and current beneficiaries.
- Real estate: Your home, rental properties, investment property, land, and other real estate.
- Personal property: Vehicles, jewelry, artwork, collections, and other valuable items.
- Business interests: LLCs, corporations, partnerships, and other ownership interests.
- Digital assets: Online accounts, cryptocurrency, domain names, and the access instructions your family will need.
- Debts and liabilities: Mortgages, loans, credit cards, and other significant obligations.
Different assets pass in different ways. A retirement account does not pass in the same way as a home, and a business interest raises questions that a bank account does not.
Keep the inventory current. You should know what you own, where it is held, and how it is currently owned.
At the Law Offices of Chanise Anderson, we start by understanding your family, assets, business interests, goals, and concerns before determining what your estate plan needs. Our approach is designed to give clients a strategy they understand, not simply a collection of documents.
2. Decide Who You Want to Protect and Provide For
Once you know what you own, decide who you want to benefit from your estate.
For many families, that means a spouse and children. A blended family, minor children, substantial assets, or a beneficiary who may need help managing an inheritance requires additional planning.
Consider:
- Who should receive my property?
- Who should receive my financial assets?
- Who should inherit if my first-choice beneficiary dies before me?
- Do my children need additional protection or management?
- Are there family circumstances that require special planning?
In Massachusetts, money left directly to a minor child can require a court-appointed conservator to manage it until the child turns 18. A trust for your children avoids that and lets you choose who manages the money and when your children receive it.
Primary and Contingent Beneficiaries
A primary beneficiary receives an asset under a beneficiary designation. A contingent beneficiary receives it if the primary beneficiary dies first.
Review both.
Retirement accounts and life insurance policies often have their own beneficiary forms. Updating your will does not change those forms, and the form controls.
3. Put the Right Legal Documents in Place
There is no single set of estate planning documents that works for every family. The right documents depend on your family, assets, and planning needs.
Last Will and Testament
A last will and testament states how certain property should be distributed after your death. It can also address your wishes for guardians for minor children.
A will controls only probate assets. A 401(k), a life insurance policy, and a house you own jointly with right of survivorship pass outside it, no matter what the will says.
In Massachusetts, a will must be in writing, signed by you, and signed by two witnesses (M.G.L. c. 190B, § 2-502). For more, see [Do You Legally Need a Lawyer to Make a Will in Massachusetts?].
Living Trust
A living trust holds and manages assets according to its terms. A revocable trust lets you keep control of your assets during your lifetime, names someone to manage them if you can’t, and passes them to your beneficiaries without probate, but only the assets you actually transfer into it.
Whether a trust makes sense depends on what you own and what you want the plan to accomplish. Explore living trusts and other trust planning options to understand how a trust may fit into your estate plan.
Durable Power of Attorney
A durable power of attorney appoints someone to manage your financial affairs and make financial decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated.
Choose someone you trust with that responsibility.
Health Care Proxy and HIPAA Authorization
Massachusetts uses a health care proxy (M.G.L. c. 201D) to name the person who makes medical decisions when you can’t. Massachusetts has no living-will statute, so a separate living will isn’t binding on its own here, though it can show your wishes. Pair the health care proxy with a HIPAA authorization so your agent and family can get your medical information.
Guardians for Minor Children
If you have minor children, decide who you would want to care for them if you were no longer able to do so. Name a guardian in your will, and name a backup.
These decisions deserve careful thought because they directly affect your family’s future.
4. Plan for the Possibility of Incapacity
Your estate plan should address what happens while you are alive, too.
If you become incapacitated, who should manage your financial affairs? Who should make health care decisions? Those choices should be addressed before someone else has to make them for you. If they aren’t, your family may have to ask the Probate and Family Court to appoint a guardian or conservator.
A financial power of attorney covers financial decisions. A health care proxy covers medical decisions and your wishes for treatment and end-of-life care.
Business owners should also ask what happens to the business if they cannot manage it. A will addresses the business after death, not who can handle important decisions during a period of incapacity.
5. Make Sure Your Assets Match Your Plan
Your estate plan is affected by more than what your documents say. How an asset is owned matters just as much.
Review:
Beneficiary Designations
Check retirement accounts, life insurance policies, and other accounts with beneficiary forms. Make sure the people listed still reflect your wishes.
Real Estate Ownership
Review how your home and other properties are titled. Rental and investment properties are often held in an LLC rather than in your own name or your trust, which changes how they fit into your estate plan.
Business and LLC Interests
If you own a business, review what happens to your ownership interest if you pass away or become incapacitated. Your operating agreement or shareholder agreement needs to be reviewed alongside your estate plan. You should also understand how limited liability for business owners fits into the way you hold and manage business assets.
Trust Ownership and Funding
If you have a trust, determine which assets should be held by it and whether those assets have been properly transferred or titled.
For example, a family may create a revocable trust but never transfer an intended property to it. The trust exists, but the property’s ownership may not match the family’s expectations. This is one of the most common mistakes in trusts people draft themselves or buy online.
Homestead Protection on Your Home
Massachusetts homestead law (M.G.L. c. 188) protects a portion of the equity in your primary residence from many creditors. Some protection applies automatically, and recording a declaration of homestead at the registry of deeds can increase it. If you place your home in a trust, that protection does not always carry over on its own, and a new declaration may need to be recorded. Homestead protection should be part of any decision to transfer your home. It’s one of the most common questions families ask about their home.
At the Law Offices of Chanise Anderson, we look beyond the documents themselves. We also help clients consider how their assets are titled and whether the plan has been properly put into place.
6. Decide Whether a Trust Serves Your Goals
A trust is not required for every family. Start with your circumstances and what you want your estate plan to accomplish.
| Will | Trust | |
| Directs distribution of assets | Yes, for probate assets only | Yes, for assets titled in the trust |
| Can name guardians | Yes | No; name guardians in your will |
| Avoids probate | No | Yes, for assets retitled into the trust |
| Can provide ongoing asset management | Only if it creates a trust that takes effect at death | Yes |
| Works if you’re incapacitated | No | Yes; your successor trustee steps in |
| Private | No; a probated will becomes a public court record | Yes |
| Starting price at our firm | $1,997 (Basic Will Package) | $2,997 and up |
A trust is worth discussing if you have minor children, substantial assets, real estate, business interests, or concerns about how an inheritance will be managed.
The better question is not simply, “Do I need a trust?” It is, “Would a trust help accomplish what I want for my family?”
Not sure which option fits your family? We can help you look at your circumstances, assets, and goals before deciding whether a will, living trust, or another planning strategy makes sense.
7. Protect Your Estate From Avoidable Problems
For Massachusetts families, three issues deserve attention: probate, estate taxes, and asset protection.
Probate
A will doesn’t avoid probate. It’s the instruction manual for probate. What actually decides how an asset passes is how it’s owned, whether it has a named beneficiary, and whether it’s held in a trust.
In Massachusetts, probate runs through the Probate and Family Court. The process depends on the estate:
- Small estates may qualify for a simplified process called voluntary administration.
- Informal probate is used when no one disputes the will and no court hearing is needed.
- Formal probate goes before a judge, usually when there is a dispute or a question the court must decide.
Probate also has deadlines, so having your plan and documents organized ahead of time makes the process easier for your family. If your family needs help navigating the process after a loved one dies, learn more about probate and estate administration.
The Massachusetts Estate Tax
Massachusetts has its own estate tax, separate from the federal one, and it applies at a much lower level than the federal tax. That means some families who would never owe federal estate tax may still owe Massachusetts estate tax.
Even when no tax is owed, an estate may still need to file a Massachusetts estate tax return. Knowing where your estate stands helps you plan ahead.
Asset Protection
Asset protection is related but separate. Estate planning covers what happens at death or incapacity. Asset protection covers risks to your property during your lifetime.
It matters most for business owners and real estate investors who are building wealth and thinking about how it will pass to their families. [Link to the asset protection / holding company page.]
8. Make Your Plan Easier for Your Family to Carry Out
Your important documents should be easy for the right people to locate when they are needed.
Keep track of:
- Where your will, trust, powers of attorney, health care proxy, and property records are stored
- Contact information for your attorney, financial advisor, insurance providers, and other professionals
- Your financial accounts, life insurance policies, retirement accounts, and significant property
- Access instructions for digital accounts, care instructions for pets, and your funeral or burial wishes
- Information your executor, trustee, or agents may need to carry out their responsibilities
You do not need to share private financial information with everyone. Make sure the people responsible for your affairs know where to find the documents and information they are authorized to access.
9. Know When Your Estate Plan Needs a Review
Your estate plan should reflect your current family and financial circumstances.
Review it after:
- Marriage or divorce
- Birth or adoption of a child
- Death of a beneficiary or family member
- Buying property
- Starting or growing a business
- Receiving an inheritance
- Selling a business
- Moving to or from Massachusetts
- Significant changes in your assets
A new child can change guardianship and inheritance decisions. A divorce can affect beneficiaries and the people you want making decisions for you. Buying property or growing a business can change what needs to be included in your plan.
If your family or finances have changed, review whether your documents and ownership arrangements still reflect your wishes.
Does Your Estate Plan Actually Work?
Signed documents are only part of the job. Your overall estate plan should make sense when you look at the documents, assets, beneficiaries, and people involved together.
Ask:
- Are my beneficiaries current?
- Do my beneficiary designations reflect my wishes?
- Does the way I own my assets support my plan?
- Are assets intended for a trust properly connected to it?
- Are my estate documents current?
- Do the people I appointed understand their responsibilities?
- Does my plan account for my home, investments, retirement accounts, and life insurance policies?
- Does it account for my business interests?
- Does it reflect my family’s current needs?
If you cannot check every box, you have identified something worth reviewing.
At the Law Offices of Chanise Anderson, we believe estate planning should give you more than legal documents. We want you to understand how your plan works, why each part matters, and how it supports your family, your assets, and your long-term goals.
Ready to Build Your Estate Plan?
We take the time to understand what you have built, what you want to protect, and what you want to leave behind. From there, we can help you determine the next steps for your estate plan. Contact our office to discuss your estate planning needs.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Estate planning law varies by state and changes over time; talk to an attorney about your situation.
Estate Planning Checklist FAQs
What Is the Difference Between a Will and a Living Trust?
A will tells the probate court who receives your probate assets and who should raise your children. A funded living trust holds your assets directly, so they pass without probate, and someone you chose can manage them if you become incapacitated.
What Happens to My Estate If I Die Without a Will?
If you die without a will, Massachusetts intestacy law determines who inherits property that passes through intestate succession. The outcome depends on your family circumstances and the assets involved. M.G.L. c. 190B, § 2-101 provides that property not effectively disposed of by will passes by intestate succession.
How Does Probate Work?
Probate is the legal process used to administer certain estates after someone dies. Whether an asset goes through probate depends on factors such as how it is owned, whether a beneficiary designation applies, and whether another planning arrangement controls its transfer. Assets with a named beneficiary, joint ownership with right of survivorship, or trust ownership skip it.
Does Massachusetts Have an Estate Tax?
Yes. Massachusetts has its own estate tax, separate from the federal one, and it applies at a much lower level than the federal tax. Some estates that owe no federal estate tax may still owe Massachusetts estate tax or need to file a Massachusetts return.
Should I Put My House in a Trust?
Putting your house in a trust is not automatically the right choice. The decision depends on how the property is owned, your family circumstances, your goals, and the rest of your estate plan. Before changing ownership, consider the legal and financial consequences and whether a trust actually addresses a planning need. In Massachusetts, also check how the transfer affects your homestead protection.
What Should Parents Include in an Estate Plan?
Parents should consider who will care for minor children, who should receive their assets, and who can make financial and health care decisions if they become incapacitated. They should also review beneficiary designations, ownership of their home and other property, and whether a trust would support their family’s needs.
What Should Business Owners Include in an Estate Plan?
Business owners should consider what happens to their ownership interests if they die or become incapacitated. Planning addresses succession, business agreements, ownership structure, beneficiaries, and how the business fits into the family’s estate plan. The right approach depends on the business structure, assets, and owner’s goals.
Can an Estate Plan Help Protect Generational Wealth?
Yes. Proper estate planning can help families organize and transfer wealth according to their wishes while addressing concerns involving probate, incapacity, taxes, and ownership. Families with businesses, real estate, or significant investments may also need estate planning to work alongside asset protection and business planning.