Proving My Innocence

Few tasks require as much forethought as determining what you wish others to do with your estate. A will and estate planning lawyer can help you with a lot of the job, but there are a few things you'll still need to handle. Particularly, an estate planning attorney will need you to bring the following three items to your first meeting.

List of Assets

When someone sits down with a will and estate planning attorney, their goal is often to deal with the disposition of their assets after they pass. It's a good idea to itemize all of the sizeable assets you own. Likewise, you should try to obtain copies of titles for things like houses and cars. If you have alternative investments, such as artworks or collectibles, it's also a good idea to track down paperwork that documents provenance and valuations.

You should photograph all of the items, too. Make notes about which assets they are. If possible, try to catalog the assets using a number system so your will and estate planning lawyer can match images to list entries.

Outstanding Taxes and Debts

At the opposite end of the same problem, you'll also want to have a detailed accounting of any liabilities you have. The law requires estates to deal with liabilities like debts and taxes before assets can be passed along. Otherwise, creditors and tax agencies will have recourse within the probate courts to get what they're owed. This includes the right to claw back assets from beneficiaries or to demand good compensation to settle the liabilities.

It's also good form to include some money to settle taxes on any assets you're bequeathing. You can refer to the valuations mentioned in the previous section to do some calculations. It's best to overly fund the tax liabilities. An executor can still distribute any money that's leftover when those are settled.

Names and Contact Information

You're going to need to name beneficiaries and an executor. It's also a good idea to name at least one successor to the executor role in case the person you choose isn't available at the time. You may want to get names and contact information for people who know each of the beneficiaries and the executor, too. This will make it easier to track down folks who might fall out of contact in the future. You'll also want to meet with an estate planning attorney every few years to do updates.