Estate planning checklist

An estate plan is easier to finish when the work is organized into a checklist instead of treated like one long drafting task. The checklist below is meant to keep families focused on the practical sequence: identify the plan, name the right people, organize the documents, complete funding steps, and get final review before signing or relying on the packet.

Last reviewed: March 9, 2026

Reviewed against: trust, probate, and fiduciary references listed on the sources page.

Publisher: Larry Trustee AI Editorial Team | hello@larrytrustee.ai

Core estate planning checklist

List the people who matter to the plan, including beneficiaries, guardians, trustees, and executors.
Choose whether the plan is will-based, trust-centered, or a coordinated trust-plus-will plan.
Gather the core account, real estate, business, insurance, and personal-property records.
Review beneficiary designations and how they interact with the trust or will.
Identify whether a revocable trust, irrevocable trust, or specialized trust type is being considered.
Prepare the packet documents, including trust forms, certification summaries, and will-support materials where needed.
Review trust funding and assignment steps rather than assuming drafting alone finishes the plan.
Store originals and copies in a place the right fiduciaries can locate.
Get attorney review before signatures, filing, recording, or relying on the final packet.

Why the checklist matters

Many estate-planning mistakes are not about the main trust or will language. They come from missing a beneficiary update, forgetting a successor trustee, skipping a funding step, or failing to keep the packet and supporting records together. A checklist reduces those operational errors.

Checklist items people often skip

Checking whether trust assets were actually transferred into the trust.
Confirming the successor trustee understands the role and has the right documents.
Reviewing whether a pour-over will or other backup document is still needed.
Making sure the printed packet is not treated as final before legal review.

How the Larry Trustee AI workflow maps to the checklist

The AI interview is meant to collect the checklist inputs in a structured order. The paid packet then organizes the trust forms, will-related materials, trustee records, and execution checklist. Print remains locked until the required packet items are completed, but completion still does not replace final legal review.

Questions people ask about estate planning checklists

What should be on an estate planning checklist?

A practical checklist often includes trust or will decisions, beneficiary review, trustee and executor choices, asset lists, funding steps, storage of records, and attorney review before signatures.

Is signing the packet the final step?

Usually no. Funding, beneficiary coordination, storage of originals, and follow-up review are often still needed after drafting and signing.

Why does the checklist include attorney review?

Because trust, probate, execution, witness, notary, and transfer rules vary by state and asset type, so the final packet should be reviewed before use.