How to Effectively Make a List of Assets for an Estate Plan

Our Mooresville attorneys at Daly Mills Estate Planning help our clients create checklists that will allow them to understand their current assets and how they will impact their futures.

Making estate planning lists that count requires outlining your assets, evaluating your debts, choosing powers of attorney, and creating a will that reflects your true wishes.

The first component — recording your assets — is important and may take quite a bit of thought to ensure the list is complete.

Here are a few tips to help get you started.

Do Not Assume Your Heirs Know About All Your Assets

Our estate planning lawyers in Mooresville remind our clients that their family members, beneficiaries, or heirs may not know about all their assets or, more importantly, how to locate them.

Just because your assets may seem obvious to you, do not assume they are to them.

Sit Down and Make a Simple List of All Your Assets

Sit down and make a simple list of your valuables, including financial assets like retirement plans, pensions, or savings accounts. You do not have to include account numbers, but the name of the financial institution and the type of account will suffice.

That may also include:

• Real estate you own, like land or other property that is in your name, or mortgages you have with certain banks.
• Vehicles you own, or the banks that hold your loans, and the name of the company that’s insuring them.
• Business ownership, partnerships, or assets being used by companies.
• Intellectual property, including patents or digitally monetized interests.
• Investment and/or retirement accounts.
• Life insurance accounts.
• Books, jewelry, furniture, art, and other sentimental assets.

This list — even if created and maintained in writing — will help your estate’s executor to be more efficient in locating and identifying assets and making the transfers to the beneficiaries.

Contact Our Skilled Mooresville Estate Planning Attorneys for Help

To learn more about how we can help you outline your assets and establish a will or trust that fits your unique needs, call us at (704) 286-8437 to schedule an initial consultation with our estate planning attorneys in Mooresville, North Carolina today.

Related Links:

• What Types Of Assets Can Be Protected?
• Why do Assets with Sentimental Value Require Additional Estate Planning?