Estate planning. Honestly, it’sprobably not something you want to think about very often. Death—and everything that comes with it—isn’t exactly a comfortable topic. But if you want to protect your loved ones and ensure your wishes are carried out, creating an estate plan is essential.
The reality is simple: if you don’tmake a plan, the state will make one for you.
What Is Estate Planning (and Why Does It Matter)?
Estate planning is the process of organizing your financial life, legal documents, and personal wishes so that everything is handled properly after your death or if you become incapacitated. A solid estate plan can:
Protect your children and name guardians
Ensure your assets go to the right people
Minimize legal complications and delays
Provide clear instructions for healthcare and finances
At Aptus, estate planning is something we bring up early in the financial planning process and revisit regularly. While we don’t provide legal advice, we do act as accountability partners to help you actually get it done.
One of our planners, Xu Xu, has seen success by helping clients set firm deadlines to meet with an estate attorney or complete their will or trust. That simple step often turns “I’ll get to it later” into real progress and real peace of mind.
How Often Should You Update Your Estate Plan?
A good rule of thumb is to review and update your estate plan every five years or sooner if you experience a major life change, such as:
Marriage or divorce
Having children
Significant changes in income or assets
Moving to a new state
Outdated documents can create confusion, delays, and unintended consequences, so keeping things current matters.
Estate Planning Checklist: 6 Steps to Get Started
If you’re not sure where to begin, here are some practical first steps:
1. Choose Guardians for Your Children
If you have children, deciding who would care for them is one of the most important parts of estate planning. This conversation can take time, and it’s best to thinkit through before meeting with an estate attorney.
2. Organize Your Important Documents
Make sure key documents are stored in one secure, accessible place. This might include:
Wills and trusts
Insurance policies
Financial account information
A physical binder, fireproof safe, or secure digital vault can help keep everything organized and easy to find.
3. Review Beneficiaries and Account Titling
This is one of the most overlooked but most impactful steps. Beneficiary designations on accounts like retirement plans and life insurance often override your will. Getting this right means you’re already most of the way there.
4. Use a Password Manager
Your digital life matters, too. Tools like LastPass or 1Password allow you to securely store and share access to important accounts with trusted individuals if something happens to you.
5. Consider Online Estate Planning Tools
If your situation is relatively simple, platforms like LegalZoom, FreeWill, or Trust & Will can help you create a basic will or trust quickly and affordably.
6. Work with an Estate Planning Attorney for Complex Needs
If you have more complex finances, own a business, or want a more customized approach, working with a local estate planning attorney, ideally one who charges a flat fee, can be well worth it.
Don’t Let Estate Planning Fall to the Bottom of Your List
Estate planning is one of those tasks that’s easy to delay and easy to ignore. But avoiding it doesn’t make it go away.
Without a plan, the state decides:
Who cares for your children
How your assets are distributed
How long the process takes
With a plan, you stay in control.
Bottom line: Estate planning isn’tjust about preparing for death—it’s about protecting the people and life you care about most. The best time to start is now.