Do you own assets held in joint accounts, or where you have a named beneficiary? These assets will not be distributed in accordance with your Will.

If you have a taxable estate your estate plan should contain trusts or other provisions to reduce taxes.

If you are married, both spouses’ assets should be totaled in present-day value. Both Federal and New Jersey Inheritance Taxes can be reduced or even eliminated with appropriate estate tax planning. Are your total combined assets, including life insurance death benefits, greater than $2,000,000? If so, there may be New Jersey Inheritance Tax imposed at your death.Also, your Will should provide for what happens if the specific asset is sold during your lifetime. your shore vacation house), confirm that the asset/property still exists and has not been sold.

If you plan to give away a specific asset or real estate to a person in your Will (i.e.

Do you have any specific gifts or bequests you want to make? Any gift of cash or of an asset other than personal property should be stated in your Will or Trust.

Is any person receiving your estate a minor (under age 18)? If so, your estate plan should make provisions for their inheritance to be held by the minor’s Guardian or Trustee until he or she attains an appropriate age.

If you don’t have a personal property designation, you may want to create one so that specific items of personal property will go to specific people. If you have this document, you should review it and make sure that it is still an expression of your wishes.

Do you have a personal property designation? This document is a writing where you itemize who receives specific items of your personal property such as photographs, jewelry, artwork, guns, fishing equipment, etc.

You may want to contact an attorney in your new state of residence (including NJ if you have relocated to here) to advise you about what might need to be updated. Generally, estate planning documents executed in one state will be valid in another state, but your new state of residence may have specific statutes or tax laws that are not addressed in your existing estate planning documents. Have you moved since you last updated your estate planning documents? If you have moved from one state to another, especially into or out of New Jersey, there may be questions regarding the interpretation or validity of your existing estate planning documents in your new state of residence, especially as relates to estate and inheritance tax issues.Do you have a (i) Last Will and Testament, (ii) Revocable Trust, (iii) General Durable Power of Attorney, and (iv) Health Care Power of Attorney/Health Care Proxy/Living Will? Every complete estate plan must contain at least three of these documents.Gifting to Save New Jersey and Federal Estate and Death TaxesĪre you Responsible for Your Spouse’s Debts After They Die? Who Has the “Final Say” Over Your Body and Funeral Arrangements? I felt good about my choice.īelow are some questions YOU should ask yourself when reviewing your existing estate plan documents. If you are searching for a special attorney, someone who is experienced, likeable as a person and professional, call Mr.

(Note that references to a “Will” in this checklist are generally interchangeable with the term “Revocable Trust”, which can also be used as the centerpiece of an estate plan.) However, irrevocable trusts – such as a Life Insurance Trust or Asset Protection Trust as well as other estate planning documents should also be reviewed periodically to see if they are still appropriate to your life. The estate planning checklist I have created for you below focuses on the foundation of your plan, including the creation of documents such as a Last Will and Testament, Revocable Trust, General Durable Power of Attorney, and Living Will. We recommend that our clients review their estate planning documents once every five (5) years or so, especially after a major personal or financial change. Without doubt, new laws will be passed by the state and federal government as well as the IRS. As the years pass, you and your family will age, perhaps grow in number, and your assets will change. Your estate plan is all about you! It’s an investment in you and your family’s future.

Estate plan review checklist