Estate Planning Checklist: What to Prepare Before Meeting an Attorney

Estate planning attorneys bill by the hour — often $300–$500 per hour. Every minute you spend reconstructing your financial picture in their office is time you are paying for. The families who get the most out of estate planning engagements are the ones who arrive knowing what they have, what they want, and what questions to ask.

This checklist covers everything you should have ready before you sit down with an attorney.

What documents should you bring to an estate planning attorney?

If any of these documents already exist, bring originals or copies:

• Existing will or trust — even if it is outdated
• Durable power of attorney — financial and/or legal authority
• Healthcare power of attorney — who makes medical decisions for you
• Advance healthcare directive (living will) — your treatment preferences
• Beneficiary designation forms — life insurance policies, retirement accounts
• Marriage certificate or divorce decree — if relevant
• Prior attorney correspondence — if you have worked with an estate attorney before

If none of these exist, that is fine — and important information in itself. The attorney needs to know what planning has and has not been done.

What financial information should you have ready?

You do not need precise balances — approximate values are sufficient for a first meeting. What matters is covering all categories:

• Real estate: addresses and estimated values of any property you own
• Retirement accounts: 401(k), IRA, Roth IRA — institutions and approximate balances
• Bank and investment accounts: checking, savings, brokerage
• Life insurance: policy type, death benefit amount, owner, and current beneficiary
• Business interests: ownership percentage, type of entity (LLC, S-corp), any buy-sell agreements
• Other assets: vehicles, valuable personal property, cryptocurrency, inheritance expected
• Debts: mortgage balance, any significant liabilities

The total picture determines which tools (will vs. trust, etc.) are appropriate for your situation and whether estate tax planning is relevant.

What family information does your attorney need to know?

• Your marital status and your spouse's full legal name
• Names and ages of all children, including stepchildren
• Whether any children or dependents have special needs
• Whether this is a first marriage or a blended family
• Whether you have aging parents who may need care or financial support
• The full legal names of anyone you want to name as a beneficiary
• Who you are considering for executor, trustee, and power of attorney roles

What goals and wishes should you be able to articulate?

The attorney needs to understand what you are trying to accomplish — not just what you own. Think through:

• Who should inherit your assets, and in what proportions?
• Are there people you specifically want to exclude?
• If you have minor children: who should raise them if both parents are gone?
• Do you want assets held in trust for children until a certain age?
• Are there charitable giving goals you want built into the plan?
• How do you feel about life-sustaining treatment if you are incapacitated?
• Who do you trust most to make financial and medical decisions for you?

You do not need final answers to all of these before the meeting. But having thought through them moves the conversation from education to planning.

Questions to ask your estate planning attorney

A prepared client asks better questions. Consider asking:

• Given my situation, do I need a will, a trust, or both?
• What would happen to my estate right now if I died today?
• Is my estate large enough to have estate tax exposure?
• Are my beneficiary designations aligned with my overall plan?
• What documents should I have in place before this process is complete?
• How will my plan hold up if I become incapacitated before I die?
• What should I update and how often?

How do you know if you are ready for this meeting?

The honest answer is that most people are not as ready as they think. They know they own a house and have a retirement account — but they do not know whether beneficiary designations are current, whether their existing documents are still valid in their state, or what their current plan actually says.

A readiness assessment is designed to close that gap before the attorney meeting — so you walk in knowing exactly where you stand across all seven areas of estate planning, not just the ones you have thought about recently.