Enrichment · Life Skills

Ten documents.
Know which ones you have.

Most families have some of the papers and assume the rest. Go through the ten documents an estate plan usually includes, note where the originals are, list every account with a beneficiary form and mark the life events since the last update. The checklist shows the gaps worth taking to a lawyer.

Add a personWhat you get

People

The worked example is made up: a parent of two young children with a 2019 will, no guardian named and two accounts with no contingent beneficiary, and a grandparent with everything in place. Records save on this device only.

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What you get

Enrichment · Life SkillsFree

What you finish with
A record per adult with minor children, the last update, life events since and where the originals are; ten documents marked done, not yet or not needed; each account with a beneficiary form and its primary and contingent beneficiaries and the date checked; a count of documents done; flags for minor children with no guardian, missing contingent beneficiaries, life events since the update, a move to another state and originals nobody can find.
Who it is for
Adults and couples, new parents, adult children helping aging parents, and young adults setting up health care documents at 18.
Format
Browser checklist with a saved record per person. Prints the record to take to a lawyer, every person as a table or a blank checklist; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
Free. No account, no sign-in and nothing to install. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Life Skills space in Caveat Enrichment.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. Gather what you have and note where the originals are.
  2. Mark each of the ten documents done, not yet or not needed.
  3. List every account with a beneficiary form, and check the forms themselves.
  4. Tick the life events since the last update.
  5. Take the printed record to an estate planning lawyer to close the gaps.

Add a person

What a will does not cover

What the will controls, and what it does notThrough the willThings in your name aloneExecutor named in the willUsually through probate courtOutside the willRetirement accounts, life insurancePayable- or transfer-on-death accountsJointly owned propertyGo to whoever is on the formA will generally cannot override a beneficiary form, so check both.What the will controls, and notThrough the willThings in your name aloneExecutor named in the willUsually through probate courtOutside the willRetirement accounts, life insurancePayable- or transfer-on-death accountsJointly owned propertyGo to whoever is on the formA will cannot override a beneficiary form.
A simplified picture. How probate works, and what counts as joint property, depends on state law.

At 18, the health documents matter

Once a child turns 18, parents generally lose the automatic right to make medical decisions or see medical records for them. A health care power of attorney and a HIPAA authorization, signed by the young adult, let a parent help in an emergency. A financial power of attorney does the same for money matters.

Not legal advice

Each state sets how wills and powers of attorney must be signed and witnessed, and the rules for probate and guardianship. This checklist helps you see what you have and what to ask; a lawyer licensed in your state drafts and signs the documents with you. Many legal aid groups help people with low incomes for free.

Sources

  1. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Managing someone else’s money guides: powers of attorney and other fiduciaries (consumerfinance.gov).
  2. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. HIPAA and personal representatives, 45 CFR 164.502(g) (hhs.gov/hipaa).
  3. National Institute on Aging. Advance Care Planning: Advance Directives for Health Care (nia.nih.gov).
  4. FINRA and the Securities and Exchange Commission investor guidance on beneficiary designations and transfer-on-death accounts (finra.org; investor.gov).

The worked example is made up. This checklist is general information, not legal advice; state law governs these documents. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.