Before You Meet With an Attorney
Estate planning meetings tend to go better when the client comes prepared. Attorneys charge for their time, and a significant portion of a first meeting is often spent gathering information that the client could have brought along. Coming prepared with the right documents and decisions means the conversation can focus on strategy rather than data collection.
This is a practical checklist. It covers what most attorneys will ask for, what people frequently forget, and one category that no checklist ever seems to include but that matters just as much as the rest.
Documents to Bring
Personal identification:
- Government-issued photo ID for yourself (and your spouse, if applicable)
- Social Security numbers for you, your spouse, and any minor children
Financial account information:
- Bank account numbers and the names of institutions where accounts are held
- Investment and retirement account numbers (401k, IRA, brokerage accounts)
- Life insurance policies: the insurer's name, policy number, current death benefit, and named beneficiaries
- Annuity contracts
- Any pension statements
Property:
- Real estate deeds for any property you own
- Vehicle titles
- Mortgage statements (to understand what is owned versus owed)
- Any property owned jointly with another person, including how title is currently held
Business interests:
- If you own or co-own a business: operating agreements, partnership agreements, shareholder agreements
- Buy-sell agreements, if any exist
Existing estate documents:
- Any prior will or trust documents
- Powers of attorney (financial and healthcare) that are currently in effect
- Advance healthcare directive or living will
Decisions to Think Through in Advance
Attorneys can help you think through these, but arriving with preliminary thoughts saves time and leads to a better plan.
Who should make decisions if you cannot?
Identify people you would trust to handle financial decisions (power of attorney), healthcare decisions (healthcare proxy), and the care of minor children (guardian). These can be the same person or different people. Think through whether your first choice is actually willing and able to take on that responsibility.
What do you want to happen to your estate?
Think through who should receive what, and in what proportions. If you have children from a prior relationship, or if you want to treat children unequally for any reason, note that. If you want to leave something to a charity, identify the organization.
Who should administer the estate?
An executor (for a will) or trustee (for a trust) is the person responsible for carrying out your wishes after you die. This is a significant responsibility. Think about who you would trust with it and whether they are likely to survive you.
What are your healthcare wishes?
If you become unable to make medical decisions, what would you want? Think through your position on life-sustaining treatment, organ donation, and any specific medical conditions that are relevant to your family history.
What Most People Forget to Bring
Digital account information:
Online bank accounts, email, social media, and subscription services are not handled automatically under most estate plans. Bring a list of the services that matter (you don't need to bring passwords, just the names) so your attorney can help you address them. Many people have significant assets in digital accounts that are difficult for families to access without proper documentation.
Names and contact information for all beneficiaries:
Your attorney will need full legal names, addresses, and relationships for anyone named in your documents. People often forget a middle name or don't know a beneficiary's current address.
A list of debts:
Mortgages, car loans, student loans, and credit card debt affect what is actually transferred. Knowing what you owe is as important as knowing what you own.
The Category No Checklist Includes
Estate planning documents tell your family what you had and what you want done with it. They do not tell your family who you were.
The practical documents, the will, the trust, the beneficiary designations, they handle the legal and financial questions. But they say nothing about your life story, your values, your memories, or the things you want the people you love to know about you.
A separate project, done before or after your estate planning meeting, is worth considering: writing your own life story in your own words while you can.
Afterword is a service designed for exactly this. It guides you through 9 sections covering your childhood, the life you built, the relationships that mattered, what you believe, your proudest moments, a letter to your family, and how you want to be remembered. The result is a hosted page with a physical QR plaque that can be placed on a headstone, urn, or garden stone, so anyone who wants to know your story can find it.
It takes most people a single afternoon. It is a one-time purchase at $149.99, with no subscription or renewals.
The estate planning documents will protect what you built. But the story of how you built it, and who you were along the way, is worth preserving separately.
This article is for general informational purposes. It is not legal advice. Consult a licensed attorney for guidance on your specific situation.
Afterword is a hosted memorial page and QR plaque service. One-time purchase at $149.99 (founding author price, available through March 2027). No subscription or renewals. Learn more.
Your story deserves to be told in your own words.
Afterword gives you the space to write it, guided questions, permanent hosting, and a memory marker shipped to your door.
Get started →