Estate Planning

5 Key Estate Planning Items to Address

By Chris Duderstadt

October 8, 2025

5 Key Estate Planning Items to Address

Key Points – 5 Key Estate Planning Items to Address

  • Help Us Celebrate National Estate Planning Awareness Week 
  • Key Differences Between a Will and a Trust 
  • Make Sure Your Beneficiaries Are Current 
  • Who Is Going to Make Your Medical and Financial Decisions If You’re Unable to? 
  • 5-Minute Read 

National Estate Planning Awareness Week 

In addition to October being National Financial Planning Month, the third week of October is National Estate Planning Awareness Week!1 It was created in 2008 by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils and its purpose is to educate Americans about the importance of estate planning. At Modern Wealth, it’s one of our goals to help people keep estate planning top of mind year-round. Celebrate Estate Planning Awareness Week with us by reviewing why it’s important to address the following estate planning items.  

  • Last Will and Testament 
  • Revocable Living Trust 
  • Reviewing Beneficiary Designations 
  • Advance Healthcare Directive: Living Will and Medical Power of Attorney 
  • Financial Power of Attorney 

5 Key Estate Planning Items to Address 

One of the most frequently asked questions that our advisors receive is, “Do I need a will, a trust, or both?” Well, look at our list of estate planning items to address. They’re No. 1 and 2, respectively! While a will is at the top of our list, we’re going to explain why it might not be enough for your personal situation.  

1. Last Will and Testament

The first estate planning item to address is having a will. With a will, you decide who you want to distribute your tangible and intangible assets to after you die. Examples of your tangible assets can include your house, land, and personal items. Intangible assets don’t have physical form, so those can include intellectual property, brand recognition, and goodwill. 

The people or organizations that you name in your will to receive your assets are your beneficiaries. Your beneficiaries can include family members, best friends, or charities that you’re passionate about. A will also gives you the ability to select an executor to manage your estate and serve as guardians to your minor children and/or pets. 

Avoiding Probate 

One of the biggest issues with only having a will is that you won’t give you the ability to avoid probate. The process of your assets going through probate court can be very expensive and time consuming. 

That being said, it can potentially be even more costly and time consuming if you don’t have a will. The bottom line with probate, though, is that it can be avoided if your assets are placed in a revocable living trust. They’ll go directly to your beneficiaries as long as you transfer the asset’s title to the trust. Speaking of revocable living trusts, look what’s next up on our list of key estate planning items to address.   

2. Revocable Living Trust

A revocable living trust functions similar to a will in many aspects, as it distributes your assets to your beneficiaries following your death. However, there are some very distinct differences between a revocable living trust and a will. 

A revocable living trust serves as an estate planning document that gives you much more control compared to a will. If you’re concerned about how your beneficiaries will handle your assets, a revocable living trust can even allow you to have control over your assets even after you pass away. 

Once you put your assets in the trust, the trust owns the assets. Meanwhile, you still have access to those assets while you’re still living. As long as you’re mentally competent, you can make changes to your trust or revoke the trust from your beneficiaries and trustees at any time and for any reason. Here are the steps to establishing a revocable living trust. 

Steps to Establishing a Revocable Living Trust 

  • The grantor creates a written agreement (trust document) that declares a trustee to oversee their assets. 
  • The grantor names a competent adult, bank, or trust company as their trustee. Again, the grantor can also serve as a trustee while they’re living. 
  • Once the trust is written, it needs to be signed by the grantor and a notary. 
  • Put the assets into the trust (also known as funding the trust)

With revocable living trusts, you get a much deeper sense of privacy and protection than you do with a will. However, revocable living trusts do tend to be much more expensive. The decision of whether to just have a will or creating a trust is yet another example of why financial planning is full of tradeoffs.  

3. Reviewing Beneficiary Designations

Next up on our list of estate planning to address is reviewing your beneficiary designations. While the privacy and protection of a revocable living trust can be very reassuring, there are still some assets that can transfer directly to a beneficiary without going through probate. Those assets include retirement accounts and life insurance plans. Your trust may say one thing, but your IRA beneficiary designation form will trump what the trust says. 

Not realizing that is one of the more common mistakes people make when it comes to estate planning. To make sure that those assets don’t go through probate, designate a beneficiary at the places in which your non-probate assets are held. Also, there’s no need to keep your non-probate assets in a will since they won’t be going through probate.  

We can’t stress enough how important it is to make sure that your beneficiary designations are up to date. You should review your beneficiaries and update them as necessary following any major life event. We highly recommend having annual family meetings to review all your estate planning documents with your loved ones. That way everyone knows who is getting what when you or someone else in the family dies. Those family meetings are a great opportunity to review your beneficiary designations.  

4. Advanced Healthcare Directive: Living Will and Medical Power of Attorney

An advanced healthcare directive comes in at No. 4 on our list, and it usually consists of two estate planning documents in one. Your advanced healthcare directive typically includes a living will and medical power of attorney. 

If you’re incapacitated and can’t make decisions related to your health, having a medical power of attorney lets you dictate who makes those decisions for you. The person who you select is known as your healthcare agent. With a living will, you can detail various healthcare preferences regarding end-of-life situations and other medical treatments.  

5. Durable Financial Power of Attorney

Rounding out our list of key estate planning items to address is having a durable financial power of attorney. It allows you to appoint someone to make your financial decisions in the event that you’re unable to do so.  

The person who you select in your financial power of attorney is generally referred to as a financial agent. The tasks that your agent performs can range from paying your bills and making deposits to making payments to charities and collecting insurance benefits. 

Reviewing Our Estate Planning Guide and Retirement Plan Checklist 

The estate planning items that we’ve discussed may help with bringing peace of mind to you and your loved ones during some of the most difficult times. Death isn’t something people typically want to think about a lot, but it needs to be planned for. Having a current estate plan is an essential component to your overall financial plan. 

We also highlighted the importance of addressing these estate planning items within our Estate Planning Guide and Retirement Plan Checklist. Our Estate Planning Guide includes a 36-question checklist of estate planning considerations. Whether you want to leave a legacy or are expecting an inheritance, go through this guide to get a better grasp of how to build generational wealth. 

Estate Planning Guide

Our Retirement Plan Checklist consists of 30 yes-or-no questions that gauge your ability to successfully get to and through retirement. Several of them pertain to estate planning. Our Retirement Plan Checklist also has age-based timelines of key considerations throughout the retirement planning process. You can download your copy below. 

Estate Planning Items

Retirement Plan Checklist

Have Any Questions About These Key Estate Planning Items to Address? 

A big part of estate planning is simply getting all your estate planning documents organized. If you have questions about these key estate planning items to address, schedule a conversation with our team. We look forward to discussing your estate planning and comprehensive financial planning needs. 

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Resources Mentioned in This Article 

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Other Sources 

[1] https://www.naepc.org/events/awareness_campaigns 

Investment advisory services offered through Modern Wealth Management, Inc., a Registered Investment Adviser. 

The views expressed represent the opinion of Modern Wealth Management a Registered Investment Advisor. Information provided is for illustrative purposes only and does not constitute investment, tax, or legal advice. Modern Wealth Management does not accept any liability for the use of the information discussed. Consult with a qualified financial, legal, or tax professional prior to taking any action.