Prepare Property Inventory before You Die
Creating an estate planning protects your loved ones. With a trust in hand, they will know how to manage your affairs if you become incapacitated or die. However, simply possessing a will or a trust and related estate planning documents is often not enough. To fully prepare, develop a detailed inventory of all of your accounts and property. Doing so is crucial for helping your loved ones manage your legal and financial affairs effectively.
Where Is Everything?
Distressed children often call estate planning attorneys. Their deceased parents wrote a will or a trust without itemizing an inventory. So the kids have no idea which accounts, insurance policies, or items of real and personal property their parent owned. If you fail to prepare an inventory and shared with your attorney, the child may struggle. They may needlessly spend hours meticulously combing through file cabinets, drawers, tax returns, mail, and online accounts to identify what the parent owned.
Inventory Property
Prevent this from happening. Even if you do not have a will or a trust in place, don’t make the mistake of waiting to prepare an inventory of your property. In fact, assembling an inventory makes an excellent first step toward creating an estate plan. This preliminary effort allows attorneys to immediately focus on the creation of a will or a trust. With inventory on hand, they can assess accounts and pieces of property.
How to Create an Inventory
Creating an inventory of your accounts and property need not be complicated. In fact, an inventory may consist of a simple word processing document or even a handwritten list. People effortlessly create spreadsheets in software programs like Microsoft Excel, Numbers, or Google Sheets. Additional online services can aid you in creating a thorough inventory of your property. Many such services enable you to automatically share the inventory at your discretion. The bottom line is that any of these methods work well. So, the important thing is to create an inventory. Below is an example:
| Property Type | Property Description | Estimated Value | Debt/Liability | Owner/Beneficiary | Account #/Serial # |
| Residence | 1234 Elm Ave. Pleasanton | $350k | $118k | Jointly titled with spouse | Property Tax Parcel ID No. 11223344 |
| Lakeside Cabin | 1 acre cabin in Kane County | $150k | No debt | Doe Family Living Trust dated 01/02/99 | Property Tax Parcel ID No. 555666777 |
| Term Life Insurance | 20-year term policy ending in 2030 | $200k Death Benefit (No cash value) | Monthly premium of $85 | John Doe/Jane Doe | Policy No. 99999 |
| Checking | Wells Fargo personal checking | $20k | N/A | John Doe | Acct. No. 55555512 |
| Savings | Lakeside Credit Union savings | $50k | N/A | Jointly titled with spouse | Acct. No. 9999999 |
| Brokerage Account | Edward Jones brokerage | $110k | N/A | John Doe/no beneficiary | Acct. No. 333333 |
| Vehicle | 2018 Honda Accord | $35k | $20k | Jane Doe | VIN No.: 12345566334J |
| Furniture | Large oval antique mirror | $10k | N/A | Jane Doe | N/A |
| 401(k) | Adobe Inc. 401(k) plan | $430k | N/A | John Doe/Jane Doe | Acct. No. 988756 |
| Stocks | IBM stock certificates | $85k | N/A | John Doe | Certificate Nos. 1234, 9932, 9935 |
| Promissory Note | Loan to brother-in-law (Charles A. Mooch) | $50k | N/A | John and Jane Doe, jointly owned | Promissory note dated 11/2/2001 (in safety deposit box at Lakeside CU) |
| Cash | Under mattress | $500 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Sample Inventory
Of course, this is just an example of what an inventory could look like. You should include any information that you think will be helpful to someone who is put in charge of collecting your property after you have passed away. You might include additional details, such as where the property is located. For example, if you keep certain items of jewelry in a safe, or a boat you own is stored in dry storage, this would be crucial information to include.
Digital Assets
In addition, though you will not share this with your attorney, consider using a software program or other service to store passwords for online accounts and even store digital copies of your important documents.
About Skvarna Law in Glendora and Upland, California
Skvarna Law Firm operates offices in Glendora and Upland, California. We provide legal services. We cover San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Orange, and Riverside Counties. This includes several cities. Upland, Ontario, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana, Colton, Rialto, Chino, Chino Hills, Glendora, Claremont, Pomona, La Verne, Montclair, San Dimas, Azusa, Covina, West Covina, Diamond Bar, Walnut, La Puente, Corona, Norco & Mira Loma. Visit SkvarnaLaw.com to learn more.
