Start the New Year Organized: An Estate Organization Checklist

The start of a new year puts many of us in organizing mode. We clean out closets, set goals, and try to simplify our lives. But there’s one area that often gets overlooked—and it’s one of the most important ones: getting your estate organized.

Estate organization isn’t just about preparing for the worst. It’s about making life easier for you right now and protecting the people you care about if something unexpected happens. So much of the information needed in an emergency is not listed in your wills, trusts, and power of attorney documents. 

We get this call a lot: 

{insert family member name} passed and we don’t know where anything was.

Did they have a will? We don’t know

Where did they have bank accounts? 401ks/IRA’s?  We don’t know 

What property did they own? We know of the primary but there may be land, rentals, etc elsewhere. 

Did they have an accountant? Probably but still no idea who that was 

It doesn’t have to be this way and it shouldn’t be this way. We do our families and our executor/trustee such a disservice by not talking about our wishes, where the things live, and what we want done with them.

When your affairs are organized:

• Your loved ones don’t have to guess or scramble during a stressful time
• Your wishes are more likely to be honored
• Important assets don’t get lost or overlooked
• You gain peace of mind knowing things are handled
  

Think of this as a living checklist. You can start small, revisit it annually, and update it as life changes. Here’s a basic outline of where we would tell you to start if you were doing this today:

Estate Organization Checklist

Use the sections below to gather and document key information. You don’t need to perfect this in one sitting—progress is the goal.

Trusted People & Key Contacts 

Who are the people in your life right now who could help in an emergency? Who has important information about you and your family? Here’s who could be on that list:

• Trusted partners or advisors
• Children’s names and contact information
• Doctors’ names and contact information
• Estate attorney name and contact info
• Financial advisor name and contact info
• Pharmacy name and location
  

Financial Accounts & Assets

Where do your important financial assets live (financial organization), is there a contact at the organizations your family could call directly, who are the beneficiaries named on your accounts (where relevant) ?

• Bank accounts
• Credit cards
• Outside investments
• Stocks, bonds, or other investments (and with whom)
• Pensions and retirement accounts
• 401(k) holder
• Life insurance policies and carrier
• Health insurance carrier
• Typical bills and how they’re paid
  

Property & Insurance

What real property do you own, where does the deed or title live, who is the mortgage with and how the reoccurring expenses for the home are paid for?

• Property deed or title
• Utilities
• Home insurance policy
• Car insurance policy
• Other insurance providers
• Significant items important to your family
  

Legal Documents

Who drafted your estate planning documents, where is the original signed version stored and who are the people that will be in charge?

• Will
• Advance directives
• Living will
• Power of Attorney (medical and financial)
• Business partnerships, licenses, or agreements
  

Funeral & Personal Wishes

Don’t overthink this-we will all die one day! Give your family the gift of clarity by at least deciding if you want to be buried or cremated and where you want your remains to be

• Burial or cremation preferences
• Funeral or memorial arrangements
• What you want written in your obituary
• Arrangements for your body (burial, cremation, natural burial, donation to medical research, etc.)
• Instructions for assets not specified in your will (pets, jewelry, photos, antiques, etc.)

Digital Access & Misc

Think about what online assets you want your family to have access to (i.e. photos, docs, emails) and what other physical assets you own that could be stored outside of your home.

• Naming an inactive account manager for Google accounts or a legacy contact for Apple
• Location of safe deposit box and key
• Location of storage unit and access code
  

Identification & Vital Records

Make sure your executor or POA would know where to access these documents.

• Social Security card
• Driver’s license or voter registration
• Health insurance card
• Life insurance policy
• Marriage and divorce certificates
• Titles and deeds to property
  

Financial Housekeeping

Just good tasks to complete!

• Run a credit report to check for identity or fraud concerns
• Compile past tax returns (last 3 years)
• List outstanding debts (mortgage, student loans, etc.)
• Ensure beneficiaries are up to date on life insurance, retirement accounts, and investments
• List charitable giving intentions
  

If you’d like a downloadable version, click here. 

We’re Here to Help

Having your information in one place creates clarity, confidence, and peace of mind. If this feels overwhelming, know you don’t have to do it all at once—and you don’t have to do it alone.

At Sunny Care Services, we help people break this process into manageable steps and create systems that actually work for real life with our Estate Organization Services. 

What do you gain by working with us? 

• Gap Detection: We help identify missing information or weak links that may cause delays or complications down the road.
• Team Alignment: We can facilitate communication between your attorney, accountant, and financial advisor to ensure everyone is on the same page about future plans.
• Collaborative Conversations: We help prepare and guide sensitive conversations with loved ones, future decision-makers, and trusted contacts.

What To Expect:

1. Initial Questionnaire:  After scheduling with us, you’ll receive a brief questionnaire to help us understand what information and documents you already have in place.
2. Intake Meetings:  We’ll hold 1–2 sessions where we’ll walk through all the information we need. We address any gaps and outline tasks needed to complete your profile.
3. Data Entry & Review:  We begin entering your information into Everplans, a secure platform that organizes everything from legal documents and online accounts to medical contacts, property info, and funeral wishes.
4. Yearly Check-Ins: We will check in with you yearly to ensure the information we initially organized is still up to date and reflects your most accurate wishes.  

This checklist and all the tasks that come with it may feel daunting—and that’s okay. You don’t need to tackle it all today. Even gathering one section puts you ahead of where you were yesterday. And, we’d love to be your partner so you feel less alone. 

Contact us to see how Sunny can help you. Here’s to 2026 and more calls like this: 

 {insert family member name} passed and because they did estate organizing with you, we know where everything is. Can you help us get it done? 

Yes. 

We believe in a world where families are prepared for the future. We’re here to help you on your journey!