How Prepared Is Your Family for Your Death: A Scorecard
It’s an uncomfortable question—but a useful one:
If you died tomorrow, how prepared would your family actually be?
Not emotionally. No one can prepare for that.
Practically.
Would they know where your important documents are? Who to call? What you own? What you owe? Who should be in charge? What you wanted?
Take this quick scorecard to find out.
Give yourself 1 point for every statement you can confidently answer YES to.
The Family Preparedness Scorecard
☐ 1. Someone knows where my important legal documents are. Not “they could probably find them.” Someone actually knows where they are.
☐ 2. My family could identify my major financial accounts and assets. Bank accounts, retirement accounts, investments, real estate, insurance, business interests and other significant assets wouldn't require a scavenger hunt.
☐ 3. My beneficiary designations have been reviewed recently. Marriage, divorce, births, deaths and other life changes haven't left outdated choices sitting on old accounts.
☐ 4. I know who I would want handling my affairs after my death. And ideally, that person knows too.
☐ 5. I know who I would trust to make decisions if I were alive but unable to make them myself.
☐ 6. If I have minor children, I've thought through who I would want to raise them. Including who my backup choice would be.
☐ 7. My family knows who my important professional contacts are. Attorney, financial advisor, accountant, insurance professional or anyone else they may need to contact.
☐ 8. Someone other than me understands the basics of our household finances. Bills, insurance, mortgage, recurring expenses and other information wouldn't disappear with me.
☐ 9. I've considered the things that could create conflict in my family. The house. The family business. The vacation property. Sentimental belongings. Unequal circumstances. Complicated relationships.
☐ 10. I understand the basic estate planning options available to me. Terms like will, trust, probate, executor, trustee, beneficiary, and power of attorney don't feel like a completely different language.
What's Your Score?
8–10: You're Thinking Ahead
You’ve already addressed many of the questions families often avoid. But being organized isn't necessarily the same as understanding how an estate plan works.
If there are concepts you're still unsure about—or if your circumstances have changed—it may be worth building a clearer understanding of how the pieces fit together.
5–7: There Are Some Important Gaps
You have pieces of the puzzle, but there are still questions your family may be left answering without you. This is where estate planning can start to feel overwhelming: you know enough to realize there are decisions to make, but you may not know what comes next. Estate Planning, Explained was designed for exactly this stage.
0–4: Your Family May Be Doing a Lot of Guessing
If you couldn't confidently answer yes to most of these questions, your family could be left trying to locate information, understand your wishes and determine what happens next during an already difficult time.
That doesn't mean you need to figure everything out today.
It means it's time to start understanding it.
Scored 7 or Below? Start Here.
Estate planning can feel complicated when you don't know the vocabulary, the options or how everything connects.
Estate Planning, Explained gives you the bigger picture before you begin making the decisions. The visual, plain-English guide breaks down essential estate planning concepts through straightforward explanations, flowcharts and real-life scenarios—so you can understand your options, recognize the questions you need to answer and feel better prepared to meet with an estate planning attorney.
Your family shouldn't have to figure everything out after you're gone.
For educational purposes only. This scorecard is a general educational tool and is not a legal assessment or determination of whether an estate plan is adequate. This article and Estate Planning, Explained provide general legal information and are not legal advice or a substitute for advice from a qualified attorney. Laws and individual circumstances vary.
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