Companion to Your Questionnaire

Estate Planning Document Checklist

Turk Law Group, PLLC · 303 Evernia Street, Third Floor, West Palm Beach, Florida 33401 · (561) 556-5002

How to use this checklist. Please gather everything that applies to you and send it with your completed questionnaire, through the secure client portal or by email. We start drafting once both are complete.

Send complete documents: every page, amendment, schedule and signature page. A summary or outline is not enough.
Send the most recent version of statements and beneficiary forms.
If something does not apply, mark it “N/A.” If you cannot find something, tell us and we will help you request it.
Do not email Social Security or full account numbers; use the portal or call us.

1. Identity and family records

	Document	Why we need it
	Driver’s license or passport (each spouse)	Confirms exact legal names for every document
	Marriage certificate	Confirms marital status and names
	Prenuptial or postnuptial agreement	May limit what each spouse can leave or inherit
	Divorce decrees from prior marriages	May require life insurance or other obligations to an ex-spouse or children
	Adoption or name-change records, if any	Confirms who counts as a child under your documents
	Contact sheet for every beneficiary and fiduciary (full legal name, relationship, address, phone, email)	Needed to name them correctly and to confirm out-of-state fiduciaries can serve

2. Real estate (each property)

	Document	Why we need it
	Recorded deed showing current ownership (vesting deed)	Legal description, parcel ID and the exact names on title, needed to deed the property to your trust
	Most recent mortgage statement	Lender and balance; affects documentary stamp tax on the new deed
	Property tax bill	Confirms parcel ID and homestead exemption
	Homeowners insurance declarations page	So the trust can be added as an insured
	Condo or HOA documents, if any	Some associations restrict transfers to trusts
	Deeds for property in other states	Out-of-state property may need its own deed to avoid probate there

3. Financial and retirement accounts, insurance

	Document	Why we need it
	Latest statement for each bank, brokerage and investment account	Shows ownership and how to retitle it to your trust
	Current beneficiary or POD/TOD designations on each account	These pass outside your will and trust and must match your plan
	Latest statement for each IRA, 401(k), 403(b) or other retirement account	Value and plan administrator
	Current beneficiary designation form for each retirement account	Retirement accounts pass by beneficiary form, not by your will
	Pension benefit letter showing the survivor option and beneficiary	Shows what a surviving spouse will receive
	Life insurance policies and current beneficiary designations	Coordinated with the trust
	Annuity contracts and beneficiary designations	Coordinated with the trust
	Long-term care insurance policy	Relevant to care planning
	Vehicle titles	Shows ownership; Florida allows some transfers without probate
	Business documents (operating agreement, bylaws, buy-sell agreement)	May restrict transfers or require succession planning
	Most recent income tax return (first two pages)	Confirms income and accounts we may have missed
	List of gifts over $500 to any one person in the last five years (date, recipient, amount)	Needed for tax and long-term care planning

4. Existing estate documents and trusts you benefit from

	Document	Why we need it
	Your current will(s) and any codicils	Shows what changes and what must be revoked
	Your current revocable trust and all amendments	Same
	Current powers of attorney, health care surrogate designations and living wills	Same
	Complete trust agreement for any trust you are a beneficiary or trustee of (for example, a parent’s trust), with every amendment, restatement and schedule	Shows exactly what you will inherit and when; affects how your own plan is built
	Certification of trust and any deeds into that trust	Shows what property the trust holds
	Will of anyone you expect to inherit from, if available	Same

5. Beneficiaries with special circumstances

	Document	Why we need it
	Benefit award letters (SSI, SSDI, Medicaid, SNAP, housing) for any beneficiary who receives them	Their share must be held in a supplemental needs trust to protect those benefits
	Guardianship orders or existing special needs trusts for any beneficiary	Avoids duplicating or conflicting with existing arrangements
	Names of anyone you intend to leave out	So the exclusion can be stated clearly

6. Final disposition and personal property

	Document	Why we need it
	Prepaid funeral or burial contract, cemetery deed	Coordinated with your final disposition instructions
	Written instructions for burial, cremation or ashes (each spouse)	Goes into your Declaration of Final Disposition
	Signed and dated list of specific personal items and who should receive them	Florida law gives effect to a signed list of personal property

7. For firm use: ready-to-draft sign-off

Do not begin drafting until every box is checked.

	Item
	Engagement agreement signed by both spouses; scope matches the plan the clients want
	Intake form completed and signed by both spouses
	Legal names verified against ID; names on title noted
	Every family member listed with relationship to each spouse; intentional exclusions noted
	Beneficiary shares total 100%, with lapse instructions for each
	First, second and third fiduciary choices for both spouses; out-of-state personal representatives checked for eligibility
	Beneficiaries on public benefits identified; supplemental needs trust trustee named
	Vesting deed, mortgage balance and parcel ID in hand for each property
	Full trust agreements received for any expected inheritance; separate engagement opened if another person’s documents must change
	Clients’ position on Medicaid and long-term care planning confirmed in writing
	Health care, organ donation and final disposition choices recorded for both spouses

Reviewed by ____________ · Date ____________ · Attorney approval ____________