Thanks to a permanent, historically high federal estate tax exemption, most families will never owe a dollar of federal estate tax. It’s tempting to read that as a green light to skip estate planning altogether. Don’t.
The core items on any solid estate planning checklist have almost nothing to do with the tax code. They’re about making sure your money, your medical care, and your kids end up in the right hands if something happens to you — regardless of what your estate is worth. Here are five tasks worth handling now, not “someday.”
1. Update Your Beneficiary Designations
If you’ve ever filled out a form for a 401(k), IRA, or life insurance policy, you’ve already made estate-planning decisions — whether you meant to or not. Beneficiary designations override your will. That means if you named your college roommate on a retirement account in 2009 and got married in 2015, your spouse could be legally entitled to nothing from that account unless you’ve updated the paperwork.
Review beneficiary designations after every major life event: marriage, divorce, a new child or grandchild, or the death of a named beneficiary. If you’re working with an attorney on a will or trust, ask them to cross-check your designations against those documents — mismatches between the two are one of the most common estate planning tasks people forget.
2. Designate Legal Guardians for Minor Children
If you have children under 18, naming a guardian is arguably the single most important item on your estate planning checklist — and it costs nothing to think through. Without a named guardian, a court decides who raises your kids if you can’t, based on limited information and without your input.
Focus the conversation on practical fit: Does this person share your values? Do they have the bandwidth and stability to take on your children? It’s fine to name a financial guardian separately from a day-to-day caregiver if that split makes sense for your family. Whatever you decide, talk to the person first and confirm they’re willing to take on the role.
3. Put a Will and Health Care Directive in Place
A last will and testament dictates who inherits your assets and who becomes guardian of your children. A health care directive (sometimes called a living will or advance directive) tells your doctors and family how you want to be treated if you’re incapacitated and can’t speak for yourself — including your wishes around life support.
These are two different documents doing two different jobs, and most states have their own specific forms. An estate planning attorney can make sure both are properly executed and witnessed under your state’s rules, which vary more than people expect.
4. Draft Your Powers of Attorney
Estate planning isn’t only about what happens after you die — a solid plan also covers what happens if you’re alive but unable to manage your own affairs. You’ll typically need two documents: a health care power of attorney, naming who can make medical decisions on your behalf, and a durable financial power of attorney, naming who can manage your money, pay bills, and handle financial matters.
Choose your health care agent based on proximity and shared understanding of your wishes. Choose your financial agent based on organizational skill and trustworthiness with money — they don’t have to be the same person.
5. Name an Executor
Your executor gathers your assets, pays off debts and taxes, and distributes what’s left according to your will. It’s a job that requires organization, follow-through, and the ability to handle paperwork under emotional circumstances — not necessarily your oldest child or closest relative by default.
For larger or more complicated estates, a professional executor (such as a bank trust officer or estate attorney) can be worth the fee. Whoever you choose, tell them in advance, and make sure they know where to find your will and a master list of your accounts.
None of these five tasks depend on how much your estate is worth. They’re the foundation every estate plan is built on, and each one is worth revisiting every few years — or after any major life change.
PMV Consulting, LLC 
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