Financial Planner

Checklist: Estate Plans

Things to do this weekend with your money

Before the new year gets any further underway, make sure your affairs are in order.

* Did you marry, divorce, have a child, sell or buy a home or experience some other major change that affected your finances in the last year? If so, your will, living trust and other estate-planning documents should be reviewed. It’s especially important for parents with young children to draw up a will that names someone to take over as guardian in the event the parents die. You can get a referral to an estate-planning attorney at www.calbar.org. Nolo.com at www.nolo.com offers information and WillMaker software.

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* Who would pay your bills or make health decisions for you should you become incapacitated? Documents known as durable powers of attorney for health and for finance allow you to designate someone you trust to help you. Otherwise your family members might be forced to go to court. An attorney can draw up these documents, or you can use software such as Nolo.com’s WillMaker.

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* Could your family find all the important papers they would need to handle your estate? Organizers such as “The Beneficiary Book” (available for $29.95 from Active Insights at www.active-insights.com) and Web sites such as Final Thoughts at www.finalthoughts.com can help you get organized.