10 Steps to Creating a Good Estate Plan

By Julie Garber, About.com Guide

Estate planning is complicated enough without trying to go it alone. You'll need the help of a qualified estate planning attorney to walk you through all of the choices that you'll need to make in creating a good estate plan that will actually work for you and your loved ones when it's needed.

Remember the old saying, "You get what you pay for?" Do-it-yourself, homemade wills are a bad idea because one wrong or missing word can change the entire meaning of a Last Will and Testament or Revocable Living Trust or invalidate the entire estate plan, and not observing the appropriate formalities when signing your estate planning documents can also invalidate them. Aside from this, the laws vary greatly from state to state with regard to the form and function of estate planning documents:

• Should You Write Your Own Will?

The only way to insure that a Last Will, Revocable Living Trust, or other legal estate planning document will work when it's needed is to find and hire a qualified estate planning attorney:

• What is an Estate Planning Attorney?
• Do You Need to Hire an Estate Planning Attorney?
• 7 Tips for Finding an Estate Planning Attorney
• 6 Questions to Ask a Prospective Estate Planning Attorney
• How Much Should Estate Planning Documents Cost?
• Are Your Estate Planning Attorney's Fees Reasonable?

Note that if you work with a team of professional advisors, such as an accountant, banker, insurance agent, and/or financial advisor, then this is the point in the estate planning process to get them involved:

• The Team Approach to Estate Planning

Once you've located and hired a qualified estate planning attorney, the next step is to create your estate plan. This consists of determining if you need a will-based or trust-based estate plan and then creating a plan for what happens in case you become mentally incapacitated as well what happens after you die.