What should you bring to your first estate planning meeting in Colorado? Start with any signed documents you already have, a list of what you own and owe, and a short list of people you’d trust to help. If a deed or beneficiary form is missing, write that down. You don’t need a perfect binder to get started.

After you sign, come back to the follow-up worksheet. Use it to record what still needs to happen, who will handle it and how you’ll know it’s done.

On this page

• Gather documents and asset records
• Choose people and backups
• Review documents and account instructions
• Track follow-up after signing
• Know when to review
• Prepare for the first meeting

1. Gather documents and asset records

• Existing plans: Locate signed wills, trusts, amendments, financial powers of attorney and health care documents, if you have them.
• Property and accounts: List real estate, bank and investment accounts, retirement plans, life insurance, business interests and major debts. Bring recent deeds, ownership records or beneficiary confirmations if available.
• Digital property: List important email, cloud storage, subscriptions, online businesses and any digital assets. Note where to find a secure inventory and which providers offer a legacy or designated-contact setting. Ask how those directions fit with Colorado’s fiduciary access rules (C.R.S. §§ 15-1-1501 et seq.). Leave passwords, private keys and recovery codes out of this worksheet and ordinary email.
• Recent changes: Note a move, marriage, divorce, birth, death, property purchase or business sale and any questions it raised.

2. Choose people and backups

Start with the job, then think about the person. Talk with each person and have a backup in mind.

• Who would handle your estate after death? This is the personal representative, sometimes called the executor.
• Who would manage the trust? If your plan uses a trust, think about who could keep records and carry out its instructions as trustee.
• Who would handle bills or speak with doctors if you needed help? These are separate jobs. The person you’d trust to manage money may not be the person you’d want making a medical decision.
• Who could care for your children? If you have minor children, bring names of possible guardians and backups to discuss.

Write down who you’d like to receive property and what you’d want if that person dies before you. If a loved one has a disability, bring questions about their current benefits and special needs trust planning before deciding how to leave them assets. Note any pet care or property outside Colorado that you want the plan to address.

3. Review documents and account instructions together

• Wills and trusts: Ask what each proposed document would do and what property it covers. Our Denver wills and trusts page explains the two planning approaches.
• Financial and medical decisions: Review who could make decisions for you and what authority each person would have. Use our Colorado power of attorney guide to prepare questions.
• Ownership and beneficiaries: Ask your attorney to compare deeds, account registration and beneficiary designations with the proposed plan before you make changes.

4. Track follow-up after signing

At signing, ask: What will your office handle? What do I need to do? When should I check back? Copy this worksheet into a note for each answer. Keep account numbers and other sensitive information out of the worksheet.

• Asset or decision: ____________________
• Action to confirm: ____________________
• Who will handle it and by when: ____________________
• Proof to keep: ____________________
• Completion date or next review: ____________________

Example: checking the deed for a home

• Asset: A newly purchased home.
• Action: Ask whether the current ownership matches the plan and whether anything needs to change.
• Who and when: You’ll send the latest recorded deed to the attorney before your review. Ask who will handle any next step and agree on a check-in date.
• Proof: Keep the deed that was reviewed. If a new deed is needed, ask for a copy after it’s recorded and note where it’s stored.

Repeat this check for accounts, insurance and business interests. If a trust is part of your plan, see our asset-by-asset trust funding guide. Keep signed documents and confirmations in a secure place and tell the people you named how to find them.

5. Know when to review

Pull this out when you buy a home, move, welcome a child, get divorced, sell a business or learn that someone you named can no longer help. You don’t always need new documents. The first question is whether the ones you signed still match your life and what your banks and insurers have on file.

Bring the checklist to your first meeting

Bring the records you have, the names you’re considering and the one question you most want answered. The Legacy Law Group planning video walks through what happens next. If you’d like help sorting through the list, see our Denver estate planning services or request a consultation.