Estate Planning Questionnaire
Prepare for Your Estate Planning Consultation
Preparing for an estate planning consultation can be easier when you have your important information organized in advance. The Estate Planning Questionnaire from Hampton Roads Law Firm is designed to help you gather information about your family, beneficiaries, financial circumstances, and existing estate planning documents before meeting with an attorney.
The estate planning questionnaire is a planning tool used to gather information that may be relevant to preparing or reviewing your estate plan.
It asks about your family, the people you may want to name in your estate planning documents, your existing legal documents, and certain financial and personal circumstances that may affect your estate planning needs.
Completing the questionnaire in advance can help you organize the information you want to discuss with your estate planning attorney.
The questionnaire covers several areas of your estate and family circumstances, including:
Personal and Family Information
The questionnaire asks for basic personal information, marital status, citizenship, and information about your children, including their names and ages.
Executors, Trustees, and Guardians
You can provide information about the people you may want to consider for important roles in your estate plan, including:
- Executor of your Last Will
- Successor Trustee
- Alternate Executor or Successor Trustee
- Guardian of minor children
The questionnaire asks for contact and relationship information for these individuals.
Power of Attorney and Medical Directive Agents
The questionnaire also provides sections for identifying an agent and alternate agent for a Power of Attorney and an agent and alternate agent for a Medical Directive.
Thinking about these individuals before your consultation can help you have a more productive conversation about who you trust to make decisions on your behalf.
Beneficiaries
The questionnaire includes sections for identifying beneficiaries and children, including their contact information and relationship to you.
It also asks questions about circumstances that may affect how you want assets to be distributed, such as whether a beneficiary has special needs, whether you wish to disinherit a family member, and whether assets should be held in trust until a particular age.
Questions About Your Existing Estate Plan
The questionnaire asks whether you already have important estate planning documents or arrangements in place.
These include:
- An existing Will
- A revocable or irrevocable trust
- A General Power of Attorney
- Jointly owned real estate or financial accounts
- Retirement accounts such as a 401(k), IRA, or TSP
- A Transfer on Death Deed
- A Prenuptial or Postnuptial Agreement
It also asks about certain family, financial, and property circumstances that may be relevant when reviewing or creating an estate plan.
Questions About Your Estate and Beneficiaries
The questionnaire includes additional questions about your beneficiaries, property, and financial circumstances.
For example, it asks whether you have:
- Rental properties
- Minor children
- Adopted children or grandchildren
- Deceased children or grandchildren
- Assets held jointly with another person
- Tax-deferred retirement plans
- A prepaid funeral, burial plot, or cremation arrangement
- A Transfer on Death Deed
It also asks about the approximate value of your estate and whether you have certain financial obligations resulting from a divorce.
Ready to begin preparing for your estate planning consultation?
Download the fillable Estate Planning Questionnaire and complete the fields that apply to your situation.
Once you have completed the questionnaire, you can return it to Hampton Roads Law Firm as directed by the firm and use the information as a starting point for your estate planning consultation.
Your attorney can discuss your circumstances and explain the estate planning documents and strategies that may be appropriate for your situation.
Depending on your needs, estate planning may involve documents such as:
- Last Will and Testament
- Trusts
- Power of Attorney
- Advance Medical Directive
- Guardianship provisions
- Beneficiary designations and other planning considerations
Hampton Roads Law Firm provides estate planning services to individuals and families throughout Hampton Roads, including Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk, Hampton, Newport News, and surrounding communities.
An estate planning questionnaire is a starting point—not a substitute for individualized legal advice. If you have questions about your estate, family, beneficiaries, or existing documents, an estate planning attorney can review your circumstances and explain your options.
Download the questionnaire and contact Hampton Roads Law Firm to schedule your estate planning consultation.
Ready to begin preparing for your estate planning consultation?
Download the fillable Estate Planning Questionnaire and complete the fields that apply to your situation.