Kevin Kroskey's Money & Mind

The most common way to transfer assets to your heirs is also the messiest: to have a will that is so out of date that it doesn’t relate to your property or estate, to have your records scattered all over the place, to have social media, banking and email accounts whose passwords only you can find—and basically to leave a big mess for others to clean up.   Is there a better way?   Recently, a group of estate planning experts were asked for their advice on a better process to handle the transfer of assets at your death, and to articulate common mistakes.   The list of mistakes included the following:   Not regularly reviewing documents.   What might have been a solid plan 15 or 20 years ago may not relate to your estate today.   The experts recommended a full review every three to five years, to ensure that trustees, executors, guardians, beneficiaries and healthcare agents are all up-to-date.   You might also consider creating a master document which lists all your social m