MY CAESTATE PLAN

Before You Start: Preparation Checklist

Our intake takes most people 30–60 minutes. For your privacy there are no accounts — and if you need a break, you can save a draft on your device for up to 15 days (it never leaves your computer). Gather the items below and you'll finish in one comfortable sitting.

Print this checklist and check items off as you collect them.

Use exact legal names — the #1 way to avoid mistakes. For every person you name, write their name exactly as it appears on their California driver's license or government ID — no nicknames, no abbreviations, no missing middle names. Your documents are generated exactly as typed and cannot be edited by hand, so a name that doesn't match an ID can cause problems at the bank, the notary, or the County Recorder.

1. People — exact legal details

☐ Your full legal name exactly as it appears on your ID and your property deed
☐ Your spouse's full legal name and date of birth (if married)
☐ Each child's full legal name and date of birth — including adult children
☐ Full legal names of any other beneficiaries (people or charities)
☐ Your home address, phone, and email

2. Your decision-makers (and a backup for each)

Have a first choice and a backup, with each person's full name. City and phone help but aren't required.

☐ Successor trustee — manages your trust if you can't, and after death (often an adult child or sibling)
☐ Executor — carries out your will (often the same person)
☐ Financial agent — handles money matters under your power of attorney if you're incapacitated
☐ Health care agent — makes medical decisions if you can't speak for yourself (plus two alternates if possible)
☐ Guardian for minor children — plus a backup (only if you have children under 18)

Tip: you don't need anyone's permission to name them, but a quick conversation now avoids surprises later.

3. Your home and other property

☐ Property address of your home
☐ Assessor's Parcel Number (APN) — printed on your property tax bill, or look it up free on your county assessor's website
☐ Legal description — copy it word-for-word from your current recorded deed (the document you received when you bought the home). Can't find it? You can order a copy from the County Recorder, or leave it blank and add it before notarizing
☐ How title is currently held (e.g., joint tenants, community property) — shown on that same deed
☐ Bank names and last 4 digits of each account you'll list on your asset schedule
☐ Brokerage/investment account institutions
☐ Retirement accounts and life insurance — company names only (these transfer by beneficiary form, not by the trust)
☐ Business interests, if any (name and type)

4. Who gets what

☐ Your beneficiaries and each one's percentage (must total 100%)
☐ The age at which a young beneficiary should receive their share outright (25 is common)
☐ What happens if a beneficiary passes before you (to their children, or to the surviving beneficiaries)
☐ A backup beneficiary if no one named survives (a relative or charity)
☐ Any specific gifts (e.g., "my watch to my nephew") — optional

5. Your health care wishes

☐ End-of-life preference: prolong life, or do not prolong when recovery is not expected
☐ Organ donation: yes / no / limitations
☐ Burial or cremation preference
☐ Your primary physician's name (optional)

6. Plan your signing day

☐ A notary — banks often notarize free for customers; UPS Stores and mobile notaries work too. The trust, certification, power of attorney, and deed get notarized
☐ Two adult witnesses for your will — they can't be beneficiaries. (Witnesses can also be used instead of a notary for the health care directive)
☐ After signing: record the deed with your County Recorder with the PCOR we include — our Funding Instructions walk you through every step

7. Final check before you click "Generate"

When you finish the intake, a review screen shows everything you entered. This is your last chance to fix mistakes — print that review and proofread it line by line.

☐ Every name matches that person's driver's license or government ID, letter for letter
☐ Every date of birth and every signing date is correct
☐ Beneficiary percentages add up to exactly 100%
☐ Property address, county, and APN are spelled exactly as on your deed and tax bill
☐ You have downloaded and saved the PDF before closing the page — it is not stored anywhere for you

Remember: documents are generated exactly as you type them and cannot be edited by hand afterward. Correcting a mistake means re-entering the intake. A few extra minutes proofreading now saves a costly re-do later.

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MYCAESTATEPLAN is self-service software, not a law firm, and this checklist is general information, not legal advice. Complicated situation — a beneficiary with special needs, property in another state, a blended family needing protections? Those deserve a California attorney.