Schedule of Assets Lawyer in Virginia

To protect yourself and your family, you need a comprehensive estate plan that covers all of your assets, liabilities, and future needs and goals. It is important to look at all types of property and how you want it to be handled in the short term and long term.

Before you can develop a plan with your estate planning attorney, you need a complete understanding of your financial situation, including the overall picture and the closeup view of individual details. A properly prepared schedule of assets will provide that understanding. The team at Jennifer Porter Law, PLLC, can help you develop a complete schedule of assets that will provide a solid base to build a plan to meet your needs and the future needs of your family.

What is a Schedule of Assets?

Many people think of a schedule of assets as an inventory. The schedule is a document that lists all your assets, or property with value.

In some instances, it is important to include and describe specific items while in other cases, the schedule can list a general category with an estimated value for all the property in that category. For instance, a valuable piece of heirloom jewelry might be described with enough detail so that it could be identified specifically, while other jewelry might be listed by category such as “gold necklaces” or even simply “jewelry.” Your legal team can help you assess how much detail to provide for various types of property.

What to Include on a Schedule of Assets

The schedule you prepare should list all assets held in your name or assets in which you hold a legal interest. This could include:

• Real estate
• Investment accounts
• Bank accounts
• Vehicles
• Digital assets
• Life insurance with a cash value
• Tax refunds owed
• Cash on hand
• Artwork and antiques
• Jewelry
• Other personal property

It is helpful to include at least an estimated value for each item or category. This not only helps with planning purposes, but could also help when your personal representative or trustee needs to wind up your final affairs. If you include information such as where to find an asset or account numbers and passwords used to access assets digitally, it will be of even greater use to those who are trying to help you during your lifetime and those working to ensure that your loved ones are protected after you pass away.

Using a Schedule of Assets

A schedule of assets is helpful when starting to prepare or update your estate plan because it lets your estate planning attorney know some of the issues to be addressed in your plan, such as whether you are likely to need a strategy to minimize estate tax or whether you may need to retitle real estate or review beneficiary clauses.

In addition, a schedule of assets will be used with a revocable living trust to clarify property you hold and how you want it to be distributed. A schedule of assets can also simplify the probate process after your death. If you become incapacitated, a schedule of assets can help your agent or trustee manage your property on your behalf.

Jennfer Porter Law, PLLC Can You Create the Right Schedule of Assets for Your Needs

Preparing a schedule of assets takes time and effort, so you want to do it correctly. Our team is ready to help whether you live in DC, Virginia, or Maryland. We can work with you to create a schedule of assets that will serve your needs, and assist with updates as needed to meet changing circumstances. Just schedule a consultation to get started.