Prepare to Pass on Your Possessions

**Robert Brokamp** (0:03)
Prepare to pass on your possessions, because it's eventually going to happen. That's right, we're talking at state planning on this Saturday personal finance edition of the Motley Fool Hidden Gems Investing Podcast.
I'm Robert Brokamp and welcome to the next installment of our 2026 Financial Planning Challenge. A few days early, usually you publish each episode of our Year Well Planned series on the first Saturday of the month, but we figured this Saturday was close enough.
Today we're going to cover perhaps the most unpleasant aspect of financial planning, estate planning. But it's necessary because while it's nearly impossible to predict the future when it comes to most aspects of personal finance, there's one thing we can guarantee and it's that you, me, and everyone we know will one day pass away leaving assets and step behind to be divvied up. Here to join me to talk about what you should do to ensure that all your assets go to who you want as quickly and efficiently as possible is my Foolish Colleague, Certified Financial Planner, Stephanie Marini. Welcome back, Stephanie.

**Stephanie Marini** (1:02)
Thanks so much for having me. I know this may be weird to admit, but I actually really like this topic, so I'm excited to go through it.

**Robert Brokamp** (1:09)
Okay, you're weirdo. Actually, just kidding. I like talking about this topic too because estate planning is really the one aspect of finance planning that everyone needs, yet it's the one that's among the most neglected. According to the Pew Research Center, less than a third of adults have a will, which is just one aspect of estate planning.
So let's start with the fundamentals. What's your definition of estate planning and what it entails?

**Stephanie Marini** (1:33)
Estate planning to me is making sure that your wishes are clearly defined so that your assets can be transferred the way you want. So more importantly though, estate planning is a way to take the stress off of your loved ones to help make the decisions for them ahead of time.

**Robert Brokamp** (1:52)
I love that part because estate planning isn't just a collection of documents, it's really a gift to your family. A thorough estate plan is going to save them time, money, hassle, maybe having to hire a lawyer, and really potential family strife because without an estate plan, what fills the void sometimes fights, disagreements, resentments. So it's important to do all that now so that when you are gone, your family has mostly pleasant memories and not family fights.
In this episode, we're going to cover some estate planning essentials at a pretty high level and then dig deeper into creating a document that will provide a roadmap to follow if something happens to you. First, I'm going to start with the standard device that you really should see and experience the estate planning attorney in your state to actually do your plan because a lot of estate planning laws are very specific to each state. That said, I'm often a little reluctant to say that because people think, well, I can't do any estate planning until I get an attorney. But that's actually not true. You can get an awful lot done today, right after you're done listening to this episode without a lawyer's help. So Stephanie, tell us about how beneficiary designations as well as payable on death and transfer on death designations can do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to estate planning.

**Stephanie Marini** (3:06)
So I think you hit the nail on the head. Most people, I would imagine, avoid estate planning because they think it's this big thing. They have to hire a lawyer, get all of the documents, like taxes, but on steroids.
But in reality, there's a lot that an individual can handle that would help further the process along. So for most account types, 401Ks, IRAs, brokerage accounts, even down to checking and savings account, high yield account, high yield savings accounts, there is a way to designate a beneficiary directly. Usually, that happens during account opening, but it can be modified at any time. It's so that you, the account owner, can directly name the person and percentage that your account will go to upon death. So this is huge because these designations allow the account to avoid probate and go directly to the individual based on your wishes. So often, there's even a way to designate a secondary beneficiary. So as an example, for my individual brokerage account, I have my husband listed as the primary beneficiary at 100 percent, but then my two kids are listed as secondary beneficiaries at 50 percent each.
So I think it's a great place to start because it's a step that usually takes less than 15 minutes. Oftentimes, you can do it through your online portal, and it's a low lift, high reward step in a state planning process.