Should You Leave Written Instructions Alongside Your Estate Plan?

An Estate planning attorney can help you create legal documents that address important decisions about your property, finances, health care, and family. Still, even a carefully prepared estate plan may not contain every practical detail your loved ones could need.

Written instructions can fill some of those gaps. A separate letter or set of notes may tell family members where important records are kept, who to contact, how you would like certain personal matters handled, and where they can find information about your household or digital accounts.

These instructions serve a practical purpose. They generally should not be used to change legal decisions contained in a Will, Trust, Power of Attorney, Advance Directive, or beneficiary designation.

For Vermont families, written instructions can provide useful context while formal estate planning documents handle legal authority and important decisions.

How an Estate Planning Attorney Can Help With Written Instructions

A written instruction letter is different from a legal estate planning document.

For example, Vermont law has specific requirements for creating a valid will. A will must be in writing and must meet signing and witness requirements. The Vermont General Assembly explains the requirements for executing a will.

Personal notes used only for practical guidance generally do not need to follow the execution requirements that apply to a Vermont will. Their purpose is often to give family members information that would be useful during an illness, emergency, or after a death.

Written instructions may identify:

• Where important documents are stored
• Contact information for financial professionals
• Information about household accounts and recurring expenses
• Practical information about pet care
• Locations of important personal property
• Details about digital accounts and electronic records

The instructions can also explain the personal meaning behind certain possessions. You might want your children to know why a piece of jewelry matters to the family or why you hope certain photographs, letters, or keepsakes remain together.

An estate planning attorney can help you determine whether a particular instruction belongs in an informal letter or should be addressed in a formal estate planning document.

Vermont residents who want to learn more about their legal planning options can review the firm’s estate planning services.

What Should You Include in Written Instructions?

There is no single format that works for every family. Your instructions should reflect the information that someone may reasonably need if you are unavailable to provide it yourself.

It can help to begin with practical information that is difficult for other family members to locate.

Consider including details about:

• Important financial and insurance records
• Contact information for accountants, financial professionals, and other advisers
• The location of deeds, titles, and other important documents
• Household services that may need attention
• Storage locations for sentimental property
• Instructions for pet care
• The location of digital account information

Digital information deserves careful thought. Many people receive bills electronically, store photographs online, manage investments through online accounts, and keep important records on computers or cloud services.

A written inventory can help trusted family members understand what exists and where to look. For security reasons, you may prefer to keep passwords and other sensitive credentials in a secure location rather than placing them directly in a general instruction letter.

You can also use written instructions to share personal information that would not normally appear in legal documents.

For example, your notes could explain:

• Family traditions you hope will continue
• The history of sentimental possessions
• Your preferences for caring for pets
• People your family may need to contact
• Where personal letters or family records are stored

This type of information can give loved ones useful direction without trying to change the legal terms of your estate plan.

Know What Belongs in Formal Estate Planning Documents

Some wishes are too important to leave only in an informal letter.

Health care decisions are one example. Vermont residents can use an Advance Directive to document certain health care wishes and identify a person who may make medical decisions if they cannot make those decisions themselves.

The Vermont Department of Health provides information about creating and updating an advance directive. The state explains that Advance Directives can document future medical wishes and that Vermont has requirements for signing these documents.

Other matters may also need to be addressed through formal legal documents rather than personal notes.

Consider speaking with an attorney before relying on informal instructions for:

• Changing who receives property
• Changing the person who manages a trust
• Giving someone legal authority to manage finances
• Naming someone to make health care decisions
• Providing financial protection for minor children
• Planning for a loved one with special needs
• Changing instructions about trust assets

Keeping important legal decisions in the correct documents can reduce the chance that your written notes conflict with your estate plan.

Your instructions should also be reviewed from time to time. Information that was accurate several years ago may no longer be current or useful to your family.

A review may be appropriate after you move, change financial institutions, open or close accounts, update insurance coverage, add digital services, or make different arrangements for pets or personal property.

Ask yourself whether the names, contact information, document locations, and other details in your instructions are still correct. It can also help to make sure a trusted person knows that the instructions exist and knows where they can be found.

Written instructions can be a useful companion to an estate plan because they give loved ones practical information that formal legal documents may not provide. The goal is to keep personal guidance separate from decisions that require legally effective documents.

For families in Essex Junction, Burlington, Chittenden County, and other Vermont communities, an estate planning attorney can help determine which wishes belong in formal documents and which details may be appropriate for a separate instruction letter.

Speak With a Vermont Estate Planning Attorney

Planning for your family, your future, or long term care can feel easier with the right legal guidance. Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC helps individuals and families in Essex Junction, Burlington, Chittenden County, and across Vermont understand their options and take practical next steps.

To learn more,contact Unsworth LaPlante, PLLC to schedule a consultation.