Advisor Resources
Guides and tools for your estate planning practice.
Practical references for financial advisors, written by the team building Bancroft and grounded in the same statutory research behind our attorney-reviewed document library. Every guide is free to download.
Getting Started
Estate Planning 101
A beginner's guide to estate planning. What it is, why it matters for everyone, the five documents you need, will vs. trust explained, what happens without a plan, common myths debunked, and what to expect from the process.
PDF · 11 pages
Getting Started
Estate Planning Checklist
A six-phase checklist that walks clients through the entire estate planning process, from gathering information and making key decisions through signing, funding, and long-term maintenance.
PDF · 6 pages
Getting Started
Asset Inventory Worksheet
A structured form for documenting every asset, debt, and account, with an ownership quick reference, beneficiary audit prompts, a digital assets section, and a trusted contacts page. Designed for clients to complete before their first planning meeting.
PDF · 8 pages
Advisor Practice
Estate Planning Conversation Guide
How to introduce estate planning, lead discovery conversations, handle every common objection, and turn client meetings into deeper relationships. Includes 15 discovery questions and word-for-word scripts.
PDF · 15 pages
Trust Funding
Trust Funding Guide
A reference for advisors helping clients transfer assets into a revocable living trust. Covers real estate, financial accounts, business interests, beneficiary designations, and personal property.
PDF · 9 pages
Trust Funding
The Funding Ceremony Playbook
How to run the meeting where the family meets the advisor who runs the plan. The agenda, the five-step script, the four 90-day touchpoints, the household chart template, and the email templates. Companion to the journal essay on why funding is the wealth transfer moment.
PDF · 13 pages
Estate Plan Maintenance
Beneficiary Designation Review Worksheet
A structured worksheet for documenting every account governed by a beneficiary designation. Covers retirement accounts, life insurance, annuities, and POD/TOD accounts.
PDF · 5 pages
Trust Administration
A Guide for Successor Trustees
What to do when you are called to act as trustee due to death or incapacity. Covers both scenarios with checklists, timelines, a glossary, and guidance on when to call a professional.
PDF · 9 pages
Estate Administration
A Guide for POA Agents
What to do when you are named as someone's power of attorney agent. Covers financial vs healthcare POA, durable vs springing, what agents can and cannot do, working with institutions, record-keeping, healthcare decisions, and common mistakes.
PDF · 14 pages
Estate Administration
A Guide for Executors
What to do when you are named as executor of an estate. Covers the probate process, the first 48 hours, your legal responsibilities, tax obligations, executor compensation, and how to work with professionals.
PDF · 8 pages
Specialized Planning
Incapacity Planning Guide
What happens when you cannot make decisions for yourself. Covers the three documents that protect you, how incapacity is legally determined, guardianship vs. POA, HIPAA, medical decisions your agent may face, the conversation you need to have, and long-term care planning.
PDF · 14 pages
Specialized Planning
Digital Asset Inventory Guide
A guide to identifying, documenting, and planning for the transfer of digital assets. Covers financial accounts, cryptocurrency, social media, online businesses, subscriptions, credential security, and the RUFADAA legal framework.
PDF · 8 pages
Personal Planning
Letter of Instruction Template
A personal, non-binding document to accompany your will and trust. Covers funeral wishes, document locations, key contacts, household operations, pet care, personal property distribution, and guided prompts for personal messages.
PDF · 8 pages
Estate Plan Maintenance
Annual Review & Life Event Guide
A structured framework for reviewing an estate plan every year and responding to 12 life events that require immediate attention. Includes a quick-reference table mapping each event to specific documents and items to check.
PDF · 6 pages
Print-and-Sign Forms
Personal Property Memorandum (Michigan)
A statutory print-and-sign form under MCL 700.2513 for distributing tangible personal property to specific people without rewriting your will. For clients who prefer a paper form over a digital workflow. Includes preprinted statutory recitations, an items table, optional witness and notary blocks, and clear instructions on what can and cannot be distributed.
PDF · 10 pages
Print-and-Sign Forms
Personal Property Memorandum (Florida)
A statutory print-and-sign form under F.S. 732.515 for distributing tangible personal property to specific people without rewriting your will. Florida's statute permits a fully-handwritten alternative, which the form notes. Includes preprinted statutory recitations, an items table, optional witness and notary blocks, and Florida-specific guidance (including the homestead carve-out).
PDF · 10 pages
Print-and-Sign Forms
Personal Property Memorandum (California)
A statutory print-and-sign form under California Probate Code section 6132 for distributing tangible personal property to specific people without rewriting your will. California is the one supported state with statutory value limits: no single item over $5,000 and no more than $25,000 in total, with anything above either limit passing under the will instead. Includes preprinted statutory recitations, an items table, optional witness blocks, and a dedicated section on the limits.
PDF · 10 pages
Print-and-Sign Forms
Personal Property Memorandum (Washington)
A statutory print-and-sign form under RCW 11.12.260 for distributing tangible personal property to specific people without rewriting your will. Washington sets no dollar limit and expressly reaches articles held for investment and precious metals in tangible form, while excluding mobile homes and property used primarily in a trade or business. Includes preprinted statutory recitations, an items table, optional witness blocks, and the full inclusion and exclusion list.
PDF · 10 pages