October Is Estate Planning Month: Make It Legal and Secure Your Plan
Congratulations — you’ve made it to Week 4 of your Estate Planning Month journey!
By now, you’ve drafted your will or trust, added your directives, and built your Digital Vault. The final step is turning your plan into a legally binding roadmap and ensuring everything is safely stored for the future.
This week is all about making it official — and ensuring your plan stays accessible, secure, and up to date.
How to Legalize Your Documents
Estate-planning legalization requirements vary from state to state. Don’t worry, we’ve done the research so you don’t have to and simplified the process with clear step-by-step resources.
For most documents, legalization means adding the proper signatures, witnesses, and notarization so your plan is recognized under state law.
For your Will and Trust, refer to How to Make Your Wills and Trusts Valid in Your State.
For your Power of Attorney and Healthcare Directive, see How to Make Your Power of Attorneys and Health Care Directives Valid in Your State.
Once you’ve signed and notarized where required, your documents are officially enforceable — giving your family clarity and legal protection.
For Trusts Only: Funding Your Trust
If you created a revocable living trust, the next step is to “fund” it — transferring ownership of certain assets into the trust’s name.
Funding is what makes your trust active and effective. Without it, those assets might still go through probate.
Typical steps include:
Contacting your bank or financial institutions to retitle accounts.
Updating property deeds or investment records to reflect the trust as owner.
Reviewing all accounts that should flow into the trust.
Rules vary by asset type and state, but GoodTrust makes it easy to get started with detailed resources:
Once funded, your trust will help your beneficiaries avoid probate, reduce delays, and ensure your wishes are followed exactly.
How to Safely Store Your Documents
To ensure the safety of your estate planning documents, experts recommend adopting a dual approach: digital and physical. Store your digital copies on the GoodTrust Digital Vault, or on a hard-drive, for instance. Physical copies should be stored wherever you keep your important documents. You should also consider a designated safe or safety deposit box for an added layer of protection against unforeseen events like fire or theft. This combination of digital and physical storage enhances the security and accessibility of your essential documents.
Digital Storage: Upload signed copies to your GoodTrust Digital Vault. This keeps your plan encrypted, backed up, and accessible to your Trusted Contacts when the time comes.
Physical Storage: Keep original signed copies in a secure place — a fireproof safe, filing cabinet, or safe-deposit box. Make sure at least one trusted person knows where to find them.
This combination guarantees both security and accessibility, protecting your documents from loss or damage.
Keep Your Plan Up to Date
An estate plan isn’t something you create once and forget. Review it every 3 to 5 years — or any time life changes significantly (a new home, marriage, child, or business).
Updating through GoodTrust is simple: you can edit, upload, or replace documents anytime. Set a reminder in your calendar to review your plan so it always reflects your current wishes.
Celebrate Your Progress
You’ve done something incredibly meaningful: created a plan that protects your loved ones and gives them clarity when it matters most.
Take a moment to share the news with your family, toast to your future, and feel proud of what you’ve accomplished.
👉 Start or update your plan today at GoodTrust.com.