End-of-life checklist ensures your legacy.

• Position: Mortality

A lifetime of hard work may have rewarded you with a nice home and hefty bank accounts, but what happens to all of those assets once you are gone? Maybe you want everything to go to the kids. Perhaps a charity or a cause you champion should get a portion--and what happens if, before you die, your mental capacity diminishes and you no longer can make decisions for yourself?

Just thinking about your final wishes--or mentioning them to a close friend over coffee--is not enough. "I believe too many people don't do the proper planning to make sure that any wealth they've accumulated over the years ends up where they want it to," says Jaime Cowper, president of Unity Financial Advisors, Bingham Farms, Mich.

"Of course, that's not going to cause any problems for the deceased because they'll be gone. Those left behind, though, could end up feuding over property, paying more taxes than necessary, or just becoming stressed as they try to put together the puzzle pieces of your estate."

However, you do not have to leave your heirs guessing about your intentions. Cowper suggests an estate-management checklist to make sure everything is in order--and, if you are lacking with any item on the list, a financial professional can help steer you in the right direction.

* A will. This perhaps is the best known document for letting your final wishes be known, yet it is not as widely used as you might assume. Just 36% of American adults have a will, according to a Rocket Lawyer estate-planning survey by Harris Poll. If you do not have one, it is time to remedy that. "Ifs especially important to have a will if you have minor children because you can use the will to name a guardian for them," Cowper notes.

* Health care documents. Like it or not, as you near...