IGORoadmap

08/14/2026

Top 25 critical things missing from your excellent estate plan.

Here is WHAT’S MISSING #6:
Same-day notification of your employer.

When we consider who needs to be quickly notified if we face an emergency where we can't communicate, it’s easy to leave our employer off that list. They may need to know to assign our replacement for the next workday. If the emergency prevents us from making this call ourselves, then we need to arrange in advance for someone to quickly learn of our status who will then notify our employer.

SOLUTION: ensure that your first emergency contact knows to make this call or knows to contact someone who will. This won’t happen by itself without specifically planning for it.

There are dozens of potential planning gaps in most estate plans, even the excellent ones. The solution is a professionally prepared sister plan. That is, a comprehensive roadmap that a) reliably triggers your legal estate plan, and b) reliably plans for non-legal, logistical needs that your estate plan is not designed to cover including quick employer notification.

To learn more, please check out this 10-minute introduction to IGO Roadmap, the unique system that carefully builds the second estate planning tool for you.
https://0mluzg4l7t8.typeform.com/to/GzTLKNjC

Tomorrow’s post:
WHAT’S MISSING – #7 – Quick access to cash accounts and recurring bill payments.

Disclaimer: this post is for educational purposes only. Consult an attorney before making legal decisions.

© 2026 IGO Roadmap LLC

08/13/2026

Top 25 critical things missing from your excellent estate plan.

Here is WHAT’S MISSING #5:
Same-day securing of household personal belongings.

Those of us in the estate planning field have learned that untitled personal property, usually located in one’s home, can disappear shortly before or after someone passes away, and sometimes both.

When this happens, it can
a) reduce the value of the estate, and
b) tear families apart when heirs or beneficiaries quietly remove personal belongings from the home, or are accused of doing so.

SOLUTION: at least five things need to be in place, in advance, for you to minimize this nightmare.
1. Use your estate plan to legally transfer ownership of your personal property, or provide non-binding direction in the form of a precatory letter and keep it with your estate plan.
2. When you select an estate settlement manager (your executor or trustee), choose someone who has the local proximity and backbone to quickly secure all valuables and other personal property before family and others gain access to your home. You may wish for the settlement manager to change the locks fairly promptly.
3. Once the house is secured, your manager should take videos of all the personal belongings, room by room. If the manager is also an heir or beneficiary, they might want to have a witness accompany them.
4. Then your manager should consider not allowing the heirs/beneficiaries to wander around the house unescorted before it’s been decided who gets what and those items are tagged. This might offend some, but it’s for their protection if something important goes missing. For large estates, professionals can be hired to oversee this distribution process and later dispose of unclaimed items that need to be sold, given away, or tossed.
5. If your estate is being settled via probate, all parties must recognize that the distribution of probate-governed property must first receive court approval. Your legal will is not the final say on asset transfer via probate. It is simply a request form for the judge.

There are dozens of potential planning gaps in most estate plans, even the excellent ones. The solution is a professionally prepared sister plan. That is, a comprehensive roadmap that a) reliably triggers your legal estate plan, and b) reliably plans for non-legal, logistical needs that your estate plan is not designed to cover including the logistics of distributing personal belongings.

To learn more, please check out this 10-minute introduction to IGO Roadmap, the unique system that carefully builds the second estate planning tool for you.
https://0mluzg4l7t8.typeform.com/to/GzTLKNjC

Tomorrow’s post:
WHAT’S MISSING – #6 – Same-day notification of your employer

Disclaimer: this post is for educational purposes only. Consult an attorney before making legal decisions.

© 2026 IGO Roadmap LLC

08/12/2026

Top 25 critical things missing from your excellent estate plan.

Here is WHAT’S MISSING #4:
Same-day securing of your IDs, keys, bank cards, and jewelry.

If an incapacitation or passing occurs while we’re away from home, it is critical that someone be assigned to retrieve our IDs, keys, and bank cards. Or quickly learn where they have been secured.

SOLUTION: ensure in advance that your first emergency contact will handle this or knows to contact someone who will. Having your on-person valuables secured won’t happen by itself without specifically planning for it.

There are dozens of potential planning gaps in most estate plans, even the excellent ones. The solution is a professionally prepared sister plan. That is, a comprehensive roadmap that a) reliably triggers your legal estate plan, and b) reliably plans for non-legal, logistical needs that your estate plan is not designed to cover including the prompt securing of personal valuables.

To learn more, please check out this 10-minute introduction to IGO Roadmap, the unique system that carefully builds the second estate planning tool for you.
https://0mluzg4l7t8.typeform.com/to/GzTLKNjC

Tomorrow’s post:
WHAT’S MISSING – #5 – Same-day securing of household personal belongings

Disclaimer: this post is for educational purposes only. Consult an attorney before making legal decisions.

© 2026 IGO Roadmap LLC

08/11/2026

Top 25 critical things missing from your excellent estate plan.

Here is WHAT’S MISSING #3:
Immediate care for your pets.

“Hey, who’s got the pets?”

Our legal estate plans won’t spell out how our precious pets will immediately be cared for in the event we are away from home and suddenly can’t communicate.

How will the first responder know that we even have pets? And how will they know to notify the person we’ve assigned to gain access to our home to provide our pets food, water, and protection?

SOLUTION: always carry on your person a laminated card indicating an emergency contact (and alternate) who will trigger urgent notifications that you would otherwise make if you could communicate. That emergency contact could be your healthcare agent who might also need to field questions about emergency care for you. This allows the first responder to make a single call to meet the most urgent needs including pet care. Be sure to keep that emergency card current.

If you don't have pets, perhaps consider someone who does, and share this post with them.

There are dozens of potential planning gaps in most estate plans, even the excellent ones. The solution is a professionally prepared sister plan. That is, a comprehensive roadmap that a) reliably triggers your legal estate plan, and b) reliably plans for non-legal, logistical needs that your estate plan is not designed to cover including immediate care for your pets.

To learn more, please check out this 10-minute introduction to IGO Roadmap, the unique system that carefully builds the second estate planning tool for you.
https://0mluzg4l7t8.typeform.com/to/GzTLKNjC

Tomorrow’s post:
WHAT’S MISSING – #4 – Same-day securing of your IDs, keys, bank cards.

Disclaimer: this post is for educational purposes only. Consult an attorney before making legal decisions.

© 2026 IGO Roadmap LLC

08/08/2026

Top 25 critical things missing from your excellent estate plan.

Here is WHAT’S MISSING #2:
Immediate notification of your healthcare agent

Imagine we have a health emergency. We can’t communicate. Yes, we have assigned legal power of attorney to someone to make critical health decisions for us. But how will the first responder know who that person is and how to reach them? Most of us are unprepared for this scenario where minutes can really count.

SOLUTION: once again, always carry on your person a laminated card indicating an emergency contact (and alternate) who is your healthcare agent who may need to field questions about emergency care for you and perhaps provide your advance directives to medical professionals. Be sure to keep this emergency card current and be sure your agent knows where your advance directives are located.

There are dozens of potential planning gaps in most estate plans, even the excellent ones. The solution is a professionally prepared sister plan. That is, a comprehensive roadmap that a) reliably triggers your legal estate plan, and b) reliably plans for non-legal, logistical needs that your estate plan is not designed to cover including the reliable notification of your healthcare agent.

To learn more, please check out this 10-minute introduction to IGO Roadmap, the unique system that carefully builds the second estate planning tool for you.
https://0mluzg4l7t8.typeform.com/to/GzTLKNjC

Tomorrow’s post:
WHAT’S MISSING – #3 – Immediate care for your pets.

Disclaimer: this post is for educational purposes only. Consult an attorney before making legal decisions.

© 2026 IGO Roadmap LLC

Turn data collection into an experience with Typeform. Create beautiful online forms, surveys, quizzes, and so much more. Try it for FREE.

08/08/2026

Top 25 critical things missing from your excellent estate plan.

Here is the first post in this 25-day series:
MISSING THING #1 – Immediate care for your minor children and dependent seniors.

“Hey, who’s retrieving the kids?”

Most of us with minor children or dependent seniors have a guardianship plan that legally provides for their future. But what if our absence is sudden and we can’t communicate? Our guardianship plan doesn’t guarantee their immediate safety. It doesn't assign someone locally to quickly retrieve our kids from daycare, school, or athletic field, AND, it doesn’t give that person the pre-arranged authority to do so right away. So now what?

SOLUTION: always carry on your person a laminated card indicating an emergency contact (and alternate) who will trigger urgent notifications that you would otherwise make if you could communicate. That emergency contact could be your healthcare agent who might also need to field questions about emergency care for you. This allows the first responder to make a single call to meet the most urgent needs including child retrieval. Be sure to keep that emergency card current.

If you don't have minor children, perhaps consider someone who does, and share this post with them.

There are dozens of potential planning gaps in most estate plans, even the excellent ones. The solution is a professionally prepared sister plan. That is, a comprehensive roadmap that a) reliably triggers your legal estate plan, and b) reliably plans for non-legal, logistical needs that your estate plan is not designed to cover including immediate care for your minor children or seniors.

To learn more, please check out this 10-minute introduction to IGO Roadmap, the unique system that carefully builds the second estate planning tool for you.
https://0mluzg4l7t8.typeform.com/to/GzTLKNjC

Tomorrow’s post:
What’s missing – #2 – Immediate notification of your healthcare agent

Disclaimer: this post is for educational purposes only. Consult an attorney before making legal decisions.

© 2026 IGO Roadmap LLC

Turn data collection into an experience with Typeform. Create beautiful online forms, surveys, quizzes, and so much more. Try it for FREE.

04/08/2026

Procrastination is probably the #1 obstacle to creating one's legal estate plan, right? For some, cost can also feel prohibitive.

But there's a third reason that lurks in the weeds: not knowing the full range of a plan's benefits and thus the feeling "I don't need a plan yet."

Generally, there are five good reasons to create a plan once you reach legal adulthood.

1. At the center of your plan is your will, or will-trust combination, that specifies an orderly process for who you wish to get your stuff and when, and who manages your estate settlement. Wills by themselves are a fancy request form for a probate judge's review. An accompanying trust is a private contract that promptly transfers assets owned by the trust without government oversight.

Both documents are riddled with hidden opportunities to prepare them incorrectly. Mistakes can be exceptionally consequential. Professional help is recommended.

2. Healthcare Directives. These documents give you the vehicle to decide in advance the type of health care you want (or don't want) if you're unable to decide for yourself.

3. Powers of Attorney (POA), both financial and medical. These documents are intended to assign authority to another person to make decisions for you while you're living if you can't make them yourself, and, if these decisions are not already covered by existing documents such as a trust or living will. However, banks and hospitals don't necessarily have to honor your POA if their attorneys don't like your POA form. So, run your POAs past your institutions while you're legally competent to revise your document or sign their acceptable POA form.

4. Beneficiary designations and joint ownership. Some assets have a provision for you to assign ownership in the event of your passing. Court approval is typically not involved. These assets could include bank accounts, life insurance policies, retirement accounts, homes, and vehicles. Review your beneficiaries annually, and immediately if you get divorced.

5. Guardianship for custody of your minor children. A judge will need to approve your legal guardianship arrangement either in a previous custody agreement or in your will, so this provision won't appear in your trust. If you have minor children and no guardianship, please put down your coffee mug and make a phone call to get that process started...well, unless you want a court to decide who will care for your kids if you're unable to. Be sure that your guardianship arrangement specifies alternate guardian candidates and then review this document annually.

Finally, as a related matter, your estate planning needs to include funding for both your estate settlement costs and your lost income for those currently depending upon it. The funding solution can often be an affordable term life insurance policy.

Disclaimer: this post is for educational purposes only. Consult an attorney before making legal decisions.
© 2026 IGO Roadmap LLC

11/12/2025

Recently it was National Estate Planning Awareness Week! I've been posting my top 10 ways to be aware. Here are the last two!

#9. Legal estate plans, whether they are will-based or trust-based, are all about designating authority. Worth repeating. Estate plans are about authority. They choose or nominate who manages your estate settlement, who gets your stuff, and who raises your kids.

That’s the good news.

Here’s the bad news.

#10. Estate plans do not trigger themselves. They don’t notify the authorized players, including your health care agent, if you can’t communicate in an emergency. Estate plans also do not assign who will immediately find and shelter your minor children and your pets. Or who will secure your home, keys, IDs, and credit cards. Or how to show your estate settlement managers where your assets are and how to access them. Or how they'll manage your automatic bill payments, your phone, your email, your social media. All these needs require a smart, thorough sister plan. That is, a roadmap that provides needed information and logistical guidance for your immediate family and personal representative or successor trustee.

The really unfortunate news is that almost no one has this comprehensive sister plan in place. Mostly because they don't know they need one. And that's often because attorneys aren't trained in this area.

————
You can IM me or email me if you’d like to get started on the path that creates your legal estate plan or your roadmap plan. Free 30-minute consultation.

We’ll talk about an approachable path to getting yourself in good order in these areas. Which may save those you’ll leave behind from untold headaches and heartbreaks. Perhaps do this for them?

Jeff Robertson
Planning Advocate
Certified Estate Planner® Professional
IGO Roadmap LLC
Box 1190, Buena Vista CO 81211
[email protected]

-------
DISCLAIMER for all posted material on this page:
What follows is educational and for information gathering. None of the content is legal advice. Before making any legal decisions, I urge that you consult with an attorney who is licensed in your state.

11/12/2025

Learning from painful stories. Day 2.

From the son of a deceased, remarried father:
My stepmom got everything from my father's estate. There were no restrictions placed on her regarding how to dispose of his assets while she was living or upon her passing. She split up the estate among family members. My siblings and I received what she thought was fair. But I know it was not how Dad would have wanted it for us. Over two decades later we are still dealing with the repercussions. Get a trust and install provisions that protect your biological children's interests.

-------
DISCLAIMER for all estate planning posts on this page:
These posts are educational and for information gathering. None of the content is legal advice. Before making any legal decisions, I urge that you consult with an attorney who is licensed in your state.

11/12/2025

Learning from painful stories. Day 1.

​Decades ago, a very smart couple chose their estate planning attorney probably on a recommendation. The attorney proved to be ethical and competent at what they asked him to do.

Unfortunately, they didn't ​likely ​know what to ​ask for. ​

They were from ​a​ generation ​who knew little about estate planning options​,​ and the attorney made most of his income from the type of conventional estate plan they asked for.​ Did the attorney advise them to consider an obvious, and less lucrative, alternative? We'll never know.

Four years ago, the surviving spouse passed away​​. The estate could have been settled in a few months had the plan been structured differently. But it wasn't and the settlement went to probate.

The estate is still open, complicated by the attorney's passing and​...wait for it​...no continuity business plan for his law practice.​ This ​all ended up costing the estate in avoidable fees. ​

Takeaways?
- Avoid choosing an attorney on a recommendation alone.
- Look at their marketing material.
- Interview them.
- Interview more than one.
- Ask them if they will work strictly in a fiduciary manner, and whether they are obligated to do so.
- Ask them if they have compensation incentives that could potentially impact their estate planning advice.
- Ask them what will happen if you or your estate outlives them.
- And most importantly, do your homework before you sit down with attorneys for an initial consultation. Learn what's available to you, especially the pros and cons of will-based vs. trust-based estate plans. ​Fire up YouTube and consult with a non-attorney fiduciary for coaching on general estate planning concepts and options, and how to intelligently select an attorney.

​Most of the estate attorneys in my circle are excellent at what they do and well worth their fee. Yet choosing the wrong attorney can be exceptionally expensive for you or your estate, and it can create an avoidable mess for those you leave behind. They deserve better.

------
DISCLAIMER for all estate planning posts on this page:
These posts are educational and for information gathering. None of the content is legal advice. Before making any legal decisions, I urge that you consult with an attorney who is licensed in your state.