In this episode of Motley Fool Hidden Gems Investing , Motley Fool personal finance expert Robert Brokamp is joined by Motley Fool employee Stephanie Marini to discuss the most unpleasant area of financial planning: estate planning. Topics covered include:
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A full transcript is below.
This podcast was recorded on Aug. 29, 2026.
Robert Brokamp: Prepare to pass on your possessions because it's eventually going to happen. That's right. We're talking estate planning on this Saturday Personal Finance edition of the Motley Pool Hidden Jems Investing podcast. I'm Robert Brokamp, and welcome to the next installment of our 2026 Financial Planning Challenge. A few days early. Usually, we publish each episode of our Year Well Planned series on the first Saturday of the month, but we figured this Saturday was close enough. Today, we're going to cover perhaps the most unpleasant aspect of financial planning: estate planning. But it's necessary because while it's nearly impossible to predict the future, when it comes to most aspects of personal finance, there's one thing we can guarantee, and it's that you, me, and everyone we know will one day pass away, leaving assets and stuff behind to be divvied up. Here to join me to talk about what you should do to ensure that all your assets go to who you want as quickly and efficiently as possible is my Foolish colleague, certified financial planner Stephanie Marini. Welcome back, Stephanie.
Stephanie Marini: Thanks so much for having me. I know this may be weird to admit, but I actually really like this topic, so I'm excited to go through it.
Robert Brokamp: Okay, you're weird, oh, actually just kidding. I like to talk about this topic, too, because estate planning is really the one aspect of financial planning that everyone needs, yet it's the one that's among the most neglected. According to the Pew Research Center, less than a third of adults have a will, which just one aspect of estate planning. Let's start with the fundamentals. What's your definition of estate planning and what it entails?
Stephanie Marini: Estate planning, to me, is making sure that your wishes are clearly defined so that your assets can be transferred the way you want. More importantly, though, estate planning is a way to take the stress off of your loved ones to help make the decisions for them ahead of time.
Robert Brokamp: Yeah, I love that part because estate planning isn't just a collection of documents; it's really a gift to your family. A thorough estate plan is going to save them time, money, hassle, maybe having to hire a lawyer, and really potential family strife because, without an estate plan, what fills the void, sometimes fights, disagreements, resentments, so it's important to do all that now so that when you are gone, your family has mostly pleasant memories and not family fights. In this episode, we're going to cover some of the estate planning essentials at a pretty high level and then dig deeper into creating a document that will provide a roadmap to follow if something happens to you.
First, I'm going to start with the standard device that you really should see an experienced estate planning attorney in your state to actually do your plan, because a lot of estate planning laws are very specific to each state. That said, I'm often a little reluctant to say that because then people think, well, I can't do any estate planning until I get an attorney. That's actually not true. You can get an awful lot done today, right after you're done listening to this episode without a lawyer's help. Stephanie, tell us about how beneficiary designations, as well as payable on death and transfer on death designations, can do a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to estate planning.
Stephanie Marini: I think you hit the nail on the head. Most people, I would imagine, avoid estate planning because they think it's this big thing. They have to hire a lawyer, get all of the documents, like taxes, but on steroids. But in reality, there's a lot that an individual can handle that would help further the process along. For most account types, 401Ks, IRAs, brokerage accounts, even down to checking and savings account, high-yield account, high-yield savings accounts, there is a way to designate a beneficiary directly. Usually, that happens during account opening, but it can be modified at any time, and so that you, the account owner, can directly name the person and percentage that your account will go to upon death. This is huge because these designations allow the account to avoid probate and go directly to the individual based on your wishes. Often, there's even a way to designate a secondary beneficiary. As an example, for my individual brokerage account, I have my husband listed as the primary beneficiary at 100%, but then my two kids are listed as secondary beneficiaries at 50% each. I think it's a great place to start because it's a step that usually takes less than 15 minutes. Oftentimes, you can do it through your online portal, and it’s a low-lift, high-reward step in the estate planning process.
Robert Brokamp: Life insurance policies to that, as well, something that you put the beneficiary designation on. When you think of the accounts and assets that you own, this pretty much takes care of most of the net worth for a lot of Americans. You mentioned probate, which is the legal process that takes place after someone dies. It involves all steps, proving in court that a will is valid, identifying inventorying the person's property, maybe having an appraise, and then distributing the property. Depending on the state, this can be time-consuming. It can be costly. In most situations, you really want to do all you can to bypass probate, and these beneficiary POD, TOD designations can do that. In some states, property like a house or a car could have one of these designations. It's usually done on the deed or the title, so find out what's possible in your estate. Now, we just mentioned wills, which are often considered the foundation of an estate plan. What are some of the most compelling reasons to get or update your will?
Stephanie Marini: Bear with me because this is a stretch, but I've heard an argument made about prenups that I think really applies in this situation, too. Everybody already has a will. It's either you have drawn one up or the state has drawn one up for you because like you mentioned, most of estate planning is handled at the state level with individual state laws, and they determine how assets are passed down. Do you know what your state's laws are? Are you happy with them? I'm going to be honest. I didn't have a will until I had kids. I probably should have had one sooner, but as soon as kids were involved, I knew it needed to get done. But the will is a legal document that provides direction for executing all of your wishes. It should encompass things like accounts, physical assets, house, but it also includes things like guardian for your children and allows you the power to name an executor for the person who is going to be the one to execute the will and your wishes. I do think that everyone should have a will written out. We can touch a little bit more on that later.
But even as single in my early 20s, my parents wouldn't have known where my accounts were or who my health insurance provider was. I lived on my own. It would have been a major headache for them if something had happened to me. Even after you get an initial will setup, I'd say things like major life events, age milestones should really be those pillars for when to get a will updated, check in to see if things have changed. If you're looking at those life milestones, new kids, blended families, retirement, those are all great life milestones. Then from an age front, I like 10-year increments, 40, 50, 60, 72, specifically before RMDs start. Not that all of these would involve a full will rewrite, but it's a good touchpoint: Does everything still make sense? Is everything still the same? Do we need to make adjustments?
Robert Brokamp: Just from a time-based perspective, I think every three to five years, even if you haven't had a major life event, it's a good idea to look at your estate plan and see if it needs updating. My wife and I actually are in the process of doing that ourselves. You touched on the personal property part, we all have a lot of stuff, furniture, clothes, jewelry, art collectables, on and on. Closets are full, garages are full. This stuff may not seem as important as who gets your IRA or 401K, but attorneys will tell you that some of the biggest family fights are over who gets stuff like a treasured family heirloom or some other item with sentimental value. You can direct in your will who gets this stuff. It could be directly in the will. Sometimes it's in an accompanying document, usually known as the personal property memorandum. Part of this could be asking the people who you're going to leave stuff to like your kids. Like, what of our items do you want? If there's a situation where, like, two or three kids want the same item, you work that out now. Put it in your will so there's not a fight after you're gone.