What Goes in Assets

Created by IronClad Family Support, Modified on Tue, Jul 28 at 11:06 AM by IronClad Family Support

Assets are the category your family needs most and knows least about. An account nobody knows exists can't be claimed; a policy nobody can find doesn't get paid. These forms are where you make sure that doesn't happen.

Seven subcategories live under Assets. Add a separate record for each real-world account, policy, or item.

New to how the forms work — required fields, reminder dates, attachments? Start with Understanding the Forms.

Financial

Bank accounts, brokerage accounts, and retirement accounts — the ones with the money in them.

Account type — checking, savings, brokerage, 401(k), IRA, Roth IRA, 529, HSA
Institution / bank name (required)
Account number (last 4) — only the last four. Enough to identify the account on a phone call; not enough for anyone to do harm.
Account title — whose name the account is in
Who did the bank list to receive this account? — the payable-on-death name (checked against your Will)
Amount — a range, not an exact figure, so it doesn't go stale
Next review date (drives reminders)

Why the beneficiary field matters: the payable-on-death name legally overrides your will. Most people set it once, when they opened the account, and never look again — which is how a 401(k) ends up paying an ex-spouse. If you can't fill this in from memory, that's the phone call to make this week.

Why account title matters: a joint account passes to the other holder immediately. A sole account may have to wait on probate before anyone can touch it. Recording whose name it's in tells your family which accounts they can reach right away and which they can't — the difference between paying the mortgage next month and not.

Property

Homes, land, and other real estate.

Property type (required) — primary residence, second home, rental, land, commercial
Address
Deed / parcel number
Annual property tax
Property tax due date (drives reminders)
Linked insurance — connects to the homeowners policy in your insurance records

Why the tax due date matters: property taxes keep coming whether or not anyone's opening the mail. Unpaid long enough, a home can face a tax lien — the one bill that can eventually cost the house itself. The reminder keeps it from slipping.

Life insurance

Life, and any other policy — the form covers several types.

Policy type — life, health, auto, homeowners, renters, disability, umbrella, long-term care
Carrier (required)
Policy number — the first thing the claims line asks for
Coverage amount
Named beneficiary on policy (checked against your Will)
Renewal date (drives reminders)

Why this whole record matters: a life insurance payout is often the money a family lives on after a death — but only if they know the policy exists and can find the number to claim it. Employer-provided life insurance is the one most often missed, because no paperwork ever came home. If you have it, record it here. And check the beneficiary: same override rule as your accounts.

Crypto

Cryptocurrency and other digital assets.

Asset / coin (required)
Exchange / wallet
Wallet type — exchange-held, hardware, software, paper
Where recovery phrase is stored
Who should inherit this?

Why the recovery field matters more than any other here: crypto has no customer service line and no probate process. If your family can't find the recovery path, the holdings are gone — visible on the blockchain forever, reachable by no one. People have lost life-changing sums this way. Record where the recovery phrase lives, even if you don't put the phrase itself here.

Vehicles

Cars, trucks, boats, motorcycles, RVs, trailers.

Vehicle type (required), make & model, year
VIN / hull number
Title held by — whose name is on the title, which decides how it transfers
Lienholder — if there's a loan against it
Insurance carrier — links to your insurance records
Registration renewal (drives reminders)

Most fields here are straightforward. The one worth getting right is title held by, for the same reason as a bank account title — it determines whether the vehicle passes easily or has to go through the estate.

Business interests

Any business you own part of.

Business name (required), entity type, your ownership share, your role
Who takes over if something happens to you?
Is there a buy-sell agreement?
Key contact — attorney, partner, or accountant
Next review date (drives reminders)

Why the succession field matters: a business with no answer to “who takes over?” can stall the day you're not there — payroll, contracts, and your partners all frozen while the question gets fought over. Answering it here, and noting whether a buy-sell agreement exists, protects both your family's stake and the business itself.

Valuables & collectibles

Jewelry, art, antiques, firearms, collectibles, precious metals.

Item type (required), description
Where it's kept
Estimated value and whether an appraisal exists
Firearm transfer instructions — if applicable
Who should inherit this?

Why the inheritance field matters: this field prevents more family friction than almost anything else in your vault. Grandmother's ring going to the person you meant it for, in writing, ends an argument before it starts. Belongings without a clear owner are what turn grieving siblings into estranged ones.

Firearms have their own rules: transferring a firearm to an heir is regulated, and the rules vary by state — an ordinary bequest that's fine for a watch can be unlawful for a gun. Note any special instructions here, and check your state's requirements.