50-Point Estate Plan Stress Test
Make sure your plan actually works when it matters.
Most people who come to this page already have an estate plan.
A will. A trust. Beneficiary designations. Powers of attorney.
What they don’t always know is whether those pieces still work together — or whether time, life changes, and assumptions have quietly created gaps that won’t show up until it’s too late to fix them.
Estate plans rarely fail all at once. They fail in small, avoidable ways:
documents that don’t line up,
assets that were never retitled,
beneficiary designations that override the plan, or
provisions that no longer fit the family or business they were meant to protect.
Who this review is for — and who it isn’t
This review is designed for people who already have an estate plan in place and want to understand whether it is structurally sound.
It is a good fit if you:
have a will, trust, or both
have named beneficiaries on accounts or insurance
have experienced changes in family, assets, or business interests
want clarity about whether your plan still works as intended
would rather identify risks now than discover them in court later
It is especially useful for people with:
blended families or second marriages
minor children or future guardianship concerns
real estate in one or more states
closely held businesses or professional practices
older plans that have not been reviewed in years
This review is not designed for everyone.
If you are starting from scratch and do not yet have an estate plan, a full planning engagement is usually the better place to begin. Likewise, this review is not intended to be a forensic, line-by-line audit of every document or a substitute for comprehensive tax or valuation analysis.
Think of this as a professional risk screen, not a teardown.
The goal is to identify whether the core protective elements of your plan are present, aligned, and functioning together — and to flag meaningful gaps before they turn into larger problems.
Two ways to start
There are two ways to approach a 50-point review, depending on how much guidance you want and where you are in the process.
Both start with the same underlying question.
Only one includes professional guidance specific to your situation.
Free: Self-Guided 50-Point Plan Checklist
Educational. Self-directed. No obligation.
This is a downloadable checklist designed to help you take an initial look at your own plan.
It walks through approximately 50 core components of a functional estate plan and helps you identify obvious gaps or outdated assumptions.
This option is a good fit if you:
want to get oriented
prefer to review things on your own
are not yet sure whether a professional review makes sense
want a framework before deciding on next steps
This checklist is educational in nature.
It does not involve legal advice or professional analysis.
Professional: 50-Point Estate Plan Stress Test
Attorney-led review | $950
This is a professional risk screen, conducted by Craig A. Choate, focused on whether your existing plan is structurally aligned and functionally complete.
The emphasis is not on rewriting documents or chasing theoretical perfection.
The emphasis is on identifying real-world failure points before they become expensive or irreversible.
This option is a good fit if you:
want clarity instead of guesswork
prefer an experienced set of eyes on your plan
are concerned about misalignment between documents, assets, and beneficiaries
want to understand what actually matters — and what doesn’t
What the attorney led review includes — and what it doesn’t
The 50-Point Estate Plan Stress Test is designed to answer one central question:
Is your existing plan structurally sound and aligned to work the way you expect?
It does that by focusing on the core components that cause plans to succeed or fail in real life.
What this review includes
An attorney-led review of your existing estate planning documents and structure
A risk screen across approximately 50 core planning elements, including:
wills and trusts
beneficiary designations
guardianship planning
asset titling and coordination
real estate and business exposure
common breakdown points in blended families and complex estates
Identification of:
misalignment between documents and assets
missing or outdated components
assumptions that no longer hold
issues most likely to create delay, conflict, or court involvement
A clear summary outlining:
what is working
what is not
what matters most
what should be addressed next
The goal is clarity — not volume.
What this review does not include
This review is not:
a forensic, clause-by-clause audit of every document
a rewrite of your estate plan
a comprehensive tax analysis or valuation review
implementation of changes or litigation strategy
Those services are scoped separately, when appropriate.
Think of this review as a professional systems check, not a teardown.
It is designed to surface meaningful risks and decision points — while there is still time to address them thoughtfully.
What happens next
If you decide to move forward with the attorney led 50-Point Estate Plan Stress Test, the process is straightforward and respectful of your time.
Once scheduled, you’ll be asked to provide copies of your existing estate planning documents and related information. I review those materials personally, focusing on structure, alignment, and the points where plans most often fail under real-world conditions.
After the review, we meet to walk through the findings together.
You’ll leave with:
a clear understanding of whether your plan is structurally sound
an explanation of any meaningful risks or gaps
clarity about what actually matters — and what does not
a practical roadmap for next steps, if any are needed
Some people learn that their plan is in better shape than they feared.
Others learn that changes should be made while there is still time to do so thoughtfully.
Either way, you gain clarity.
The Fee
The fee for the attorney led 50-Point Estate Plan Stress Test is $950.
This fee reflects professional judgment and analysis — not document production or implementation work.
If you choose to move forward with additional planning after the review, the stress test fee may be credited toward a new planning engagement, depending on the scope of work.
There is no obligation to proceed beyond the review.