Overview of Client Estate Planning Questionnaires

Purpose of the Agile EP Questionnaires

Agile EP’s estate planning questionnaires are designed to collect the information you need to generate coordinated estate planning documents efficiently and accurately. The structure of these questionnaires has been developed by experienced estate planning attorneys, so you do not need to design your own intake process or determine which questions to ask clients.

The questionnaires are dynamic, meaning clients only see questions that are relevant to their situation. This keeps the experience more manageable for clients while still gathering the information needed for thoughtful planning.

Agile EP also offers four different types of questionnaires, allowing you to customize how you gather information from clients depending on your practice style and workflow. See more about these different questionnaire types here.

How Questionnaire Information Is Used

Information collected through the questionnaire helps populate the drafting interview and provides the factual foundation for the documents generated in Agile EP.

At the same time, the questionnaires are intentionally designed to gather the right level of information—enough to support drafting and meaningful client conversations, without overwhelming clients by asking for every possible detail upfront.

Throughout the questionnaire process, clients are also provided with explanations and educational guidance to help them understand the questions they are answering and the decisions they may need to consider. For more on how these educational materials work, see this article.

Completed Questionnaire Output

When the client completes the questionnaire, Agile EP generates a styled, completed questionnaire document that is avialable to both you and the client. This document organizes the client’s responses in a clear, readable format and includes summary tables of the client’s assets, organized by asset class, by owner, and as an overall estate total. These summaries provide a quick snapshot of the client’s financial structure before you begin drafting.

For Washington users, the summary also includes a community property overlay. Because clients do not always identify community property accurately when entering asset information, this feature helps present the estate both as reported and with community property assumptions applied. This can provide a clearer view of the potential community and separate property landscape when reviewing the client’s situation and preparing the estate plan.

Questionnaire Sections

The sections below describe the major components of the Agile EP questionnaire and the type of information each section collects. Together, these sections establish the core factual framework for the estate plan.

For each section, we also provide a link to the client-facing help screen that appears within the questionnaire. These help screens explain the purpose of the questions in plain language and often include additional educational links on estate planning topics, allowing clients to learn more as they complete the questionnaire.

Personal Information

The Personal Information section gathers the foundational identifying information for the client (and spouse or partner, if applicable). The information provided here populates references throughout the estate planning documents.

In this section, your client provides information such as:

• Full legal name and any alternate or commonly used names

• Address and contact information

• Date and place of birth

• Citizenship status

• Marital status

• Information about a spouse or domestic partner

• Occupation or employment information (in some questionnaires)

You will see this information used repeatedly throughout the planning documents to correctly identify the client and any spouse. Establishing this information first ensures consistency across all generated documents.

You can review the client-facing explanation of this section here.

Family Information

The Family Information section gathers information about the client’s immediate family and other close relatives who may affect planning decisions. Your client will typically provide details about:

• A spouse or domestic partner

• Children (including adult children, minor children, and children from prior relationships)

• Stepchildren or children of their partner

• Parents and siblings, if relevant

• Deceased children or family members

• Family members with special needs or disabilities

This information helps you identify the individuals who may be relevant for beneficiary designations, guardianship decisions, or other planning provisions. Client-facing instructions for this section are available here.

Additional People and Entities

Estate plans often involve individuals or organizations outside the client’s immediate family. The Additional People and Entities section allows your client to identify these parties so they can be referenced throughout the planning documents.

Clients may add individuals or organizations such as:

• Trustees or successor trustees

• Personal representatives or executors

• Agents under powers of attorney

• Guardians for minor children

• Charitable organizations

• Business entities or existing trusts connected to the client

Collecting these names early helps ensure that individuals can be selected consistently when assigning fiduciary roles later in the questionnaire. Client-facing instructions for this section are available here.

Advisors and Referral Sources

The Advisors and Referral Sources section gathers information about the professionals who advise the client or who may need to coordinate with you in the estate planning process. This information can help you coordinate planning with other professionals involved in the client’s financial or legal affairs and maintain a record of referral relationships. Client-facing instructions for this section are available here.

Current Estate Plan

Before designing a new estate plan, it is important to understand whether the client already has planning documents in place. The Current Estate Plan section collects this information. In this section, your client may indicate whether they currently have:

• A will

• A revocable living trust

• Durable powers of attorney

• Health care directives or living wills

• Community property or martial property agreements

• Prenuptial or postnuptial agreements

• Irrevocable trusts

Clients may also be prompted to upload copies of existing documents for your review.

This information helps you determine whether existing documents should be replaced, amended, or coordinated with the new plan. Client-facing instructions for this section are available here.

Estate Planning Goals

The Estate Planning Goals section allows your client to identify the priorities, concerns, and topics they would like to discuss during the planning process. Rather than collecting technical information, this section helps surface the client’s motivations and planning objectives so the estate plan can be tailored accordingly.

Clients are presented with a list of common estate planning goals and concerns and are invited to select any items that feel relevant to their situation. Checking a box does not commit the client to a specific strategy. Instead, the selections help guide your conversation and highlight areas where additional planning may be appropriate.

Clients can also describe additional concerns in their own words. Client-facing instructions for this section are available here.

Fiduciary Choices

If you are using the questionnaire format that allows clients to suggest fiduciaries, the Fiduciary Choices section provides a place for clients to indicate who they are currently considering for key roles in their estate plan.

This section does not currently populate the drafting interview; therefore, it functions primarily as a conversation starter. Reviewing the client’s responses can help you identify potential fiduciaries, spot areas where the client may want guidance, and structure the discussion about fiduciary appointments during the plan design meeting. 

Roles Clients May Consider

In this section, clients may indicate individuals they are considering for key fiduciary roles in their estate plan, such as personal representative, trustee, agents under powers of attorney, or guardian for minor children. Clients may also identify alternates who could serve if the primary individual is unable or unwilling to act. 

Co-Fiduciaries

The questionnaire does not currently include a field for naming co-fiduciaries. If clients are considering multiple individuals for the same role, they can list people in order of preference and flag the issue for discussion. 

Clients are encouraged to share their current thinking about potential fiduciaries, but they are not required to make selections. Many clients leave this section blank or only complete part of it before discussing the roles with you. Client-facing instructions for this section are available here.

Health Care Planning (Washington – Optional Section)

The Health Care Planning section is an optional questionnaire section for Washington users that can be included when you want clients to begin thinking about medical decision-making and end-of-life preferences. The responses help guide preparation of the client’s Washington Health Care Power of Attorney and Health Care Directive, which are completed separately.  Client-facing instructions for this section are available here.

Health Care and End-of-Life Preferences

Clients are invited to reflect on topics that may affect medical decision-making, including:

• Serious illness or cognitive decline

• Preferred care settings (home, hospital, or facility)

• Mental health treatment

• Religious, spiritual, or personal beliefs affecting care

• Life-sustaining treatment and end-of-life care

These questions are intended to identify areas the client may want to discuss rather than require firm answers.

Organ Donation and Additional Notes

The section may also ask about organ donation and provide space for clients to share additional health care concerns, experiences, or preferences that may influence their planning.

Final Arrangements & Remembrance (Washington – Optional Section)

The Final Arrangements & Remembrance section is an optional questionnaire section that allows clients to share preferences about the care of their body after death and any wishes regarding memorial or funeral services. The responses are not final or binding and are intended to guide discussion and planning. Client-facing instructions for this section are available here.

Care of the Body After Death

Clients may indicate whether they have preferences regarding the care of their body after death, such as burial, cremation, or other options. Clients who are unsure may indicate that the decision should be left to a trusted individual.

Memorial or Funeral Preferences

Clients can indicate whether they have wishes regarding a memorial, funeral, or remembrance service. Some clients have specific ideas, while others prefer to leave these decisions to family members or their designated agent. 

Existing Arrangements

The section also asks whether any arrangements already exist that may affect planning, such as:

• Prepaid funeral or disposition plans

• Cemetery plots or burial instructions

• Military honors or burial in a veterans cemetery

These responses help identify whether prior arrangements should be reviewed or incorporated into the planning process.

Assets and Liabilities

The Asset Details and Liability Details sections help you understand the overall composition of the client’s estate so you can design an appropriate plan. Clients are generally asked to provide estimated values and basic descriptions, not precise valuations or account numbers. The goal is to give you a clear sense of the size of the estate, the mix of assets, and any items that may require special planning. Client-facing instructions for the Asset Details section are available here and for the Liabilities Details section are avilable here.

At the beginning of the asset details section, clients select the types of assets they own, and the questionnaire then displays follow-up questions only for those categories. This helps avoid unnecessarily long questionnaires when certain asset types are not relevant.

If an asset type is selected by a client, the client will be asked to provide general information and estimated values per asset type as follows:

• Real Estate – details about any real property owned, such as a primary residence, vacation property, rental property, vacant land, or property located in another state or country.

• Bank Accounts and Cash – information about checking, savings, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, and similar cash holdings.

• Retirement Accounts – basic information about retirement plans such as 401(k)s, IRAs, SEP or SIMPLE IRAs, and similar accounts.

• Non-Retirement Investment Accounts – brokerage or investment accounts held outside of retirement plans.

• Life Insurance – high-level details about any policies connected to the client, including the policy owner, insured, and estimated death benefit.

• Personal Property of Significant Value – general descriptions and estimated values for items such as vehicles, jewelry, art, collectibles, or other high-value personal property.

• Business Interests – information about ownership or participation in a business entity.

• Equity Compensation – equity-based compensation such as stock options, restricted stock units (RSUs), performance shares, or similar awards.

• Money Owed to the Client – amounts owed to the client, such as personal loans, unpaid compensation, or settlement proceeds.

• Potential Future Inheritances – significant inheritances the client expects to receive that may affect planning decisions.

• Other Specialized Assets – additional assets that may require special planning, such as intellectual property, donor-advised funds, private foundations, club memberships, 529 education accounts, ABLE accounts, mineral interests, or deferred compensation.

Liabilities

The Liabilities Details section collects high-level information about significant debts or financial obligations that may affect the client’s estate. While estate planning often focuses on assets, understanding liabilities helps you evaluate the client’s net estate and anticipate how obligations may be handled during administration.