When planning a transfer of an estate, stocks and investments tend to be among a person’s most valuable assets to plan for. If not done right, the process can get tangled up in a web of problems in court.

According to a 2025 Estate Planning Report from Trust & Will, 55% of Americans have no estate plan. However, a 2025 Gallup study found that over 60% of Americans own a stock – often a person’s most important asset to plan for.

Talia Stewart, an estate planning attorney at Dworken and Bernstein Co., LPA in Painesville, said that it is never too early to start estate planning, especially when it comes to valuable assets such as stocks.

In fact, the best time to create a plan for transfer to a beneficiary, Stewart said, is “the moment you acquire it.” Planning ahead, she said, can help th

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