Estate planning, explained in plain English.

Estate planning is deciding, ahead of time, who makes decisions for you if you cannot, who receives what you own when you die, and who cares for your minor children. Every adult can benefit from a basic plan. A plan is not only for the wealthy. It covers your health care, your finances, and your family, not just your money.

Your state's default rules, called intestacy laws, decide who inherits. A probate court appoints someone to settle your estate, and if you have minor children, a judge decides who raises them. The result may be very different from what you would have chosen, and the process is public and can take months or longer.

Most of what a plan protects has nothing to do with the size of your estate. If you have a stroke or an accident, someone needs legal authority to pay your bills and talk to your doctors. If you have children, someone needs to be named to raise them. If you own a home, it can get tied up in probate. A basic plan handles all of that.

No. Many people need their plan while they are still alive. Powers of attorney, a health care directive, and a funded living trust let people you trust step in if you are temporarily or permanently unable to manage things yourself. Without them, your family may need to go to court to get that authority.

Review it after any major life event: marriage, divorce, a birth or adoption, a death in the family, moving to a new state, buying or selling real estate, or a big change in your finances. Even without a big change, a quick review every few years is a good habit. Remember to check beneficiary designations on your accounts at the same time.

A will is a set of instructions that takes effect only after you die and generally goes through probate court. A revocable living trust holds your assets during your lifetime, lets a successor trustee step in if you become incapacitated, and lets assets pass to your heirs at death without probate. A will is also the only document that can name a guardian for minor children.

See a full side-by-side on our Why It Matters page.

No. This is one of the most common misunderstandings. A will tells the probate court what you want, but the court still has to validate it and oversee distribution. Assets held in a funded trust, and accounts with a named beneficiary, generally pass outside of probate.

Probate is the court process for validating a will, paying debts, and distributing what's left. It is public record, it can take months or longer, and court and legal costs come out of the estate. If you own real estate in more than one state, your family may face a separate probate in each state. How long and how costly probate is depends heavily on your state.

It depends on your situation. A trust is often worth considering if you own a home or other real estate, own property in more than one state, want to keep your affairs private, want to control how and when heirs receive assets, or want a smooth handoff if you become incapacitated. A will may be enough for someone with few assets who mainly needs to name a guardian and an executor.

Not sure where you land? Take our 30-second quiz.

Funding means retitling your assets, like your home and bank or brokerage accounts, into the name of your trust. A trust only controls what it owns. An unfunded trust is just paperwork, and the assets left outside it may still go through probate. Funding is the step people most often skip.

Yes. A trust-based plan includes a "pour-over will," which catches anything left outside the trust and directs it into the trust. A will is also where you name a guardian for minor children, which a trust cannot do.

A revocable living trust can be changed, amended, or revoked at any time while you are alive and mentally competent. An irrevocable trust is different: once created and funded, it generally cannot be changed, with limited exceptions in some states.

Generally, no. Because you keep full control of a revocable trust, its assets are still treated as yours for creditor and estate tax purposes. Asset protection, Medicaid planning, and estate tax reduction usually involve irrevocable trusts, which are more complex and should be set up with an attorney's guidance.

Your family may have to petition a court for a conservatorship or guardianship before anyone can manage your finances or, in some cases, your care. That process can take weeks or months, costs money, and often comes with ongoing court supervision. Powers of attorney and a funded living trust are designed to avoid it.

A financial power of attorney lets your agent handle money and legal matters: paying bills, managing accounts, signing documents. A health care power of attorney lets your agent make medical decisions when you cannot. They are separate documents, and you can name the same person or different people for each.

A living will states your own wishes about end-of-life medical care, such as life support, resuscitation, artificial nutrition, and pain management. It doesn't name a person. It gives your health care agent and your doctors clear direction so your family isn't left guessing, or arguing, about what you would have wanted.

Federal privacy rules limit who doctors and hospitals can share your medical information with. A HIPAA authorization gives the people you name permission to receive that information, so your health care agent can actually get the details needed to make good decisions.

No. A power of attorney ends at death. From that point, your will, your trust, and your beneficiary designations take over. That's why a power of attorney is a complement to a will or trust, never a replacement.

Yes. Accounts like life insurance, 401(k)s, IRAs, and payable-on-death or transfer-on-death accounts go to whoever is named on the account's beneficiary form, no matter what your will says. An outdated form, such as one that still names a former spouse, is one of the most common and costly estate planning mistakes.

Common examples include accounts with a named beneficiary (retirement accounts, life insurance, POD and TOD accounts), property owned jointly with right of survivorship, and anything titled in the name of a funded trust. Your will generally controls only what's left in your individual name.

Keep an up-to-date asset inventory listing your accounts, policies, property, and digital assets, along with where your original documents are kept. A letter of intent can add practical details and personal wishes. Without these, accounts and assets can go unclaimed for years.

Store originals somewhere safe that the right people can get to, and make sure your executor, successor trustee, and agents know where they are. Every Your Life Estate plan includes secure digital storage, so you and the people you choose can access your documents anytime.

No. Your Life Estate is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. We help individuals and families access estate planning services and resources, including state-specific documents developed by licensed attorneys. Using our site or purchasing a plan does not create an attorney-client relationship with Your Life Estate.

Your documents are created using state-specific legal language written by independent, licensed attorneys. Document preparation and related legal services, when applicable, are provided through independent third-party providers.

Here's the short version:

• Essentials ($27): a financial power of attorney and health care directives, for incapacity protection.
• Will Package ($400): adds a last will and testament, HIPAA authorization, and a disbursement letter.
• Trust Package, 1-Year Updates ($1,497): a revocable living trust with a will, powers of attorney, a quit claim deed, and one year of complimentary updates.
• Lifetime Trust Package ($1,995+): a full trust plan with additional trust options, a funding kit, and unlimited changes, updates, and restatements.

Compare every plan in detail or take the quiz.

Every package includes digital storage for your documents, a funding review to help make sure your assets are properly titled to your plan, and ongoing support from our team.

The Trust Package includes one year of complimentary updates. After that, updates are available for an additional fee. The Lifetime Trust Package adds more trust options and includes unlimited changes, updates, and restatements, subject to the terms of your agreement.

Some situations call for personal legal advice. Consider speaking with a licensed attorney if you are planning for Medicaid or long-term care, have an estate that may face estate taxes, own a business, have a family member with special needs, expect a family dispute, or are considering an irrevocable trust.