Welcome. This article explains why an estate plan matters, what is usually in one, and what to expect along the way. It is a good place to start before you fill in your questionnaire.
Why you need an estate plan
An estate plan is not only about money. It says who cares for your children and who makes medical decisions if you cannot. It says who handles your bills if you are ill, and who receives what you leave.
Without a plan, state law and the courts make those choices for you, using one-size-fits-all rules. A plan lets you make them yourself.
Common myths
Select a myth to see the facts.
A plan is also about people. If you have children under 18, a plan names who would raise them. If you became ill, a plan names who could pay your bills and talk to your doctors. Those choices matter at any income.
Not always. Without a Will, state law decides, and the answer depends on your state, your children, and how your property is owned. Children from an earlier relationship can change the result a great deal.
A revocable living trust does not reduce taxes or protect property from creditors. What it can do is avoid probate, keep your affairs private, and let someone manage your property smoothly if you become ill.
They can pass some property outside a Will. But they can also cut against your plan or give unequal results among children. They can expose money to a co-owner’s debts, or fail if the other person dies first.
Accidents and illness do not wait. Young parents often need a plan most, because of guardianship for their children.
Wishes are not the same as legal authority. Without signed documents, the law decides who can act for you, and it may not be the person you would choose.
A plan needs care. Marriages, divorces, births, deaths, moves, and big changes in money can all make a plan out of date. A trust also needs property moved into it to work.
What happens without a plan
Without a plan, state law and the courts decide who inherits your property, who makes medical decisions for you, and who raises your minor children. The rules differ between Washington and Oregon. For details, see this article.
The documents in a typical plan
Your plan may not include all of these. Your attorney can recommend what fits.
Will or Revocable Living Trust
These say who receives your property and who carries out your wishes. Most people have one or the other. For the differences, see this article.
Financial Power of Attorney
Sometimes called a durable power of attorney. It names an agent to manage your finances if you cannot, while you are living.
Health Care Power of Attorney
Names a Health Care Agent to make health care decisions for you if you cannot communicate them. If you have minor children, it can also cover their care while you are unable to act. Your Agent can also share your wishes about life support, organ donation, and care of your body after death.
Health Care Directive
Sometimes called a living will. It records your wishes about life support in specific situations. Your Health Care Agent generally carries them out.
Disposition of Remains
Records your wishes for what happens to your body after death, and names the person with authority to carry them out.
Authorizations related to Personal Health Information
Name who may see and share your health information, and who may reach your online accounts, photos, and email. For more, see this article.
Coordinated beneficiary designations
Wording to line up your retirement accounts and life insurance with the rest of your plan.
If you live in Oregon Oregon combines the Health Care Power of Attorney and Health Care Directive into one document, the Advance Directive. It names your Health Care Representative and records your health care instructions.
How the documents work together
- During your life: Your powers of attorney and health care documents make sure your care and your finances are managed if you cannot manage them. If you have minor children, they also cover the children’s care and health needs.
- At your death: Your health care documents and your Disposition of Remains make sure your organ donation and death care wishes are honored.
- After your death: Your Will or revocable trust, together with your updated beneficiary designations, pass your property to the people you chose.
Why a plan matters in your situation
Select the one closest to yours.
The most important choices are usually who would raise your children and who would manage money for them. A trust can hold money until children are old enough to handle it.
Plans often balance providing for a spouse or partner with protecting what goes to children from an earlier relationship. Choosing neutral fiduciaries can help keep the peace.
The law treats unmarried partners as strangers to each other, however long you have been together. Without documents:
- Your partner inherits nothing if you die without a Will. Your property goes to your relatives instead.
- Your partner may have to go to court to claim a share of property you built together, and the outcome is uncertain.
- Your partner may have little or no say in your medical care, and may struggle to get information from your doctors.
- Your partner cannot manage your money or pay your bills if you are ill.
- A home or account in only your name may not pass to your partner at all.
A Will or trust, powers of attorney, and coordinated beneficiary designations are how you give your partner the authority and support you intend. Registered domestic partners are treated much like spouses, so tell your attorney if you have registered.
Powers of attorney and health care wishes often move to the front. So do how retirement accounts pass and whether the plan should provide for grandchildren.
Without a plan, the law sends your property to your relatives in a set order: parents first, then brothers and sisters and their children, then more distant family. That may not be who you would choose, and it leaves out close friends and causes you care about.
There is also no spouse with authority to act if you become ill. Without powers of attorney, a court may have to appoint someone to make medical and financial decisions for you. It may not be the person you trust most.
A plan lets you:
- Leave your property to the people and charities you choose
- Name trusted friends or relatives to make health care and money decisions. Some people with no family nearby name a professional patient advocate.
- Choose who settles your estate
- Provide for pets and decide who can reach your online accounts
What to expect along the way
Every attorney has their own process, and yours will explain theirs. Most plans follow a path like this:
- The questionnaire: You share information about your family, your property, and your wishes.
- A meeting: Your attorney talks through your goals and recommends a plan.
- Drafts: You review the documents and ask questions.
- Signing: You sign, usually with witnesses and often a notary.
- Afterward: You keep the originals safe, move property into any trust, update beneficiary forms, and review the plan when life changes.
For what to do once your plan is signed, see these articles on funding a Revocable Trust, keeping your originals and updating your plan.
Where to go next
When you are ready to start your questionnaire, these articles help:
- Before you start: What to gather so your answers are quick and accurate. See this article.
- Glossary: Common estate planning terms. See this article.
You can also browse the help center by topic:
- Questionnaire Help: What each question means, what to enter, and why it is asked.
- Choosing the People in Your Planning: What each role involves and how to choose the people to fill it.
- Wills, Trusts & Inheritances: How a Will and a Revocable Trust compare, and how your beneficiaries can receive what you leave them.
- Health Care & Final Wishes: Medical decisions you may not be able to make yourself, and your final arrangements.
- Taxes, Property & Special Situations: Estate tax, community property, digital assets and other circumstances.