Frequently Asked Questions

Estate planning is the process of planning the transfer of your assets after your death and planning for potential incapacity. A comprehensive estate plan outlines how your assets will be distributed, names guardians for minor children, designates individuals to make financial and healthcare decisions on your behalf if you become incapacitated, and documents your healthcare wishes.

Your estate includes everything you own: real estate, bank accounts, investment accounts, retirement accounts, life insurance, personal property (vehicles, jewelry, furniture), digital assets, and any business interests or legal rights. Everything you own at the time of your death is part of your estate.

Dying without a will is called dying intestate. When someone dies intestate, the state in which they resided determines how their assets are distributed according to intestacy laws. Those laws vary significantly by state and may not reflect what the deceased would have wanted. Courts may also appoint a guardian for minor children without any input from the family.

The right time to start is as soon as you own property, have children, or want to ensure your wishes are followed in the event of incapacity or death. There is no minimum age or asset threshold. Estate planning becomes increasingly important when you purchase a home, get married, have children, or accumulate significant assets.

Most attorneys recommend reviewing your estate plan every three to five years and after any major life event: marriage, divorce, birth of a child or grandchild, death of a beneficiary or named fiduciary, significant change in assets, or a move to a new state. Laws change over time as well, which can affect how existing documents function.

A will directs how your assets are distributed after death but must go through probate before assets can be transferred to beneficiaries. A revocable living trust holds your assets during your lifetime and transfers them directly to beneficiaries after your death without probate. A trust also addresses incapacity during your lifetime, which a will does not. Most homeowners benefit from a trust-based plan.

Many trust-based estate plans include both. The trust is the primary vehicle for holding and transferring assets. A pour-over will acts as a safety net, capturing any assets not transferred to the trust before death and directing them into the trust through probate. Together they provide a complete plan.

A revocable living trust avoids probate, keeps your estate affairs private, allows your successor trustee to manage assets immediately if you become incapacitated, can hold assets for minor beneficiaries until a set age, and simplifies multi-state asset administration. For most families who own real property, a trust is the most effective primary estate planning tool.

Yes. As the trustee of your own revocable living trust, you retain full control over all assets in the trust during your lifetime. You can sell the home, refinance it, or remove it from the trust at any time. The trust does not restrict your ability to manage or sell your assets.

Anyone may legally draft a will or revocable living trust. However, self-drafted documents frequently contain errors, ambiguities, or execution failures that render them ineffective or invalid. All too often, families of loved ones who believed they were prepared with a DIY plan end up facing probate or disputes that an attorney-drafted plan would have prevented. The cost of proper legal guidance is nearly always less than the cost of fixing a flawed one.

Probate is the court-supervised process of authenticating a will and settling a decedent's estate. A personal representative is appointed, assets are gathered and inventoried, debts and taxes are paid, and remaining assets are distributed. The process is supervised by the court, typically takes six months to over a year, and carries statutory costs that come directly from the estate.

No. A will must still go through probate before assets can be distributed to beneficiaries. A will directs how assets are distributed, but it does not bypass the court process. A revocable living trust is the primary tool for avoiding probate.

A power of attorney is a legal document that appoints another individual to act on your behalf. A durable financial power of attorney authorizes that person to handle your financial matters if you become incapacitated. A healthcare power of attorney authorizes them to make medical decisions on your behalf. Both are important components of a complete estate plan.

An advance healthcare directive, also called a living will, is a legally binding document that outlines your medical treatment preferences if you become incapacitated and unable to communicate. It covers decisions about life-sustaining treatment, organ donation, and end-of-life care, and names a healthcare representative to carry out your wishes.

While you cannot leave property directly to a pet, you can designate who takes responsibility for your pet and allocate financial resources for their care through your estate plan. A trust can hold funds specifically designated for your pet's care and name a trustee responsible for managing those funds on your pet's behalf.