Estate Planning
The documents that determine what happens to your assets and decisions when you cannot make them.
The core documents are a will, which directs distribution, a durable power of attorney, which names who acts financially during incapacity, and a healthcare directive, which records medical wishes. Without them, state intestacy law and a court decide both questions.
For most households this has little to do with tax. The federal estate tax exemption stood just under $14 million per person in 2025 and has been raised since, so estates below it owe no federal estate tax. Several states levy their own with substantially lower thresholds, which is where the tax question actually arises for most people.
Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance pass outside the will and override whatever it says. A stale designation naming a former spouse controls regardless of the will's content, which makes it one of the more consequential things to keep current and one of the most frequently forgotten.
Worked through
The documents involved
- Will: directs distribution of assets that pass through the estate
- Durable power of attorney: names who can act financially during incapacity
- Healthcare directive: records medical wishes and who may decide
- Beneficiary designations: pass outside the will and override it
- Revocable living trust: avoids probate, which is public and can be slow
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