Estate planning involves planning for the distribution of your assets after your passing. A common misunderstanding is that estate planning is only for high-net-worth individuals. But all your possessions and accounts form your estate, even if they seem modest to you. An estate includes things like real estate, vehicles, bank accounts, personal possessions, and more. So, there is probably more to your estate than you realize. With a good estate plan, you can provide for your loved ones and help them to be financially secure after your death. A comprehensive estate plan also names guardians for minor children and creates contingency plans for healthcare issues. To prevent your loved ones from having to make difficult treatment choices for you, you should consider a health care directive. Through a health care directive, you can make your own health care decisions in advance of an incapacitating medical condition. FindLaw also offers power of attorney documents. A power of attorney allows you to choose someone to make financial decisions for you if you become unable to yourself. Everyone should have one.

Wills and living wills, also known as health care directives, have similar names but are very different legal documents. You use a will to decide how you would like your property to be distributed after your death. You can also name guardians for your minor children in a will. A health care directive is a legal document you use to make health care choices for your future. Your named health care agent, if you have one, and health care professionals will refer to this document if you become medically incapacitated and unable to give informed consent on your medical options. A health care directive is only valid during your lifetime, and you cannot use it to distribute your assets. FindLaw’s health care directive forms also allow you to name someone to make health care decisions for you. You may hear people referring to this as a health care proxy, health care agent, or health care power of attorney. A financial power of attorney shouldn’t be confused with a health care power of attorney. With a financial power of attorney, you can name someone you trust to make financial decisions for you if you become unable to make them for yourself. This can be helpful in case you ever become unable to handle your finances due to illness or injury. The person you name in your financial power of attorney can pay your bills and taxes, purchase insurance for you, and manage your assets while you are unable to.

A HIPAA release form is a document that allows you to authorize your health care provider (for example, your doctor or your hospital) to release your medical information to another individual or third party of your choice.

Yes. When you think of estate planning, the first thing that comes to mind might be a last will and testament. A will is the bedrock of a comprehensive estate plan. But good estate planning is often more involved than just writing a will. Depending on your situation, you may want: Life insurance, healthcare directive to spell out your health care wishes. a financial power of attorney to manage your financial affairs. In addition to distributing your property after death, an estate plan can include a formal document called a health care directive that specifies your health care wishes during your life. If you become unable to communicate your health care wishes, your family and medical providers would look to your health care directive for guidance. Your estate is made up of all your assets. This includes both real property and personal property. Real property refers to real estate, such as your home, investment properties, land, and vacation homes. Your personal property is all your other property, such as: vehicles, heirlooms, furniture, electronics, financial accounts, retirement accounts, With an estate plan, you can distribute all these assets according to your wishes. It can be tempting to delay estate planning. But knowing that you have provided for your loved ones in the event of your death will give you peace of mind. With our easy, step-by-step process, you can create comprehensive estate planning documents without seeing an attorney or leaving home. Answering the questions and creating your documents is quick and easy. With all of your estate planning documents in hand, you can rest easy knowing that you have planned for your loved ones’ future.

If you die without an enforceable will in place, this is known as “Understanding Intestacy If You Die Without an Estate, intestate succession to heirs according to state law intestacy   or “dying intestate.” All 50 states and D.C. have laws that describe how to divide up an estate of someone who dies intestate. These state laws are known as intestacy statutes. They tend to favor spouses and children as the primary heirs to an estate. Intestacy statutes do not cover certain situations, however. If you have a blended family, special needs children, or a live-in partner, or you want to leave assets to charity, you should have a valid will in place. Certain types of assets pass to beneficiaries without the need for a will or the application of intestacy statutes. These include jointly owned property and accounts with a named beneficiary. For example, if you own a home jointly with your spouse, it will pass to them without needing to go through probate. If you have a life insurance policy, the proceeds will pass to your beneficiaries without needing to be listed in a will.

Probate refers to the legal process of sorting and distributing a person’s property at death under court supervision. This process involves: Creating an inventory of all your property, Appraising your property, Paying off your remaining debts, Distributing the remaining property according to your will. If there is no will, the probate court will distribute your property according to your state’s default laws (“intestacy statutes”).  Probate can be a lengthy process that involves lawyers and court appearances. However, you can often  void probate by setting up trusts, owning property jointly, and naming beneficiaries on accounts such as life insurance and retirement accounts.

Making an estate plan can sound overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. With FindLaw’s do-it-yourself estate planning forms, you can prepare for the future quickly and easily. Not only are our forms crafted by experienced attorneys, but they are also customized to you and your state of residence. After you click through our guided process and answer a few questions, we create your forms and prepare them for your signature. After you have completed our hassle-free process, you can feel confident that you have customized, estate planning documents. We also prepare you with instructions on how to make the documents legal under the relevant laws of your state. If you would like some extra guidance on your estate plan or if you have special circumstances, you might want to talk to an estate planning attorney by searching our directory for one near you. They can help you review your documents and talk you through them.