Estate Documents

See what each core document does, when it operates, who controls it, how it interacts with other documents, and when to review it.

Every guide opens with a simple explanation, then goes deeper into mechanics, tradeoffs, examples, state differences and sources.

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Guides in this section

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  • Start with

    Financial Power of Attorney

    A financial power of attorney authorizes an agent to handle specified property and financial matters during the principal's life; durability determines whether authority survives incapacity under governing law.

  • Advance Health Care Directive and Living Will

    An advance directive records health-care instructions and, depending on the state's form, may also appoint an agent; a living will typically addresses treatment preferences in defined circumstances.

  • Beneficiary Designations

    A beneficiary designation directs a contract or account at death and usually controls that asset independently of the will, subject to the plan terms and governing law.

  • Cryptocurrency and Digital-Asset Inheritance

    Cryptocurrency inheritance requires three plans that work together: legal authority, a secure method for authorized people to locate and control the asset, and records sufficient to administer and report the transfer without exposing private keys.

  • Digital Assets and Online Accounts

    Digital-asset planning coordinates legal consent, fiduciary authority, provider tools, security, and practical instructions for online accounts, devices, cryptocurrency, files, and intellectual property.

  • HIPAA Authorization

    A HIPAA authorization can permit specified people to receive protected health information; it supports communication but does not itself grant medical decision-making authority.

  • Health Care Power of Attorney

    A health care power of attorney names an agent to make health decisions when the conditions in the document and state law are met.

  • Transfer-on-Death and Payable-on-Death Designations

    TOD and POD arrangements can transfer eligible securities, deposit accounts, vehicles, or real estate outside probate where governing law and the institution recognize them.

  • Trust Funding

    Trust funding is the process of making the trust the owner or effective beneficiary of selected property using the method appropriate to each asset.

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