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.

Le testament, l'incapacité et les personnes que vous désignez