Prepare a legal estate plan

A legal estate plan is crucial to determine what happens to property, who takes care of children or other dependents, and who makes decisions if you or the person you’re planning for cannot.

It will also help avoid probate, a costly legal process where the government gets involved in distributing assets.

Here are the estate-planning “must-have” documents to assemble for you or the loved one you’re planning for:

1. Will/trust

2. Durable power of attorney

3. Beneficiary designations

4. Letter of intent

5. Healthcare power of attorney

6. Guardianship designations

While we do encourage you to research as much as you can about estate planning, ultimately we recommend employing the services of an attorney in the state where you or the person you’re planning for lives to get these documents in order. The reality is, this is a very complex and vitally important process.

There are many online vendors that you can connect to with a simple search, but they are often not specific enough to this task, and may not help avoid probate. We’ve assembled a search engine that will help you find an estate attorney that is right for you, which you can access by clicking here.

Additionally, if you prefer a one-time, online service and the estate you’re planning for is VERY simple, we recommend using NOLO.