Answer a few questions and get a personalized, prioritized list of the documents you actually need — what each does, what order to do them in, and the gaps that quietly fail at probate. Runs entirely in your browser.
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Important: This is educational triage, not legal advice and not a substitute for a licensed estate-planning attorney. It identifies which documents are likely relevant and what's missing — it does not draft documents, judge legal validity, or check execution rules (witnesses, notarization). Probate thresholds and valid forms are state-specific and change. Confirm everything with an attorney in your state.
Most people know they "should" do estate planning but freeze on which documents they need — will vs. living trust vs. power of attorney vs. advance directive vs. beneficiary designations vs. HIPAA — and in what order. The result is paralysis, or a half-finished plan that fails when it's actually needed. This tool turns your answers into a prioritized, checkable to-do list: each document with whether you need it, your current status, a priority, and a plain-English description of what it does. It scores your plan 0–100% complete and flags the silent-failure gaps — an unfunded trust, outdated beneficiary forms, no named guardian, a stale plan.
Maria is married with two minor children, owns a home, has a net worth of about $650,000 in California, and has a 401(k) with a named beneficiary. She has no documents yet.
Because she has minor kids and no will, the tool flags a Critical gap: "No guardian named — a court will choose for your children." Her home and her $650k estate (well above California's $208,850 small-estate threshold) make a revocable living trust recommended. The four universal documents — will, durable financial POA, advance directive, HIPAA — all show Missing. With the guardianship clause, a trust, and a beneficiary review added, her NEEDED set is 7 items and she has 0, so she scores 0% — Not started. The suggested order puts the will (with guardianship) first, then the POAs and directive, then the trust, then funding it, then a beneficiary review (with a warning not to name a minor child directly). After she completes the will, POA, directive, and HIPAA — the will also satisfies the guardianship clause — but hasn't set up the trust or reviewed her beneficiary form yet, she'd be at 5 of 7 = 71% — Mostly there, with the unfunded-trust and outdated-beneficiary gaps still flagged.
NEEDED = always: Will, Durable Financial POA, Advance Directive, HIPAA
+ Guardianship clause if you have minor children
+ Revocable Living Trust if you own real estate OR net worth > state probate threshold
+ Beneficiary review if you have life insurance / 401(k)/IRA / POD-TOD accounts
HAVE = count of NEEDED items whose status is "Have it" / "Complete"
(a trust counts only if FUNDED; a will-with-minor-kids counts only if present)
completeness% = round(100 * HAVE / count(NEEDED)) // 0–100, never NaNA stale plan (last reviewed 5+ years ago) or any major life event since the last update overrides the label to "Needs review" even at 100% — a divorce, move, or six-year-old plan should never be mislabeled as done.
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Four are universal for every adult regardless of wealth: a will (the only place to name a guardian for minor children and direct who gets what), a durable financial power of attorney (so someone can manage money if you become incapacitated, without a court conservatorship), an advance healthcare directive / living will (your end-of-life wishes plus a named medical agent), and a HIPAA authorization (so that agent can actually access your records). A revocable living trust is conditional — added when you own real estate or have an estate large enough that probate becomes costly.
No — the most common misconception. A will does not avoid probate; it directs probate. Only a funded revocable living trust, or non-probate transfers like beneficiary designations and joint title, actually avoid it. If you set up a trust but never retitle your home and accounts into it, the assets still go through probate — an unfunded trust is the single most common reason an estate plan fails.
Yes. Beneficiary designations on life insurance, 401(k)/IRA, and payable-on-death / transfer-on-death accounts pass directly to the named person and override whatever your will or trust says. An outdated form — naming an ex-spouse or a deceased person — is a leading cause of plans "failing" despite a valid will, so reviewing these forms is essential. Never name a minor child directly; route it through a trust or a UTMA custodian, or the money gets tied up in court.
They're separate documents for separate domains. A durable financial POA lets someone handle money and property if you're incapacitated while alive. An advance healthcare directive (medical POA / healthcare proxy) covers medical and end-of-life decisions. People assume one covers both — it doesn't. "Durable" matters: a standard non-durable POA terminates exactly when incapacity strikes, which is when you need it most.
A healthcare agent named in your advance directive often still cannot obtain medical records or speak freely with providers without a separate signed HIPAA authorization. It's commonly the missing piece. The authorization lets the people you name access your medical information, which your agent needs to make informed decisions.
Review every 3–5 years, and immediately after any major life event: marriage, divorce, the birth or adoption of a child, the death of a named agent or beneficiary, or a move to a new state (forms and probate rules are state-specific). Even a 100%-complete plan that is six years old or predates a major life event should be treated as "needs review."
No. This is educational triage, not legal advice and not a substitute for a licensed estate-planning attorney. It identifies which documents are likely relevant and what's missing — it does not draft documents, determine legal validity, or evaluate execution rules (witnesses, notarization), which are state-specific. Probate thresholds change. Confirm everything with a licensed attorney in your state. Everything you enter stays in your browser.
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