EstateHome › Plan an estate: a state-by-state path
Plan an estate
How this worksPick your state, then work through the steps in order: a will, powers of attorney, a health care directive, how each asset passes at death, and taxes. Each step links to the official statute or form.
Choose your state
The steps
- Make or update a will that meets your state’s signing rules.
- Sign a financial power of attorney.
- Sign a medical power of attorney / advance directive.
- Check how each asset passes: beneficiary designations, joint ownership, transfer on death deeds where allowed, or a trust.
- Check estate and gift tax exposure.
- Store the originals and tell your executor and agents where they are.
Full list: Estate planning checklist. After a death instead? Handle an estate after a death.
When to get professional help
This site gives general legal information, not legal advice. Consider talking to a licensed attorney in the state if:
- someone may contest the will, or family members disagree;
- the estate owns a business, out-of-state real estate, or may owe estate tax;
- debts may be larger than the assets;
- you are unsure whether a deadline applies to you, or one may already have passed.
Many state and local bar associations run lawyer referral services; your probate court’s self-help page may list them.