Estate Planning Document Preparation
Professionally prepared estate planning documents — wills, living trusts, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives — that reflect your wishes, protect your loved ones, and ensure your assets pass the way you intended.
Estate Planning Education
Estate planning is the process of documenting your wishes for what happens to your assets and your health care decisions when you are no longer able to make those decisions yourself — whether due to incapacity or death. A complete estate plan addresses who receives your property, who manages your affairs if you become incapacitated, who makes your medical decisions, and who cares for your minor children if you die before they reach adulthood.
Without an estate plan, these decisions are made for you. State intestacy laws determine who inherits your property — and those laws frequently produce outcomes that do not reflect what you would have chosen. If you die without a will and are unmarried, your assets may pass entirely to your parents rather than to your partner. If you die without naming a guardian for your minor children, a court will decide who raises them. If you become incapacitated without a durable power of attorney in place, your family may need to pursue expensive and time-consuming guardianship proceedings to manage your affairs.
Estate planning documents are not only for the wealthy or the elderly. Anyone with assets, with minor children, or with specific wishes about their medical care has reason to document those wishes in properly prepared legal instruments. The cost of not having these documents in place — measured in family conflict, court proceedings, unnecessary taxes, and assets passing to unintended recipients — far exceeds the cost of preparing them.
The Juris Institute prepares estate planning documents based on your instructions and wishes. We do not provide estate planning advice — recommendations about what structure to use, how to minimize estate taxes, or whether a trust is appropriate for your situation require a licensed estate planning attorney. What we do is prepare the documents that reflect the choices you have already made, to a professional standard that ensures they accomplish their purpose.
A last will and testament takes effect at death and passes through probate — the court-supervised process of validating the will and distributing assets. A revocable living trust holds assets during your lifetime and transfers them to beneficiaries at death, bypassing probate entirely. Trusts also provide incapacity planning: if you become unable to manage your affairs, the successor trustee takes over without court involvement. Both instruments serve important functions, and many estate plans include both. The choice between them depends on the size and nature of your estate, your state's probate requirements, and your privacy and planning goals.
A will or trust addresses what happens to your assets at death — but two other documents are equally important for incapacity planning. A durable power of attorney names someone to manage your financial affairs if you become unable to do so. A healthcare directive (also called a living will or advance directive) documents your wishes for medical treatment and names someone to make healthcare decisions on your behalf. Without these documents, your family may be unable to access your accounts, pay your bills, or make medical decisions without going to court.
Estate Planning Document Services
From simple wills to comprehensive estate planning packages, we prepare all categories of estate planning documents based on your specific wishes and jurisdiction requirements.
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A will is the foundational document of any estate plan. It names your beneficiaries, designates an executor to administer your estate, and — critically if you have minor children — nominates a guardian. We prepare wills that are properly structured, clearly drafted, and formatted to meet your state's execution requirements.
Simple Wills — Pour-Over Wills (to fund a trust) — Wills with Testamentary Trusts — Wills Naming Minor Guardians — Wills with Specific Bequests — Codicils (amendments to existing wills)
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A revocable living trust holds your assets during your lifetime, provides for management during incapacity, and transfers assets to your beneficiaries at death without probate. We prepare trust documents — including the trust agreement and pour-over will — based on your assets, beneficiaries, and distribution instructions.
Revocable Living Trust Agreements — Pour-Over Wills — Trustee Succession Provisions — Distribution Standards and Instructions — Spendthrift Provisions — Special Needs Trust Provisions
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A durable power of attorney names an agent to manage your financial affairs if you become incapacitated. Without one, your family may need to pursue guardianship proceedings to pay your bills, access your accounts, or manage your property. We prepare durable powers of attorney with the scope of authority you specify.
General Durable Power of Attorney — Limited Power of Attorney — Springing Power of Attorney — Financial Power of Attorney — Real Property Power of Attorney — Business Management Authority
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Healthcare directives — including living wills and healthcare powers of attorney — document your wishes for medical treatment and name a healthcare proxy to make decisions when you cannot. We prepare these documents in compliance with your state's specific requirements for form and execution.
Healthcare Power of Attorney — Living Will / Advance Directive — POLST / MOLST Forms (where applicable) — DNR Documentation (document preparation only) — HIPAA Authorization Forms — Combined Healthcare Directive Packages
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A living trust is only effective if assets are transferred into it. Trust funding involves preparing deeds to transfer real property into the trust, preparing assignment documents for personal property, and providing guidance on how to re-title financial accounts and beneficiary designations. We prepare trust funding documents for real property and personal property.
Deed Transferring Real Property to Trust — Assignment of Personal Property to Trust — Certificate of Trust — Trust Amendment Documents — Trust Restatement Documents
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For most individuals and couples, a complete estate plan includes a will (or pour-over will), a living trust (optional), a durable power of attorney, and a healthcare directive. We prepare complete estate planning packages for individuals and married couples, tailored to the instructions and wishes you provide.
Individual Estate Planning Package — Married Couple Estate Planning Package — Trust-Based Estate Plan — Will-Based Estate Plan — Healthcare Directive Package — Incapacity Planning Package
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Every adult has reason to document their wishes. The question is not whether estate planning documents matter — it is whether yours reflect your intentions.
If you have minor children and no will, a court will decide who raises them if you die. A will naming a guardian for your children is one of the most important documents you can prepare, regardless of the size of your estate.
If you own real property, how that property passes at your death matters enormously. A living trust allows real property to transfer to your heirs without probate. A properly prepared will ensures it passes to the right person. An unplanned death can result in expensive probate proceedings or family conflict over the property.
When marriages involve children from prior relationships, the default rules of intestacy and standard beneficiary designations frequently produce unintended outcomes. Clearly documented estate planning instruments are essential to ensuring your specific wishes are honored.
The death or incapacity of a business owner without proper planning can destabilize or destroy the business. Estate planning for business owners should address succession, valuation, and the coordination of business ownership documents with personal estate planning instruments.
Every adult should have, at minimum, a healthcare directive naming someone to make medical decisions and documenting their wishes for end-of-life care. Without this document, healthcare providers may be legally prohibited from sharing information with your family or following your wishes.
The years approaching and following retirement are a natural time to update or establish an estate plan. Asset values are often at their peak, and the stakes of an inadequate plan are highest. A comprehensive review and update of estate planning documents is appropriate for anyone in or approaching retirement.
Simple & Straightforward
Three clear steps from your first contact to receiving your completed documents. No hourly billing. No retainer. No surprises.
Contact us with the type of documents you need. Provide the relevant facts, names, terms, and specific instructions. We will confirm scope and provide a flat-fee quote.
Your documents are professionally prepared and formatted based entirely on the information and instructions you provide. Revisions within scope are included.
Receive your completed documents, review them for accuracy against your instructions, and execute, file, or deliver them as directed.
Common Questions
What happens if I die without a will?
If you die without a will, you die intestate. Your assets pass to your heirs according to your state's intestacy laws — typically in a fixed order of priority: spouse first, then children, then parents, then siblings. If you have no qualifying relatives, your estate escheats to the state. Intestacy frequently produces outcomes that do not match what the deceased would have chosen — a long-term unmarried partner receives nothing, stepchildren receive nothing, and assets may be divided among family members the deceased would not have chosen. A will ensures your assets pass according to your actual wishes.
Does a living trust replace a will?
A living trust does not replace a will — it works alongside one. A pour-over will is typically prepared alongside a living trust to capture any assets that were not transferred into the trust during your lifetime and direct them into the trust at death. Assets that pass through the pour-over will do go through probate, which is one reason proper trust funding is important. Even with a fully funded trust, a will is important for nominating a guardian for minor children.
When does a power of attorney take effect?
A durable power of attorney typically takes effect immediately upon signing, giving your agent authority to act on your behalf from that point forward. A springing power of attorney takes effect only upon a specified triggering event — most commonly incapacity, as certified by one or more physicians. Each type has advantages and risks. An immediately effective durable power of attorney is simpler to use but requires trust in your agent. A springing power of attorney requires a certification process before your agent can act, which can create delays in emergencies.
What is the difference between a healthcare power of attorney and a living will?
A healthcare power of attorney (also called a healthcare proxy or healthcare agent designation) names a specific person to make medical decisions on your behalf when you cannot make them yourself. A living will (also called an advance directive) documents your specific wishes regarding medical treatment — particularly end-of-life care, resuscitation, and life-sustaining treatment. Many states combine these into a single comprehensive healthcare directive document. Both serve important and distinct functions: the healthcare power of attorney addresses who decides; the living will addresses what you want decided.
Do I need to update my estate plan if I move to a different state?
Estate planning documents executed in one state are generally recognized in other states, but the documents may not be optimally structured for your new state's law. For example, some states have specific statutory forms for powers of attorney and healthcare directives that are more readily accepted by financial institutions and healthcare providers than out-of-state forms. If you have moved to a new state, it is a good practice to have your documents reviewed and, if appropriate, updated to comply with your new state's law and to take advantage of any state-specific planning options.
Understanding Our Estate Planning Services
Important Notice
The Juris Institute provides legal document preparation and legal education services only. Engaging our services does not create an attorney-client relationship. We do not provide legal advice, legal strategy, or court representation of any kind. All information on this page is provided for general educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Estate planning documents must be properly executed — signed, witnessed, and notarized — to be legally effective. Execution requirements vary by state and document type. We provide execution instructions with every document. Documents that are not properly executed may be invalid. All documents are prepared based solely on the information and instructions provided by the client. The Juris Institute is not a law firm. All fees are due upon project initiation and are non-refundable.
A complete estate plan — will, power of attorney, and healthcare directive — is one of the most important things you can do for your family. Contact us for a flat-fee quote.
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