If you’re over 18 and own any assets — a house, a retirement account, a car, even a modest investment portfolio — you have an estate plan question worth answering: what happens to it if something happens to you?
You don’t need a seven-figure net worth for this to matter. Without the right documents in place, your family could face a lengthy, costly court process just to make basic decisions on your behalf — or after you’re gone. Here are the five documents I recommend every client have, plus one more worth considering.
1. A Last Will and Testament
Your will says who receives your assets, names an executor to carry out your wishes, and — if you have minor children — lets you name a guardian. Without one, your state’s intestacy laws decide who inherits, which may not match what you’d have chosen.
Worth noting: a will only controls probate assets. Jointly held accounts, life insurance policies, and retirement accounts pass by beneficiary designation or titling, regardless of what your will says. This is one of the most common gaps I see — people update their will but forget their IRA beneficiary still names an ex-spouse.
2. A Durable Power of Attorney
This names someone you trust to manage your finances if you’re unable to. “Durable” means it stays in effect even if you become incapacitated — that’s the whole point. Without one, your family may need a court proceeding just to pay your bills or access your accounts while you’re alive but unable to act.
3. A Healthcare Power of Attorney
Also called a healthcare proxy or medical power of attorney, this lets someone make medical decisions on your behalf if you can’t communicate your wishes. I recommend naming both a primary agent and an alternate, and giving copies to both of them and your primary care physician.
4. A Living Will
Sometimes called an advance directive, this document spells out your wishes on life-sustaining treatment — things like CPR or tube feeding — if you’re unable to decide for yourself. It’s different from a healthcare power of attorney: the POA names a person to decide; the living will tells that person (and your doctors) what you actually want.
5. A HIPAA Authorization
Since HIPAA privacy rules limit what healthcare providers can share, this document authorizes doctors and other providers to discuss your medical status with the people you’ve named — so your agents and family aren’t shut out of the loop when it matters most.
And Maybe One More: A Standby Guardianship Form
If you have minor children, this written declaration names a guardian in case you’re incapacitated but still alive — distinct from the guardian named in your will, which only applies after death. Not every state recognizes this document, so it’s worth asking whether your state does.
The Numbers Tell the Story
A recent Pew Research Center survey found only about a third of adults have a will — a share that rises with age, but even among people in their 80s, roughly one in five still doesn’t have one. That’s a lot of families left to navigate probate court and state default rules during an already difficult time.
What This Costs
Working with an attorney, these documents can run anywhere up to a few thousand dollars depending on complexity and location. Online services offer a lower-cost path for straightforward situations, but if your estate is more complex — or if minimizing estate taxes is a goal — working with an experienced attorney is still worth the investment.
The Bottom Line
None of these documents require you to predict the future. They just make sure that whoever you trust — a spouse, an adult child, a close friend — has the legal authority to act on your wishes instead of guessing, or worse, going through court to get permission. If it’s been a while since you looked at yours, or you’re not sure you have all five, it’s worth a conversation with your estate attorney — and worth a conversation with me about how these pieces fit into your broader retirement plan.
