Knowledge base
Understand the plan before you sign it
Short, practical explanations of each document, what funding means, and exactly what happens on signing day.
Will vs trust
A side-by-side comparison covering probate, privacy, control while you are living, cost, and which option fits your situation.
CompareEstate planning checklist
Everything to gather, who to name, which documents to prepare, how to sign in your state, and the follow-through most people skip.
Open checklistThe revocable living trust
What a living trust is, what it does while you are alive, and why it keeps your family out of probate court.
ReadThe pour-over will
The safety net that catches anything the trust missed, and where guardians are nominated.
ReadFunding your trust
The step most do-it-yourself trusts never finish. An unfunded trust controls nothing.
ReadSigning day rules
Witnesses, notaries, self-proving affidavits, and the order in which to sign everything.
ReadWho does what
Trustee, successor trustee, personal representative, guardian, beneficiary — in plain English.
ReadThe living will / advance directive
How you tell doctors what treatment you want if you cannot speak for yourself, and what your state requires for it to be honored.
ReadThe healthcare power of attorney
Naming the person who decides for you, choosing which powers they hold, and how it fits with your living will.
ReadThe HIPAA authorization
The short document that lets the people you name talk to your doctors and receive your records.
ReadFinal disposition instructions
Who has authority over your remains, the arrangements you want, and why this belongs in a separate document.
ReadSigning rules by state
Witness counts, notary posture, self-proving affidavits and community property status for all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
- Alabama2 witnesses
- Alaska2 witnesses
- Arizona2 witnesses
- Arkansas2 witnesses
- California2 witnesses
- Colorado2 witnesses
- Connecticut2 witnesses
- Delaware2 witnesses
- District of Columbia2 witnesses
- Florida2 witnesses
- Georgia2 witnesses
- Hawaii2 witnesses
- Idaho2 witnesses
- Illinois2 witnesses
- Indiana2 witnesses
- Iowa2 witnesses
- Kansas2 witnesses
- Kentucky2 witnesses
- Louisiana2 witnesses
- Maine2 witnesses
- Maryland2 witnesses
- Massachusetts2 witnesses
- Michigan2 witnesses
- Minnesota2 witnesses
- Mississippi2 witnesses
- Missouri2 witnesses
- Montana2 witnesses
- Nebraska2 witnesses
- Nevada2 witnesses
- New Hampshire2 witnesses
- New Jersey2 witnesses
- New Mexico2 witnesses
- New York2 witnesses
- North Carolina2 witnesses
- North Dakota2 witnesses
- Ohio2 witnesses
- Oklahoma2 witnesses
- Oregon2 witnesses
- Pennsylvania2 witnesses
- Rhode Island2 witnesses
- South Carolina2 witnesses
- South Dakota2 witnesses
- Tennessee2 witnesses
- Texas2 witnesses
- Utah2 witnesses
- Vermont2 witnesses
- Virginia2 witnesses
- Washington2 witnesses
- West Virginia2 witnesses
- Wisconsin2 witnesses
- Wyoming2 witnesses