Will, living trust, or something more? This tool compares the estate-planning structures worth discussing with a licensed attorney — durable powers of attorney and health-care directives, simple wills with guardianship nominations, revocable living trusts, testamentary and special needs trusts, beneficiary and transfer-on-death titling, and specialized tools such as ILITs, SLATs, and charitable remainder trusts — against the goals, family facts, assets, concerns, state context, and constraints you supply. It builds a meeting agenda, not documents.
Each card separates broad structure-family fit from legal suitability and collects the exact written scope, current law, document, asset, title, beneficiary, eligibility, institution, valuation, tax, filing, funding, fiduciary, and administration evidence needed before acting. The five-fact overview covers the planning job, revocability, cost shape, first attorney check, and meeting prep; expansion adds one ordered sequence to keep or remove the option, separate review from implementation, and record the exact attorney-review evidence. Only licensed counsel can decide what is valid and suitable, draft or review documents, and confirm the full plan under current law.
What you can do
- Broad structure families compared from supplied context
- Structure-family fit separated from legal suitability
- Exact legal, funding, filing, and upkeep evidence by option
- Shortlist, verify, then act with counsel for every structure
- Current law, document, asset, and administration checks before acting
Frequently asked questions
Is this legal advice?
No. This tool is educational only and does not provide legal advice. It ranks structures that may be worth discussing with a licensed estate attorney in your state — it cannot tell you what to set up, and estate law varies significantly by state. Use it to prepare for a conversation with a qualified attorney, not in place of one.
Do I need a trust, or is a will enough?
It depends on your goals, estate size, family, and state — which is exactly what this tool helps you think through. A simple will covers who inherits and who raises minor children but still goes through probate, while a revocable living trust can pass funded assets outside probate. The structure-family comparison is a starting point; a qualified estate attorney can weigh the specifics for your situation.
How are the structures ranked?
Each structure gets a structure-family fit score from the goals, family facts, assets, concerns, state context, and constraints you supply. That broad comparison is not a legal-suitability review or proof that a structure is valid, properly drafted, funded, accepted, or effective. Licensed counsel must check the exact plan evidence before you act.
Does this replace hiring an estate attorney?
No. It builds your meeting agenda, not your documents. Drafting valid estate documents, and knowing which structures actually fit your state's law and your family, is work for a licensed estate attorney. This tool helps you arrive prepared with the right questions.
Why does my state matter so much?
Estate, probate, title, trust, creditor, Medicaid, and signing rules vary by state, and a state may not recognize or treat every deed or trust structure the same way. Because of that, the tool can only surface structures worth asking about; a qualified estate attorney licensed in your state is the one who can confirm what applies to you.
Ready for your recommendation?
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