Omliva organizes practical information. This guide is general information for the United States, not legal, tax, financial or medical advice.
Two kinds of planning: legal documents and practical information
Legal documents give someone the authority to act; they are signed, witnessed, and sometimes notarized. Without them, a court or state law decides who is in charge.
Practical information is what your family needs to do the job: which bank you use, where the deed is, who the vet is, how the mortgage gets paid. None of it needs a lawyer, but it needs to be written down and findable.
| Legal document | What it does | Works while alive? | Works after death? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Will | Names who inherits, the executor, a guardian for minor children, a pet caretaker | No | Yes |
| Revocable living trust | Holds property; a successor trustee steps in during incapacity or death; avoids probate for its assets | Yes | Yes |
| Durable financial power of attorney | Names an agent to handle money and property if you cannot | Yes | No, ends at death |
| Health care directive (living will plus proxy) | States the care you want and names who decides if you cannot | Yes | No |
| HIPAA release | Lets named people talk to your doctors and see records | Yes | Limited |
| Beneficiary designations (retirement, life insurance, POD and TOD accounts) | Passes those assets directly to named people, outside the will | No | Yes |
A common misunderstanding: a power of attorney is for life, not death. The CFPB says "the authority of an agent under a durable power of attorney ends when the principal dies"3. After death, the executor takes over; see the executor checklist for that role.
Step 1: Put the legal documents in place
Will
The National Institute on Aging describes a will as the document that says how your property, money, and other assets "will be distributed and managed when you die"1. Sign it before at least two adult witnesses who do not inherit; most states also let you add a notarized self-proving affidavit so witnesses will not need to testify during probate5.
Durable financial power of attorney
A power of attorney lets someone else act on your behalf; a durable one stays effective even if you become incapacitated3. Ask your bank now whether it will accept yours.
Health care directive
The two most common advance directives are a living will and a durable power of attorney for health care, naming your health care proxy. Without one, state law decides who makes medical decisions for you1. CaringInfo offers free state forms, since witness and notarization rules vary by state11. Give copies to your proxy and doctor; see the living will and advance health care directive guide.
A living will is often confused with a POLST, MOLST, or DNR order; the table shows how each differs20,1.
| Document | What it covers | Who creates it | When it takes effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Living will | Wishes for future treatments like CPR, ventilators, feeding tubes | You, witnessed or notarized per state rules | When you cannot communicate and the situation applies |
| Health care power of attorney (proxy) | Names someone to decide care you have not specified | You, witnessed or notarized per state rules | When a doctor says you cannot decide |
| POLST or MOLST | Active medical order for serious illness or frailty | Doctor or nurse practitioner, with you or your proxy | Immediately; providers follow it20 |
| DNR (do-not-resuscitate) order | Order not to attempt CPR if heart or breathing stops | A doctor, based on your wishes | Immediately, wherever on file1 |
HIPAA release
A valid authorization must be "written in plain language" and name what may be shared, who may share and receive it, its purpose, and an expiration date or event (45 CFR 164.508, via Cornell Legal Information Institute, checked 2026-09-17). It lets named people get hospital updates before your proxy's authority kicks in.
Beneficiary designations
Retirement accounts, life insurance, annuities, and payable-on-death accounts go to whoever is on the form, not whoever is in the will8. Pull a current copy of every form; the beneficiary designations checklist shows where each is.
Living trust (optional)
A living trust names a trustee to hold and distribute property and funds if you become unable to manage your affairs1. It only covers assets retitled into it.
Step 2: Record the practical information your family will need
Use the National Institute on Aging's list as a floor. Record where each item lives, not just that it exists.
Identity and personal records
- Full legal name, Social Security number, date and place of birth, legal residence
- Location of birth, marriage, divorce, citizenship, adoption, and military records
Key people
- Spouse, children, executor, agents, health care proxy, successor trustee, with phone numbers
- Doctors, lawyer, accountant, financial advisor, insurance agents, clergy, close friends
Money, income, and insurance
- Every bank, brokerage, and retirement account: institution and contact
- Pension, Social Security, annuities, rental income; most recent tax return and preparer
- Life, health, long-term care, home, and auto policies: insurer, policy number, agent
Property, debts, and bills
- Deeds, mortgage servicer, property tax, vehicle titles, safe deposit box and key holder
- Loans and credit cards: what's owed, to whom, and when1
- Utilities, phone, streaming, memberships, and which account pays each one
Digital life
- Accounts that matter: email, phone carrier, cloud storage, photos, social media, online banking
- How your family gets in: your password manager's emergency access, plus legacy contacts on Apple, Google, and Facebook (see the digital legacy checklist and legacy contact guide); decide to keep, memorialize, download, or close
- The legal backstop: most states have a fiduciary access law for digital assets, but each provider's tool usually controls first21
Pets and medical
- Vet, medications, food, and who will take each animal; see the pet care plan guide
- Prescriptions, allergies, conditions, health insurance, and where your advance directives and any DNR or POLST order are
Wishes and letters
- Burial or cremation, service preferences, organ donation, any prepaid funeral contract
- Organ donation: register through your state's registry, the DMV, or the Health app22
- A letter of instruction with an inventory of assets and contact details for your advisors8; see the letter of instruction guide
A funeral with viewing and burial has a national median price of $8,300, versus $6,280 for a funeral with viewing and cremation, neither including a cemetery plot or marker13; recording what's prepaid spares a costly decision under pressure. See the funeral planning checklist.
Where each original document is
- Will, trust, powers of attorney, health care directive, HIPAA release, and the lawyer who drafted them
Omliva turns guided questions into a printed and digital family guide; a notebook or spreadsheet works too, as long as someone knows where it is.
Step 4: Review it on a schedule
Both halves go stale: estate plans often stop matching their creator's original intent without routine updates8.
- Practical information: once a year. Tax week is a natural date; every statement is already in front of you.
- Legal documents: every 3 to 5 years. Review your estate plan on that cycle9.
- Right away after: marriage, divorce, a birth or death, a move to another state (advance directives do not always transfer between states, CaringInfo, checked 2026-09-17), a new home or business, retirement, a serious diagnosis, or a named person who can no longer serve.
Common mistakes
- Passwords in a binder. Anyone who finds it has your whole life. Use a password manager's emergency access instead; with Bitwarden, you approve the request or it releases after a wait time you set19.
- Out-of-date beneficiaries. An ex-spouse on a 401(k) form usually wins over the will.
- Nobody knows where the will is. A signed original nobody can find helps no one.
- An untested power of attorney. Confirm your bank will honor it.
- No HIPAA release. Adult children may not get a status update from the hospital.
- No instructions for the first two weeks. The executor needs death certificates, often 10 or more copies, must report the death to Social Security, and should notify one credit bureau, which alerts the other two17.
- Forgetting the taxes. The final Form 1040 is generally due April 15 of the year after death, and an estate with $600 or more in gross income for the year must file Form 104112.
When to get professional help
See an estate planning attorney if you own a business or multi-state property, have assets near your state's estate tax threshold (several states tax estates well below the federal $15 million), have a blended family or a child with a disability on benefits, want to leave someone out, are naming a trust as beneficiary, or expect a dispute. Your state or county bar association can refer you, including to free legal aid.
The master checklist
Print this and check items off.
Legal documents
Practical information
Storage, sharing, review
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between a will and an estate plan?
A will is one document. An estate plan is the whole set: will or trust, power of attorney, health care directive, HIPAA release, and beneficiary designations, plus the practical information to carry it out. Many people have only a will, leaving incapacity documents missing.
Do I need a lawyer to get my affairs in order?
Not always. Health care directives are free state forms; the National Institute on Aging says you do not need a lawyer to create them (checked 2026-09-17). Simple wills and powers of attorney can be done with software, though business ownership, multi-state property, blended families, or large estates are reasons to hire an attorney.
How often should I update my end of life plan?
Review practical information every year and legal documents every 3 to 5 years, and sooner after a marriage, divorce, birth, death, move to another state, or big health change. Check beneficiary forms yearly too, since they override the will.
Where should I keep my will and other documents?
In one place at home, protected from fire and water, with copies in encrypted storage shared with your executor. If the original is in a safe deposit box, keep copies at home and make sure someone else can open it.
What happens if I die without a will?
Your state's intestacy law decides who inherits, and a court appoints an administrator. Assets with beneficiary designations or joint owners still pass directly to those people. A will does not avoid probate, but it lets you choose the executor, beneficiaries, and a guardian for minor children.
Does a power of attorney work after death?
No. Both the CFPB and Nolo confirm a durable power of attorney ends at death (checked 2026-09-17). After death, the executor named in the will, or a court-appointed administrator, handles the estate.
Is the $255 Social Security death payment automatic?
No. A surviving spouse, or in some cases a child, must apply, and "you must apply for this payment within 2 years of the family member's death"16. Call 1-800-772-1213 or apply through the SSA website.
What is the difference between a living will and a POLST form?
A living will states future wishes for later. A POLST (Portable Medical Orders) form is an active medical order a doctor or nurse practitioner signs with you now, for people with serious illness or frailty20. Healthy adults usually need only the living will.
Does my executor automatically get access to my online accounts?
Not automatically. Most states have a fiduciary access law for digital assets, but each provider's own tool, such as Google's Inactive Account Manager or Apple's Legacy Contact, usually controls first21. Set those tools up instead of relying on the law alone.
How do I register to be an organ donor?
Through your state's donor registry online, at the DMV, or through the Health app on an iPhone. It is free and separate from your will or health care directive22.
How much can I give away tax-free while I'm alive?
In 2026, the IRS lets you give up to $19,000 per person without filing a gift tax return or using your lifetime exemption; a married couple can combine exclusions for $38,000 per recipient. Larger lifetime gifts should be discussed with a tax professional12.
Sources
- National Institute on Aging, nia.nih.gov: Getting Your Affairs in Order Checklist: Documents to Prepare for the Future, Checked 2026-09-17
- National Institute on Aging, nia.nih.gov: Advance Care Planning: Advance Directives for Health Care, Checked 2026-09-17
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, consumerfinance.gov: What is a power of attorney (POA)?, Checked 2026-09-17
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, pueblo.gpo.gov: Managing Someone Else's Money: Help for agents under a durable power of attorney, Checked 2026-09-17
- Nolo, nolo.com: How to Sign Your Will: The Will-Signing Ceremony, Checked 2026-09-17
- Nolo, nolo.com: Durable Financial Power of Attorney: How It Works, Checked 2026-09-17
- Cornell Legal Information Institute, law.cornell.edu: 45 CFR § 164.508, Uses and disclosures for which an authorization is required, Checked 2026-09-17
- Fidelity, fidelity.com: Estate plan: Checklist and important last steps, Checked 2026-09-17
- Vanguard, investor.vanguard.com: Estate Planning Checklist and Basics, Checked 2026-09-17
- Medicare.gov, medicare.gov: Advance care planning coverage, Checked 2026-09-17
- CaringInfo (National Alliance for Care at Home), caringinfo.org: Download and Complete Your State or Territories' Advance Directive Form, Checked 2026-09-17
- IRS, irs.gov: What's New: Estate and Gift Tax, Checked 2026-09-24
- National Funeral Directors Association, nfda.org: 2023 NFDA General Price List Study, Checked 2026-09-24
- IRS, irs.gov: Publication 559 (2025), Survivors, Executors, and Administrators, Checked 2026-09-17
- IRS, irs.gov: Instructions for Form 1041, Checked 2026-09-17
- Social Security Administration, ssa.gov: Lump-sum death payment, Checked 2026-09-17
- AARP, aarp.org: Here's Everything You Need to Do When a Loved One Dies" (updated May 7, 2026) Checked 2026-09-17
- Caring.com, caring.com: 2025 Wills and Estate Planning Study, Checked 2026-09-17
- Bitwarden, bitwarden.com: About Emergency Access, Checked 2026-09-17
- National POLST, polst.org: National POLST Form, Checked 2026-09-20
- Uniform Law Commission, uniformlaws.org: Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act, Revised, Checked 2026-09-20
- organdonor.gov, organdonor.gov: Sign Up To Be An Organ Donor, Checked 2026-09-20
- CaringInfo (National Alliance for Care at Home), caringinfo.org: Storing and Retrieving Your Advance Directive, Checked 2026-09-28
- National POLST, polst.org: State Programs, Checked 2026-09-28