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home Wills & Estate Planning Wills & Estate Planning Making a Will in Your State Make a Living Trust in Your State The Right Estate Plan for You Wills Making a Will in Your State Wills FAQ Making a No-Frills Will Making a Will: Are Lawyers Optional? Choosing an Executor FAQ Choosing a Guardian for Your Children Having a Hard Time Naming Your Child's Guardian? What You Can't, or Shouldn't, Do in Your Will Disinheriting Family Members When Do I Need to Change My Will? Married Couples: Who Owns What? Do You Need a Will or a Trust? Can You Do Your Own Will? Guardianship Issues: A Busy Family's Guide Leaving an Inheritance for Children Q&As Can I make a will online? Should I put my health care wishes in my will? Can I make a conditional gift in my will? Can we fight our father's will? Do I have to be in my home state when I make my will? What if my child's appointed guardian can't handle money? Can I disinherit an adopted child? Can my husband and I make a joint will? Can I keep control over large cash gifts I give to a child? Can I control what happens to the property I leave my husband? Can a beneficiary also be a witness to my will? Can my brother prevent me from inheriting because I'm adopted? Can my father quitclaim his property to me instead of leaving it in his will? Do I share in my husband's inheritance of his mom's house? Do I need a will if I own almost nothing? Can I disinherit my son? Does my will have to be notarized? Can I make a child's trust last forever? We don't trust the trustee -- what should we do? If I name beneficiaries for my bank accounts, do I have to include them in my will? Do I have to leave Dad's house now that he's gone? If I don't write a will, will my stepmother inherit some of my property? Getting Organized for Your Family Make a Financial Power of Attorney in Your State Get Organized Now Keeping Track of Secured Places and Passwords Final Arrangements FAQ Planning Your Funeral or Memorial Services Green Burial: Protect the Planet and Your Pocketbook The Perils of Funeral Prepayment Plans Arranging to Donate Your Body to Medicine Arranging to Donate Your Organs Help Your Family Claim Retirement Benefits Preparing for Deployment: Get Organized The Right Estate Plan for You Q&As Should I put my health care wishes in my will? If I name beneficiaries for my bank accounts, do I have to include them in my will? Living Trusts and Avoiding Probate Avoiding Probate in Your State Probate Shortcuts in Your State Living Trust FAQ Make a Living Trust in Your State Probate FAQ Why Avoid Probate? How Living Trusts Avoid Probate Do I Need a Lawyer to Make a Living Trust? Why You May Not Need a Living Trust The Right Estate Plan for You Ways to Avoid Probate How Do Living Trusts Work? Tax-Saving AB Trusts Using Roth IRAs to Avoid Probate Do You Need a Will or a Trust? Using Transfer-on-Death Accounts and Registrations to Avoid Probate Leaving Property to Children Avoiding Probate When You Have a Small Estate Special Needs Trusts Using Joint Ownership to Avoid Probate Q&As Is our living trust money at risk in a lawsuit? How do I change my living trust? Should I put joint tenancy property in a living trust as well? Can I keep control over large cash gifts I give to a child? Can I control what happens to the property I leave my husband? Can I avoid estate taxes with a basic living trust? If I become incapacitated, will I need a durable power of attorney if I already have a living trust? What if living trust beneficiaries can't agree on what to do with the property? I've changed my name. Must I update my living trust? Are children entitled to information about a parent's living trust? Can I make a child's trust last forever? If I name beneficiaries for my bank accounts, do I have to include them in my will? I think someone changed my grandmother's trust -- what should I do? What happens if I name a trust as beneficiary of my IRA? Power of Attorney Medical and Financial Powers of Attorney Medical Powers of Attorney & Living Wills Create a Living Will and Health Care Power of Attorney in Your State Living Wills and Powers of Attorney for Health Care: How They Work Advance Directives, Living Wills, Powers of Attorney: What’s the Difference? What You Can Cover in Your Health Care Documents Choosing Your Health Care Agent Duty of Medical Personnel to Honor Your Health Care Documents Q&As Should I put my health care wishes in my will? Can I pay my health care agent for overseeing my wishes? Can our mother name just one child to act for her if she becomes incapacitated? Can I make powers of attorney for my mentally and physically disabled son? Do I need my mother's consent to make a power of attorney for her? What form do I use to be sure doctors pull the plug? Powers of attorney: Why are some 'durable'? Financial Powers of Attorney Articles & FAQs How a Financial Power of Attorney Works Do You Need a Financial Power of Attorney? Preventing Challenges to Your Financial Power of Attorney Q&As How do I sign checks and bills under a power of attorney? Can I be paid as an agent under a financial power of attorney? I'm going on a long vacation. Should I make a financial power of attorney? Can our mother name just one child to act for her if she becomes incapacitated? Can I make powers of attorney for my mentally and physically disabled son? Was it legal to use my mother-in-law's credit card? Did divorce invalidate my power of attorney? Can I name more than one person to act for me under a power of attorney? Is a power of attorney valid after the person who made it dies? Powers of attorney: Why are some 'durable'? If I serve as agent under a financial power of attorney, am I personally responsible for debts? I'm the sole agent for my mom. Do I have to make reports to my brother? Estate Taxes Articles & FAQs The Estate Tax Is Dead (Maybe) Estate and Gift Tax FAQ Reducing Estate Tax by Making Gifts Tax-Saving AB Trusts Charitable Trusts: Tax Breaks for Do-Gooders Pooled Charitable Trusts: Tax Breaks for Small Fry Q&As Can I keep control over large cash gifts I give to a child? Can I avoid estate taxes with a basic living trust? When estate tax is due, who pays? If I name a trust as beneficiary of my retirement plan, when is income tax due? Can I make a tax-free gift to someone outside the country? Will my estate owe taxes on life insurance benefits I leave to my wife? Can I shield my IRA funds from estate tax? Life Insurance Articles & FAQs Do You Need Life Insurance? Using Life Insurance to Provide for Your Kids Life Insurance Options Buying Life Insurance Transferring Your Life Insurance Policy Could Save Taxes How Much Life Insurance Do You Need? Types of Permanent Life Insurance Q&As Can we keep a child's money out of the hands of an irresponsible adult? Will my estate owe taxes on life insurance benefits I leave to my wife? Executors & Probate Court