What Is Estate Planning? A Plain-Language Overview

This overview draws on legal analysis originally credited to Betsy Simmons Hannibal, Attorney, and later updated by Jeff Burtka, Attorney at George Mason University Law School.

At its core, estate planning is about deciding what happens to your belongings after you die. But it usually goes further than that. A solid plan can also cover who raises your minor children, how your taxes are handled, whether your family has to deal with probate court, what kind of medical care you want if you can't speak for yourself, and what should happen to your body once you're gone. Below is a walk-through of each of these pieces.

For most estates, probate costs more money and takes more time than it needs to, which is why so many people build their plan specifically to avoid it.

Follow the links throughout this piece if you want to go deeper on any single topic.

• Passing along your property
• Reducing estate and inheritance taxes
• Planning for young children
• Skipping probate
• Recording your health care wishes
• Handling your final arrangements
• Where to go from here

Passing along your property

For most people, the central purpose of an estate plan is naming who inherits what. A will is usually the go-to tool for this, mainly because it's simpler, cheaper, and more familiar than the alternatives.

You can also name beneficiaries through a living trust. The advantage there is that property held in trust generally bypasses probate. The trade-off is that living trusts tend to cost more and take more work to set up than a basic will.

Another option that's gaining popularity is using transfer-on-death designations on accounts, deeds, or registrations, which let assets pass directly to a named beneficiary without probate.

If you skip estate planning altogether, your state's intestate succession laws will decide who gets your property instead of you.

Reducing estate and inheritance taxes

Estate planning used to be a common way for ordinary families to lower or sidestep estate and inheritance taxes — the taxes owed on an estate at death. These days, the federal estate tax only applies to very large estates, those worth more than $15 million as of 2026, so most households don't need to plan around it. A handful of states still tax smaller estates, though, so if you live in one of those states and own significant property, it may be worth using your plan to limit that tax exposure. The rules vary by state, so check what applies where you live.

Planning for young children

Your estate plan can name a guardian to raise your children if neither you nor their other parent is around to do it. You can also appoint a property manager or custodian to oversee any assets your children inherit until they're old enough to manage things themselves.

Skipping probate

Probate is the court-supervised process of distributing property after someone dies. It's often more expensive and more time-consuming than families expect, which is why avoiding it is a major goal for many estate plans.

Recording your health care wishes

Estate planning isn't only about what happens after death — it can also cover the care you receive while you're alive but unable to speak for yourself. A power of attorney for health care lets you appoint someone to make medical decisions on your behalf if you're no longer able to.

A living will spells out the specific treatments you do or don't want — for example, whether you'd want every available intervention no matter what, or only limited care under certain circumstances. Together, these two documents are often called a health care directive. Many states also recognize POLST forms, which let you document your wishes for emergency medical situations.

Handling your final arrangements

You may also want your plan to spell out your final arrangements — whether you'd prefer burial, cremation, or organ donation, and what kind of service or memorial you'd like. Most states let you name someone to carry out these wishes, and you can leave behind as much detail as you want about exactly how you'd like things handled.

Where to go from here

Many people are able to put together most, if not all, of their estate plan on their own using reliable guides and reputable planning tools.

That said, if your circumstances are more complicated, it's worth talking to an estate planning attorney in your state. That's especially true if your estate is large or complex, you expect disagreement among family members, or your situation calls for advice tailored to your specific facts. Because estate laws differ from state to state, the right approach for you will depend on where you live and what you own.