The following article, written by Sandra Block, with contributions by Kathryn Pomroy and Donna LeValley, appears on Kiplinger’s site on 7/30/26. It is relatively long, so I have split it into two posts, but it is a great overview and worth reading. Once you have read it, if you would like to update or create your estate plan, I’d be honored to help.
“Good estate planning goes well beyond a will or trust.
If you have already taken the first steps in estate planning, that’s fantastic —you’re ahead of the curve and protecting what matters most! Unfortunately, more than half, or 56%, of all U.S. adults have no estate planning documents whatsoever, according to Trust and Will’s 2026 Estate Planning Report. While awareness is up and access to online tools has improved, the gap between knowing about estate planning and actually having an estate plan is essentially unchanged from 55% in 2025.
Unless you regularly update estate planning documents — your will, trust, medical and financial POAs, or HIPAA authorization, and you name beneficiary designations — your heirs could still find themselves in a legal morass after you die, or pay more than they should in taxes (we’ll cover that, too). Worse, some of your assets could end up going to a wrongful heir.
There are ways to save money on estate planning. So even if you’re not a millionaire, a properly documented estate plan should be within reach.
Essential estate planning documents
The basic components of an estate plan include wills, trusts, powers of attorney (POAs) and living wills. Here’s how they each work.
A will. Every estate plan should have a will listing your assets and how you want them distributed to your heirs after your death. When drafting a will, it’s essential to know what to include and what to leave out of a will.
A living trust.
A living trust, also known as a revocable trust, ensures that the assets you put into the trust (like stocks, bonds, CDs and other investments, jewelry and real estate) are distributed according to your wishes after your death. These trusts are also a gift to your heirs, as they mean your beneficiaries will not have to go through lengthy and onerous court probate to receive the assets.
A living will. This document may have a different name depending on the state where you live, sometimes with slightly different meanings. A living will may also be called an “advance health care directive” or “medical directive.” These documents ensure that your health care choices are followed if you are incapacitated or for end-of-life care.
A power of attorney (POA) for finances and health care (also known as a health care proxy). POA designations give an individual you trust the authority to manage your finances or make health care decisions if you become incapacitated.
A digital POA. You can also use a power of attorney to designate an individual to manage your digital assets, such as your online and social media accounts.
Some individuals use living trusts to avoid probate and designate a trustee to manage their assets after they die. But whether your estate is simple or multi-layered, “you should review all of your documents every three to five years, or more often if you experience a major life change,” says Marcos Segrera, a financial adviser with Evensky & Katz / Foldes in Miami.
Your beneficiaries are key
Certain assets, such as your retirement accounts and insurance policies, require you to name a beneficiary who will inherit the account when you die. That ensures those assets will go directly to your named beneficiaries after you die, outside of probate.
Beneficiary designations usually supersede instructions in your will or living trust, so it’s critical to get them right, says Letha Sgritta McDowell of McDowell Law Group.”You should also name contingent beneficiaries in case you and the primary beneficiary — usually your spouse — die simultaneously or within a short time,” McDowell adds.
Although 401(k) plans routinely remind participants to review their beneficiaries, they rarely advise them to name a contingent beneficiary, McDowell says.
If you don’t name a beneficiary — or the primary beneficiary predeceases you and you don’t designate a new beneficiary — the proceeds will be paid to the estate, which means they’ll go through probate. This could significantly delay the process of distributing your assets, creating headaches and unnecessary costs for your heirs.
Spousal beneficiary rules for qualified retirement plans
Federal law requires that qualified plans, such as 401(k) plans, go to the surviving spouse unless the spouse agrees to give up that protection. If you want those funds to go to someone other than your spouse — you’ve remarried, for example, and want your adult children to inherit the money — your spouse must sign a waiver giving up the right to receive funds.
This spousal protection doesn’t apply to IRAs. In most states, you can name anyone you want as a beneficiary of your IRA (a spousal waiver may be required if you don’t name your spouse and live in a community-property state). So, while a spouse may be the default beneficiary of a 401(k), that protection disappears once the funds are rolled over to an IRA.
Consider your non-retirement accounts
While not required, you can — and should — arrange for bank and brokerage accounts to pass directly to your heirs, outside of probate. This process is typically known as a transfer-on-death (TOD) or payable-on-death account, and the forms should be available at your financial institution.
You may prefer this option to a joint account, which will also bypass probate but gives the co-owner equal rights to the account’s assets. With a TOD or payable-on-death account, you maintain control of the account until you die. The beneficiaries can claim the account outside of probate by producing proof of identity and a death certificate.
As with beneficiary designations, these accounts supersede your will or trust, so make sure they’re up to date and have contingent beneficiaries.
If you change a beneficiary designation, you should receive a confirmation from the account. Store that confirmation with your other estate-planning documents, McDowell says.”
Next week I will post part two, which covers topics such as marriage, divorce, and death, and their impact on your estate plan. Meanwhile, if anything in this article so far has raised questions you’d like to discuss with me, please do not hesitate to reach out. My phone number is 513-399-7526. You can also visit my website, www.davidlefton.com, for more information.
Source: Kiplinger, 7/30/26 Sandra Block with contributions by Kathryn Pomroy and Donna LeValley.