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What Happens If You Die Without a Will?
What Happens If You Die Without a Will?
When someone dies without a valid will, state law determines who inherits the probate estate and who may administer it. Learn how intestacy can affect spouses, children, stepchildren, unmarried partners,... Read more...
Healthcare POA, Living Will, and HIPAA Authorization: 3 Different Jobs
Healthcare POA, Living Will, and HIPAA Authorization: 3 Different Jobs
Estate-planning documents often use similar healthcare terminology, but a Healthcare Power of Attorney, Living Will, and HIPAA Authorization do not do the same thing. Read more...
How a Revocable Living Trust Works
How a Revocable Living Trust Works
A revocable living trust is one of the most common estate planning tools used to manage property during life and transfer assets after death. Many people choose a revocable living... Read more...
Why a Power of Attorney Is Essential in Estate Planning
Why a Power of Attorney Is Essential in Estate Planning
A power of attorney is one of the most important estate planning documents you can have. It allows you to name someone you trust to act on your behalf if... Read more...
Joint or Separate Revocable Living Trust: What Married Couples Should Consider
Joint or Separate Revocable Living Trust: What Married Couples Should Consider
Married couples creating a revocable living trust often encounter an early question: Should we create one joint trust together, or should each spouse have a separate trust? Read more...
FERPA vs. HIPAA for College Students: What Parents Can Access
FERPA vs. HIPAA for College Students: What Parents Can Access
Understand education records, medical information, campus health privacy, and decision-making authority. Learn which permissions and procedures to check with each institution. Read more...
When Does a Successor Trustee Take Over?
When Does a Successor Trustee Take Over?
Understand the difference between being named, a succession event, accepting the role, and documenting authority before acting as successor trustee. Read more...
How to Prepare Someone to Step In: A Practical Family Handoff
How to Prepare Someone to Step In: A Practical Family Handoff
Walk a trusted person through your contacts, document locations, and everyday responsibilities. Find practical gaps while keeping information, access, and legal authority distinct. Read more...
Can a Parent with Dementia Sign a Power of Attorney?
Can a Parent with Dementia Sign a Power of Attorney?
Understand why a dementia diagnosis and legal capacity are not the same question, how existing documents may help, and when to seek professional guidance. Read more...
Do I Need a Financial Power of Attorney?
Do I Need a Financial Power of Attorney?
A durable financial power of attorney lets you name someone you trust to handle bills, banking, and other financial tasks if you’re sick, injured, or unavailable. This post explains what... Read more...
What is a Living Will?
What is a Living Will?
A living will is a legal document that states your medical treatment wishes if you can’t speak for yourself. It often covers CPR, breathing machines, feeding tubes, and comfort care,... Read more...
Top 10 Estate Planning Pitfalls
Top 10 Estate Planning Pitfalls
Estate planning mistakes are usually simple things that create big headaches later. Here are the top 10 pitfalls to avoid, from outdated beneficiaries and missing powers of attorney to signing... Read more...
Changing Your Power of Attorney: Revocation, Replacement, and Notice
Changing Your Power of Attorney: Revocation, Replacement, and Notice
Distinguish revocation, replacement, and agent resignation. Review financial and healthcare documents separately and follow through with effective notices. Read more...
What Happens to Your Debts When You Die?
What Happens to Your Debts When You Die?
When someone dies, their debts usually get paid from their estate, not by family members. Learn how secured debts like mortgages work, what happens with credit cards and medical bills,... Read more...
How to Build a Full Trust-Based Estate Planning Package with Harner Legal Forms
How to Build a Full Trust-Based Estate Planning Package with Harner Legal Forms
A revocable living trust can be the centerpiece of an estate plan, but it usually isn’t the only document you need. A complete trust-based estate planning setup should also address... Read more...
What Powers Should You Give Your Financial Power of Attorney Agent?
What Powers Should You Give Your Financial Power of Attorney Agent?
A financial power of attorney lets another person (your agent) handle financial and property matters for you. But the document does not have to give the agent unlimited authority. Read more...
Before a Planned Hospital Stay: Documents and Information to Organize
Before a Planned Hospital Stay: Documents and Information to Organize
Organize contacts, healthcare documents, information-sharing preferences, bill-paying arrangements, and practical help before a planned hospital stay. Read more...
What Records Should a Successor Trustee Keep?
What Records Should a Successor Trustee Keep?
Organize a trustee working file for authority, assets, transactions, decisions, beneficiary communications, tax matters, and distributions. Read more...
What to Do When a Bank Requests a Certification of Trust
What to Do When a Bank Requests a Certification of Trust
Prepare accurate trust information for a bank, clarify supporting-document requests, and confirm account changes without confusing a certification with a transfer. Read more...
How Beneficiary Designations Can Override Your Will
How Beneficiary Designations Can Override Your Will
Your will doesn’t control everything. Retirement accounts, life insurance, and POD/TOD accounts often pass by beneficiary form, and those designations can override what your will says. Learn how to review... Read more...
How Much Money Should You Leave for a Pet Trust?
How Much Money Should You Leave for a Pet Trust?
Creating a pet trust raises a practical question that can be harder than it first appears: How much money should you leave for your pet’s care?   Read more...
Before You Pay Bills or Distribute Property After a Death
Before You Pay Bills or Distribute Property After a Death
Before paying bills or distributing belongings after a death, confirm authority, verify requests, identify urgent obligations, and keep clear records. Read more...
Travel Consent for a Minor: What Information to Gather Before the Trip
Travel Consent for a Minor: What Information to Gather Before the Trip
When a child travels without one or both parents, a written travel consent can help establish that the trip is authorized. Read more...
10 Common Mistakes with Deeds and Joint Ownership
10 Common Mistakes with Deeds and Joint Ownership
Adding someone to a deed or account can create unintended gifts, creditor exposure, tax issues, and unequal outcomes among heirs. Learn the most common mistakes with deeds and joint ownership,... Read more...
When a DIY Estate Plan May Not Be Enough
When a DIY Estate Plan May Not Be Enough
Estate planning does not have to be complicated, but some situations involve issues that a standard form cannot fully analyze.  The question is not whether a DIY estate plan is... Read more...
How Should Multiple Owners Hold Title? Joint Tenancy, Tenants in Common, Tenancy by the Entirety, and Community Property
How Should Multiple Owners Hold Title? Joint Tenancy, Tenants in Common, Tenancy by the Entirety, and Community Property
When real estate is transferred to more than one person, the deed must do more than identify the new owners. It should also identify how those owners will hold title.  This... Read more...
What Is a Springing Power of Attorney?
What Is a Springing Power of Attorney?
A springing power of attorney only becomes effective after a triggering event, usually a determination of incapacity. It can feel safer, but it may also cause delays with doctors’ letters... Read more...
Where to Find a Property’s Legal Description and Why the Street Address Is Not Enough
Where to Find a Property’s Legal Description and Why the Street Address Is Not Enough
When preparing a deed, one of the most important pieces of information is the property’s legal description. A street address may tell you where the property is located, but it... Read more...
Pet Trust Roles Explained: Trustee, Caregiver, Successors, and Trust Protector
Pet Trust Roles Explained: Trustee, Caregiver, Successors, and Trust Protector
A pet trust can do more than leave money for a pet. It can create a structure for who will care for the pet, who will control the money, who will... Read more...
Where Should You Store Your Will and Estate Planning Documents?
Where Should You Store Your Will and Estate Planning Documents?
A practical guide to protecting original estate-planning documents while making sure executors, agents, trustees, and healthcare decision-makers can find them. Read more...
Choosing the People in Your Estate Plan: Executor, Agent, Trustee, and Guardian
Choosing the People in Your Estate Plan: Executor, Agent, Trustee, and Guardian
Learn how executors, financial and healthcare agents, trustees, and guardians differ—and how to choose capable people and reliable backups for each role. Read more...
Inheritance Tax in 2026: Which States Tax What You Receive?
Inheritance Tax in 2026: Which States Tax What You Receive?
See which five states impose inheritance tax, how family relationships affect exemptions and rates, and when inherited assets can also create income tax. Read more...
Estate Tax in 2026: Federal Exemptions and State Thresholds
Estate Tax in 2026: Federal Exemptions and State Thresholds
Understand the $15 million federal estate tax exemption, 2026 state thresholds, married-couple planning, gifts, and why avoiding probate doesn't automatically avoid estate tax. Read more...
Temporary Caregiver Authorization vs. Guardianship vs. Medical Consent
Temporary Caregiver Authorization vs. Guardianship vs. Medical Consent
When someone other than a parent will be caring for a child, one of the first questions is what legal authority that caregiver actually needs. Read more...
Quit Claim, General Warranty, or Special Warranty Deed: What’s the Difference?
Quit Claim, General Warranty, or Special Warranty Deed: What’s the Difference?
A quit claim deed, general warranty deed, and special warranty deed can all transfer real estate, but they provide very different levels of protection to the person receiving the property. Read more...
What Is a Pour-Over Will—and Why Does a Living Trust Still Need One?
What Is a Pour-Over Will—and Why Does a Living Trust Still Need One?
One of the most common questions about revocable living trusts is: If I have a living trust, why do I still need a will? The answer is that a living... Read more...
What Happens If a Beneficiary Dies Before You? Understanding Per Stirpes and Backup Beneficiaries
What Happens If a Beneficiary Dies Before You? Understanding Per Stirpes and Backup Beneficiaries
If a beneficiary dies before you, their share may pass to descendants, a backup beneficiary, other survivors, or your estate. Learn how per stirpes and contingent beneficiary designations affect the... Read more...
How to Fund a Revocable Living Trust: What to Retitle and What Not To
How to Fund a Revocable Living Trust: What to Retitle and What Not To
Creating and signing a revocable living trust is only part of the process. For the trust to accomplish its intended purpose, you also need to decide which assets should be... Read more...
At What Age Should a Child Receive an Inheritance? 18, 25, 30, or Later?
At What Age Should a Child Receive an Inheritance? 18, 25, 30, or Later?
When creating a will or living trust, one important question is often overlooked: At what age should a child or other young beneficiary receive an inheritance? Read more...
How to Talk to Aging Parents About Money and Care
How to Talk to Aging Parents About Money and Care
Practical ways to begin a conversation about money, care, important documents, and trusted helpers without making your parent feel pushed aside. Read more...
Temporary Caregiver Authorization for Minor Children: Why State Requirements Matter
Temporary Caregiver Authorization for Minor Children: Why State Requirements Matter
Temporary caregiver forms can help a trusted adult handle a child’s medical, school, travel, and daily-care needs—but requirements differ by state. Read more...
Do You Need a Will or a Trust?
Do You Need a Will or a Trust?
One of the most common estate planning questions is whether you need a will or a trust. The answer depends on your goals, your assets, your family situation, and how... Read more...
How to Protect Minor Children in Your Estate Plan
How to Protect Minor Children in Your Estate Plan
How to Protect Minor Children in Your Estate Plan Protecting minor children is one of the most important reasons people create an estate plan. If you have children who are... Read more...
College Student Legal Documents Every Parent Should Know
College Student Legal Documents Every Parent Should Know
Sending a young adult off to college is a major milestone. Between dorm supplies, meal plans, class schedules, and move-in day, legal planning is easy to overlook. It is worth... Read more...
How to Choose the Right Executor for Your Will
How to Choose the Right Executor for Your Will
Choosing an executor is one of the most important decisions in estate planning. The executor is the person responsible for carrying out the instructions in your will, handling estate administration,... Read more...
Common Beneficiary Designation Mistakes That Can Cost Your Family
Common Beneficiary Designation Mistakes That Can Cost Your Family
Beneficiary designations are one of the most important but most often overlooked parts of an estate plan. When you name a beneficiary on a life insurance policy, retirement account, or... Read more...
Can Estate Planning Help Protect Assets from Nursing Home Costs?
Can Estate Planning Help Protect Assets from Nursing Home Costs?
Long-term care costs are a major concern for many families. A nursing home stay can be expensive, and if planning is delayed, those costs can quickly reduce savings, put pressure... Read more...
Estate Planning for Small Business Owners: Key Strategies to Protect Your Business
Estate Planning for Small Business Owners: Key Strategies to Protect Your Business
For many small business owners, a business is not just an asset. It represents years of work, financial investment, personal sacrifice, and long-term goals. Because of that, estate planning for... Read more...
Estate Planning for Blended Families: How to Avoid Conflict and Protect Loved Ones
Estate Planning for Blended Families: How to Avoid Conflict and Protect Loved Ones
Estate planning can be more complex for blended families. When a family includes a current spouse, children from prior relationships, stepchildren, and sometimes shared children, it becomes especially important to... Read more...
Guardianship Planning: How to Protect Your Children if the Unexpected Happens
Guardianship Planning: How to Protect Your Children if the Unexpected Happens
Guardianship planning is one of the most important parts of preparing for the unexpected. While many people focus on who will receive their property, it is just as important to... Read more...