I often see this pattern. People assume estate planning begins and ends with a will. This post covers the estate planning documents besides a will, the ones that help your family when life happens.
A will matters. It’s a foundational document in most estate plans. It handles what happens after you’re gone. But many of the hardest moments happen before anyone is thinking about an inheritance.
They happen when someone is in the hospital, when a spouse cannot communicate, when bills still must be paid, or when an adult child is away at school and something goes wrong.
Dying without a will can happen to anyone. When it does, families often face more delay, expense, and court involvement than they expect.
A small set of documents can reduce confusion and delay in ways money alone cannot. They don’t prevent emergencies. They reduce confusion and delay when an emergency happens.
This post is general education. It is not legal or medical advice. Estate planning is state-specific and fact-specific. If you need documents drafted or updated, your estate planning attorney should lead that work. My role is to help you clarify priorities, coordinate the financial moving parts, and make sure implementation follows through. I’m also a CPA. I help with tax planning and coordination during the planning process, but I do not typically prepare tax returns. Use this as a planning guide when meeting with your estate planning attorney.
Fast track. If you only do one thing this weekConfirm you have (1) a will, (2) a financial POA, (3) a health care POA, (4) a HIPAA authorization, and (5) an advance directive. Then download the one-page implementation checklist below. |
Why these documents matter most during life
When life is stable, paperwork feels optional.
When life changes, paperwork becomes protection.
Transitions such as divorce, widowhood, remarriage, retirement, caregiving, a child turning 18, or a move to another state can all impact your estate planning.
These transitions don’t just change your finances. They change who can speak for you, who can help you, and how quickly your family can respond when something happens.
The goal is not to predict every scenario. The goal is to make sure the people you trust can step in when it matters.
Estate Planning Documents Besides a Will. The Short List
I’m going to cover the core set of documents most families should at least understand. Your attorney will tailor what’s appropriate for your state and your situation.
Quick Map: The Documents in One Minute
- Will: After-death instructions for probate assets.
- Financial power of attorney: Who can manage finances if you can’t.
- Health care power of attorney: Who can make medical decisions if you can’t.
- HIPAA authorization: Who can receive medical information and speak with providers.
- Advance directive/living will: Your care preferences and guidance.
- Revocable living trust: Optional and attorney-led. Used in some cases to reduce probate involvement for assets titled to the trust
1) A will
A will is your set of instructions for what should happen after death for assets that pass through your probate estate.
It also commonly includes guardian nominations for minor children. Some people also make provisions in their wills for who will take care of their pets and how to pay the related costs after they’re gone.
A will is foundational. It’s not the whole plan.
Many assets transfer outside a will through beneficiary designations and account titling. That’s why a will-only mindset can create surprises.
Without a will, state law and the court process determine who receives probate assets. For minor children, the court ultimately appoints a guardian, and a will is where you typically document your preferred choice.
Common mistakePeople update their will and assume everything is solved. Meanwhile, their largest accounts still pass according to old beneficiary forms. |
2) Financial power of attorney
A financial power of attorney names a person who can handle financial and legal matters on your behalf if you can’t.
For example, it answers the following questions: “Who takes responsibility for paying bills, managing accounts, signing documents, handling insurance and administrative tasks, and working with financial institutions, while your family is already stressed?”
Your attorney will help you decide how it should work. Some powers of attorney are effective immediately. Others become effective only if you lose capacity. Those details vary by state and by how the document is drafted.
What this means for you
If you handle your household’s finances, this is one of the most practical protections you can put in place.
3) Health care power of attorney
A health care power of attorney, sometimes called a durable power of attorney for health care, names the person who can make health care decisions for you if you are unable to communicate those decisions yourself.
A moment that clarified this for meA moment that clarified this for me came through a friend. Her son grew up in Maryland and went away to college in Ohio. One day, he went out for a run and was in a serious accident. He ended up in the hospital and was unable to communicate with his family after the accident. She did what any parent would do. She called to find out what happened and how he was doing. But she couldn’t get clear answers until she got on a plane and made it to Ohio. Not because the hospital didn’t care. Because her son was legally an adult, she didn’t have clear legal authority to receive information or make decisions. In situations like this, providers may be limited in what they can share by privacy rules and by who has authority on file. Her son turned out to be okay over the long haul. But I still remember thinking about the hours in between. Your child is in the hospital, and you can’t even get basic information. That feeling is exactly what a few basic documents are designed to prevent. This situation shows the difference between being able to advocate from home and being stuck waiting for a flight. |
When a child turns 18, parents often assume they can still get updates and make decisions in a medical emergency. But legally, an 18-year-old is an adult. If they can’t communicate and there’s no document in place, the people who love them most may not have clear authority to step in, especially from a distance.
Guidance under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) explains that if a health care power of attorney is currently in effect, you generally treat the person named in a health care power of attorney as the patient’s personal representative for purposes of access. Details vary by state and by provider. The goal is to have the right documents signed and accessible so your chosen person can communicate and act if needed.
4) HIPAA authorization
This one is related, but it’s not the same.
A health care power of attorney is primarily about decision-making authority if you can’t make decisions.
A HIPAA authorization is about information-sharing. It can make it easier for providers to speak with the people you name.
HIPAA guidance explains that, when the right authority or documentation is in place, someone may be treated as the patient’s personal representative, in practical terms, that can make it easier for providers to share information and communicate with the right person.
Try thisIf you want one simple goal for the next month, make sure your health care agent is named, and the right people can receive information. |
5) Advance directive or living will
An advance directive is a legal document that provides instructions for medical care and generally goes into effect if you cannot communicate your own wishes.
- Living Will: A living will is one type of advance directive that outlines your preferences around care and treatment. It states preferences for end-of-life medical treatments (like life support or feeding tubes). Think of this document as guidance for your agent and your medical team. It reduces guesswork and can reduce conflict during high-stress moments.
- Advance directive (overall): Captures your wishes and guidance for your health care agent and medical team.
Naming these preferences before you are in this situation will make life much easier for your loved ones. You can find links to free Advance Directive forms for each state on the AARP website.
6) Revocable Living Trust (optional, attorney-led)
A revocable living trust is optional for many families, and you should discuss whether it’s necessary with an estate planning attorney. While a will primarily directs what happens after you’re gone, you can use a revocable living trust during your lifetime to hold assets you still control.
One potential benefit a revocable living trust provides is that it can reduce probate involvement for assets properly titled to the trust, thereby reducing delays and keeping the process more private. Please note that while many assume they need a trust, they often do not. Whether a trust makes sense depends on family complexity, state law, and your goals, and it’s a decision to make with your attorney and planning team.
Talk with your estate planning attorney about whether a trust is a good fit for your situation. If you’d like a helpful overview, Schwab has a straightforward article that walks through some common reasons people consider trusts.
What usually gets in the way
Decision fatigue is real, but it’s rarely the whole story.
Here are the obstacles I see most often:
- Avoidance. It’s uncomfortable to imagine emergencies. We also often don’t like to talk about or consider our own death.
- Busy seasons. Kids, work, caregiving. Life crowds it out.
- Uncertainty about where to start. People delay because they assume it’s complicated.
- “We’re not wealthy enough for this.” These documents are less about wealth and more about authority and clarity.
- A false sense of default protection. Sometimes defaults work. Sometimes they create chaos.
The college-bound student gap
If there is one place families get blindsided, it is the moment a child turns 18.
At 18, your child is legally an adult. That changes what schools and health care providers can share, unless your child has provided consent or you have the right authority.
For school records, colleges follow federal student privacy rules under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), which governs the privacy of student education records.
FERPA treats your child as an “eligible student” once they turn 18 or when they attend a postsecondary institution. At that point, rights previously held by parents generally transfer to the student. Schools can share certain information in limited circumstances, but in most situations, you should assume your student’s written consent is needed.
For health care, similar privacy rules apply. If your child can’t communicate and you don’t have authorization or authority, you may not be able to get clear answers quickly. That is exactly what the Ohio hospital situation I described earlier illustrates.
A simple first step is a “college paperwork” checklist
If your child is 17 and heading to college, put a short checklist on your calendar:
- Health care power of attorney
- HIPAA authorization
- College authorization form (FERPA release)
- A basic “who to call” list and insurance information
- Many families also set up a practical way to handle tuition and emergencies, with the student’s consent.
Implementing these steps is not about control. It’s about avoiding the nightmare scenario. A crisis far from home, where you can’t get any answers.
Knowledge to execution
Most people don’t avoid this because they disagree with it. They avoid it because it feels like a big, emotional project.
Here’s the smallest version that still works.
- Choose your agents.
One for financial decisions. One for health care decisions. They can be the same person, but they don’t have to be. - Schedule the attorney meeting.
Put it on the calendar and treat it like any other important appointment. - Create a “where it lives” system.
Even a simple folder system is better than a vague memory.
- Who the agents are
- Where the documents are stored
- Who has access
- When they were last updated
- Your attorney’s contact information
That’s it.
CautionDo not wait until you’re in the middle of a medical event, a divorce, or a family conflict to create these documents. In those moments, questions with urgency and capacity can make everything harder. |
Most people know they need a will. However, they don’t realize how much depends on the estate planning documents besides a will. If you want a simple way to follow through, use this implementation checklist.
| Estate Plan Implementation Checklist · Documents confirmed (will, POAs, directives) · Beneficiary review complete (retirement, life, TOD/POD) · Titling review complete (joint, trust, individual) · Trust funding steps (if applicable) · Storage and access set (where documents live, who has copies) · Review cadence set (annual plus life changes) Download the Estate Plan Implementation Checklist Use this to prepare for a meeting with your estate planning attorney. |
What your estate planning attorney does
Drafts and advises on legal documents and state-specific strategy.
What I do
Help you clarify priorities, identify coordination gaps across accounts, beneficiaries, and titling, and build an implementation checklist that aligns legal intent with financial reality.
What your tax preparer does
Prepares and files tax returns and required forms.
My tax role as a CPA
Tax planning and coordination. Not tax return preparation.
Recap
The estate planning documents besides a will are often the ones that protect your family most during life. A will matters.
- Financial power of attorney
- Health care power of attorney
- HIPAA authorization and clear authority for personal representatives
- Advance directives or living will
- A simple system for storing and sharing them
If you have a child heading to college, treat this as a planning milestone. It’s one of the simplest ways to protect your family from a very scary scenario.
If you’d like help coordinating the financial side of this, including beneficiaries, titling, and implementation steps to bring to your attorney, schedule a call.
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Related Content
- Does a Will Override a Beneficiary Designation? The Estate Planning Step Most People Miss
- Designating Trusted Contacts and Naming Beneficiaries
- How Long to Keep Financial Documents: Some Guidelines
- Financial and Family Items to Prepare for a Natural Disaster
FAQs
1. What are the estate planning documents besides a will that most families should have?
Most families should also have a financial power of attorney, a health care power of attorney, an advance directive, and often a HIPAA authorization.
2. Why do parents need paperwork for a child going to college?
At 18, FERPA rights generally transfer to the student for education records. Similar privacy rules can limit the sharing of medical information without authority or authorization.
3. What’s the difference between a health care power of attorney and a HIPAA release?
A health care power of attorney is about decision-making authority if you can’t communicate or make decisions. HIPAA guidance discusses access and the role of personal representatives.
4. What’s the difference between a financial power of attorney and a will?
A will governs what happens to probate assets after death. A financial power of attorney helps during your lifetime if you can’t manage your finances yourself.
5. How often should these documents be reviewed?
At a minimum, review your estate-planning documents after major life changes. Periodic reviews are also advised to confirm your choices still match your life.
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