What Documents Are Included in an Estate Plan?

The documents that make up an estate plan, what each one actually does, and how to tell which ones fit your situation.

An estate plan isn’t one document. It’s a coordinated set of documents that handle different scenarios: incapacity, death, asset distribution, medical decisions, business succession. Some families need every document. Others need a handful. The right combination depends on what you own, who depends on you, and what you want to control.

This post is the reference guide for what each document does, why it exists, and where it fits in a complete plan. If you’re trying to understand whether you have everything you need (or trying to figure out what you’d need to put together for the first time), this is the breakdown.

After 27 years and 5,423 trusts drafted at The Eastman Law Firm in the Kansas City metro area, we’ve helped Kansas families build the right combination of documents for their situation. Here’s what’s in the toolkit.

The Core Documents in an Estate Plan

A complete estate plan typically includes some combination of these documents. Not every family needs all of them, but every complete plan addresses each scenario one way or another:

• Last Will and Testament
• Revocable Living Trust (and Pour-Over Will if a trust is used)
• Financial Durable Power of Attorney
• Healthcare Power of Attorney
• Living Will (Advance Directive)
• HIPAA Authorization
• Coordinated beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance

Each of these handles a specific scenario. The next sections explain what each one does and when it matters.

Last Will and Testament

A will directs how your individually owned assets are distributed after your death, names an executor to handle the estate, and nominates guardians for any minor children. Wills go through probate court, which means the will is filed with the court, the executor receives legal authority through letters of administration, debts and taxes are paid from the estate, and remaining assets are distributed to the beneficiaries the will names.

Every adult should have a will, even if their plan also includes a trust. The will catches anything that wasn’t transferred to the trust during life, names guardians for minor children (which a trust generally can’t do), and provides a backstop for the rest of the plan.

For families with significant assets, real estate, or specific control concerns, a will alone is usually not enough. The will sends those assets through probate, with the cost and time delay that involves. For comparison of when a will is enough versus when a trust adds value, see our explanation of how wills and trusts compare.

Revocable Living Trust

A revocable living trust holds your assets during your lifetime and directs their distribution after death, usually without probate. You serve as your own trustee while alive, retaining full control over the trust’s assets. A successor trustee steps in if you become incapacitated or die. The trust’s terms direct what happens to the assets without court involvement.

A trust isn’t necessary for every family. Simple estates with few assets, no real estate, and no specific control concerns may be fine with a will alone. Families with real estate, significant assets, minor children, or specific beneficiary control needs usually benefit from a trust-centered plan. For details on what trusts do and how they’re funded, see our explanation of revocable living trusts.

Pour-Over Will

When a plan includes a revocable living trust, the will that accompanies it is typically a pour-over will. The pour-over will directs that any assets still in the deceased person’s individual name at death (assets that weren’t transferred to the trust during life) are transferred to the trust through probate.

The pour-over will is a backstop. It doesn’t avoid probate for the assets it catches; those assets still go through probate before being directed to the trust. But it ensures that nothing falls through the cracks and gets distributed under intestate succession law instead of according to the trust’s terms.

A well-funded trust minimizes what the pour-over will has to handle. The goal is for the trust to control everything before death so the pour-over will is never actually used. But it’s there in case anything was missed.

Financial Durable Power of Attorney

A financial durable power of attorney authorizes someone (your “agent” or “attorney-in-fact”) to handle your finances if you become incapacitated. The “durable” part is essential: it means the document stays effective even after you’ve lost the capacity to make decisions yourself.

Without a durable power of attorney, if you become incapacitated, your family typically has to go to court for conservatorship to manage your affairs. This costs time, money, and involves ongoing court supervision. The durable power of attorney handles this transition privately without court involvement.

Choosing the right agent matters. The agent will have authority over your bank accounts, real estate, investments, business interests, and tax filings. This is a person you trust with significant control over your financial life. Backup agents are also typically named in case the primary agent is unavailable or unable to serve.

Healthcare Power of Attorney

A healthcare power of attorney authorizes someone to make medical decisions if you can’t speak for yourself. It’s the medical equivalent of the financial power of attorney. Decisions covered include treatment choices, hospital admission, surgery consent, end-of-life decisions, and sometimes funeral and burial arrangements.

In Kansas, this is sometimes called a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Decisions, governed by K.S.A. 58-625 through 58-632. The form is well-established and recognized by Kansas hospitals and medical providers.

The agent doesn’t have unlimited authority. They have to follow your previously expressed wishes (which is where the Living Will comes in) and make decisions in your best interests. They can’t override directives you’ve already given. But for decisions that aren’t covered by specific instructions, the healthcare power of attorney gives them legal standing to speak for you.

Living Will (Advance Directive)

A Living Will is your written instructions about end-of-life care. It covers questions like whether you want to be kept alive on life support if there’s no reasonable chance of recovery, whether you want artificial nutrition and hydration in specific circumstances, whether you want resuscitation, and other medical decisions you want to direct in advance.

The Living Will is different from a Last Will and Testament despite the similar name. The Last Will directs what happens to your assets after death. The Living Will directs medical care while you’re still alive but can’t communicate. Both documents are typically part of a complete estate plan.

In Kansas, the Living Will operates under the Natural Death Act (K.S.A. 65-28,101 through 65-28,109). The document is recognized by Kansas hospitals and gives your healthcare power of attorney agent (and your medical team) clear guidance about your preferences.

HIPAA Authorization

A HIPAA authorization allows the people you’ve named to access your medical records. Without this authorization, federal privacy law (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) prevents your family from getting information they need to make informed decisions on your behalf.

A healthcare power of attorney typically includes HIPAA-style language, but a separate HIPAA authorization specifically naming the people who can receive medical information is often more practical for ongoing situations. The two documents work together.

If you’ve ever had a family member tell you a hospital wouldn’t release information about a parent’s condition, that’s HIPAA at work. The authorization opens that door.

Coordinated Beneficiary Designations

Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts, life insurance, and certain bank accounts pass assets directly to the named beneficiary, bypassing both the will and any trust. These designations are an essential part of estate planning even though they’re not technically separate “documents” in the estate plan.

Coordinating designations matters because mismatches create problems. A will that leaves “everything to my spouse” may say nothing about a 401(k) with an ex-spouse still listed as beneficiary. The ex-spouse inherits the 401(k) regardless of what the will says, because the designation overrides the will. We’ve seen this play out in real estates more times than we’d like.

A complete planning engagement reviews beneficiary designations on every relevant account and confirms they align with what the rest of the plan says. Sometimes the designation should name a trust as beneficiary. Sometimes it should name an individual directly. The right answer depends on the specific plan structure.

Documents Sometimes Included

Beyond the core documents, some estate plans include additional documents that fit specific situations:

Memorandum of Tangible Personal Property. A separate document (typically referenced by the will) that distributes specific personal property items: jewelry, art, collections, family heirlooms. Kept separate from the will so it can be updated without re-executing the will.

Burial and Funeral Instructions. Written preferences about funeral, burial, cremation, or memorial services. Sometimes incorporated into the healthcare power of attorney; sometimes a separate document.

Guardian Designation for Minor Children. Usually included within the will, but can also be a separate document or supplemented by a more detailed memo to the chosen guardians.

Digital Asset Authorization. Authorization for someone to access and manage your digital accounts (email, social media, cryptocurrency wallets, online banking) after death or during incapacity. Kansas has adopted the Revised Uniform Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets Act (K.S.A. 58-4801 et seq.), which provides a legal framework for this.

Letters of Instruction. Informal documents explaining your reasoning, providing context for trustees or executors, or giving practical guidance that doesn’t belong in the formal legal documents.

Special Needs Trust or Supplemental Needs Trust. For families with a beneficiary who has special needs, a specifically structured trust that preserves the beneficiary’s eligibility for government benefits while providing supplemental support.

Which Documents You Actually Need

The right combination depends on your situation. A few common patterns:

Young adult, single, no dependents, few assets. Healthcare power of attorney, financial durable power of attorney, HIPAA authorization, Living Will. A simple will if there are any assets to direct. No trust needed.

Married couple, no children, modest assets. Wills, durable powers of attorney, healthcare powers of attorney, Living Wills, HIPAA authorizations. Coordinated beneficiary designations. Trust optional based on assets and preferences.

Family with minor children. Wills with guardian nominations, durable powers of attorney, healthcare powers of attorney, Living Wills, HIPAA authorizations, coordinated beneficiary designations. A revocable trust if there’s real estate, significant assets, or any concern about how children would inherit.

Established family with real estate and significant assets. Trust-centered plan with pour-over wills, durable powers of attorney, healthcare powers of attorney, Living Wills, HIPAA authorizations, coordinated beneficiary designations. Possibly specialized trust structures for tax planning, asset protection, or specific beneficiary concerns.

Business owner. Everything above plus business succession planning documents: operating agreement provisions, buy-sell agreements, succession plans for ownership and management.

A short conversation with an estate planning attorney usually identifies which pattern fits your situation. For more on the foundational question of what estate planning involves, see our complete guide to estate planning.

What the Free Call Is For

The 15-minute call with Gary sorts out which documents fit your situation. You describe your family, your assets, your concerns. Gary tells you which documents you need and which you don’t, what they cost, and what the work would involve. Our complete estate planning offerings scale from a simple will plus powers of attorney to comprehensive trust-based plans, depending on what your situation calls for.

By the end of the call, you’ll know more about your situation than you did when you picked up the phone. Whether you hire us or not.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the most important documents for estate planning?

The most important documents for most families are a Last Will and Testament, a financial durable power of attorney, a healthcare power of attorney, a Living Will (Advance Directive), and a HIPAA authorization. For families with real estate, significant assets, or specific beneficiary control needs, a revocable living trust (with an accompanying pour-over will) is often added as the centerpiece of the plan. Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance are also essential, though they’re not separate “documents” in the same sense; they’re settings on individual accounts that need to be coordinated with the rest of the plan. The right combination depends on what you own, who depends on you, and what you want to control.

What is the difference between a regular will and a pour-over will?

A regular will directs how your assets are distributed to specific beneficiaries after your death. A pour-over will, by contrast, directs that any assets still in your individual name at death (assets that weren’t transferred to your trust during your lifetime) are transferred to your trust through probate, where they’ll then be distributed according to the trust’s terms. The pour-over will is used in trust-based estate plans as a backstop. It doesn’t avoid probate for the assets it catches; those assets still go through probate first. But it ensures that nothing falls through the cracks and gets distributed under intestate succession law instead of according to your trust. A well-funded trust minimizes what the pour-over will has to handle. The pour-over will is there in case something was missed during the trust’s lifetime.

What’s better, a will or a living will?

They serve completely different purposes, so the question isn’t really which is “better.” A Last Will and Testament directs what happens to your assets after your death and nominates guardians for any minor children. A Living Will (also called an Advance Directive) directs your medical care while you’re still alive but unable to communicate, particularly regarding end-of-life decisions like life support, resuscitation, and artificial nutrition. Most complete estate plans include both documents because they address different scenarios. The will handles death; the Living Will handles a specific kind of incapacity. Skipping either one leaves a gap in your plan.

What is the most common inheritance mistake?

The most common mistake is mismatched beneficiary designations. Retirement accounts, life insurance, and certain bank accounts pass directly to the named beneficiary regardless of what the will or trust says. We’ve seen wills that leave “everything to my children” when the 401(k) still names an ex-spouse from a marriage that ended 20 years ago. The ex-spouse inherits the 401(k) because the designation overrides the will. Other common mistakes include adding adult children as joint owners on bank accounts (which creates gift tax issues and exposes the accounts to the child’s creditors), leaving inheritances outright to vulnerable beneficiaries who can’t manage them, failing to update plans after major life events (marriage, divorce, births, deaths), and assuming retirement accounts automatically follow the will. A complete planning engagement reviews all of these to confirm everything aligns.

What is the 5 by 5 rule in estate planning?

The 5 by 5 rule is a specific provision sometimes included in trusts that gives a beneficiary the right to withdraw the greater of $5,000 or 5% of the trust’s value each year. It’s named after the dollar amount and percentage that triggers it. The rule has specific tax implications under federal income tax law: distributions up to the 5 by 5 limit don’t cause the beneficiary to be treated as if they own the trust for tax purposes, but withdrawals above the limit might. The rule is most commonly used in trusts where the grantor wants to give the beneficiary some access to trust funds without making the beneficiary the constructive owner of the entire trust. It’s a technical provision typically discussed only in specialized trust planning, not in basic estate plans.