Wills, Estates & Probate
Know what happens after a death, or plan ahead. Plain-English guides to wills, probate, dying without a will, executors and settling an estate, living trusts and avoiding probate, contesting a will, and powers of attorney. Estate law varies significantly by state, so always confirm the rules where you live.
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82 guides on wills, probate, and settling an estate across 8 topics.
Probate Basics
Start here.
8 guides →Wills & Testaments
Everything about wills: how to make one that holds up, what makes a will invalid, changing or revoking it, codicils, handwritten wills, naming a guardian for your children, and the risks of DIY wills.
11 guides →Trusts & Avoiding Probate
How to pass assets without probate: living trusts, irrevocable and testamentary trusts, special-needs and spendthrift trusts, transfer-on-death deeds, life estates, and what a trustee actually does.
13 guides →Executors & Settling an Estate
A practical guide for executors and administrators: getting appointed, letters testamentary, opening an estate account, handling a house, a car, and joint accounts, paying debts, executor pay, and closing the estate.
18 guides →Inheritance & Estate Disputes
When things go wrong: contesting a will, undue influence, removing an executor, executor misconduct, no-contest clauses, sibling fights, being disinherited, and what happens when a beneficiary dies first.
12 guides →Powers of Attorney & Incapacity
Planning for incapacity, not just death: durable vs.
5 guides →Estate Planning
Plan ahead with confidence: an estate-planning checklist, planning for blended families and unmarried couples, digital assets, leaving money to a minor, avoiding beneficiary-designation mistakes, and inheritance tax basics.
8 guides →End-of-Life & Medical Rights
Your rights over your own care and final months: medical aid in dying and where it’s legal, the right to refuse life-sustaining treatment, advance directives, living wills and POLST, the federal Right to Try Act and FDA expanded access to experimental drugs, and hospice and palliative care.
7 guides →Latest estate & probate guides
- Can a Kentucky Spouse Claim Accounts Left to the Children?
Often yes, in part. Kentucky's dower share is one-half of a deceased spouse's surplus personal property, and a 2026 law counts beneficiary and TOD accounts, but not life insurance.
- Medicaid's 5-Year Look-Back: What If a Parent Gave Money Away?
Medicaid looks back 60 months for gifts made for less than fair market value when someone applies for nursing home coverage. Learn how the penalty is figured, the exemptions, and why a hardship waiver request should not wait.
- Can a DNA Test Make You an Heir After Your Biological Father Dies?
Wisconsin's Court of Appeals let a woman prove through DNA that a man who died without a will was her father and inherit as his sole heir. Here is how the ruling worked and its limits.
- What Is a Codicil and When Do You Need One?
A codicil formally amends an existing will without replacing it. Learn what a codicil can change, what formalities it requires, and when a new will is better.
- What Are Letters Testamentary and How Do You Get Them?
Letters testamentary are the probate court's official authorization for an executor to act for an estate — here is what they are and how to get them.
- How to Open an Estate Bank Account
How executors open a dedicated estate bank account: what you need, how to get an estate EIN from the IRS, and how to use the account correctly.