ABA Family Legal Guide

Estate Planning

Estate-Planning Basics

How can an estate plan make things easier on my family after I die?

You want your beneficiaries to receive promptly the property you've left them as part of your estate plan. Options include

• gifts made before you die;
• insurance or pension benefits paid directly to them as the named beneficiaries;
• a living trust;
• using expedited probate for wills, which is available in many states, especially for smaller estates; and
• taking advantage of laws in certain states that provide partial payments to beneficiaries while the estate is in probate.

Estate planning can also minimize expenses by keeping the cost of transferring property to beneficiaries as low as possible. For example, choosing a competent executor for your estate and giving the executor the necessary authority to carry out your directives can save money and simplify the administration of your estate.

If you have minor children, an estate plan enables you to designate the best available person to care for them after your death. Through a will, you can nominate a legal guardian for your children and name an executor to handle the distribution of your estate to your designated beneficiaries.