Clear Answers to Common Estate Planning Questions
Estate planning comes with a lot of questions. Here are straightforward answers to some of the questions we hear most often.
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Choosing your Estate Plan
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That depends on your circumstances and what you want your plan to accomplish.
Most estate plans address two basic issues: what happens if you become unable to make decisions for yourself, and what happens to your property after your death.
A Clear Path Will-based or Trust-based plan includes the documents designed to address those needs. If you're not sure which type of plan is right for you, start with our Help Me Decide guide.
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A Will directs who should receive property passing through your estate after your death and who should be responsible for handling your estate. Property passing under a Will generally goes through probate.
A Revocable Living Trust is created during your lifetime. Property properly transferred to the Trust can generally be managed by your successor trustee if you become incapacitated and distributed after your death without going through probate.
Neither is automatically better. The right choice depends on your property, priorities and circumstances.
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No.
Owning a home is one reason you may want to consider a Trust, particularly if avoiding probate is important to you, but home ownership by itself does not mean that everyone needs a Trust.
A Will-based plan may still be appropriate depending on your circumstances.
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Not necessarily.
A Trust offers benefits that a Will does not, including the potential to avoid probate for assets properly transferred to the Trust. But a Trust also costs more to establish and requires additional work to fund and maintain.
The better plan is the one that fits your needs—not necessarily the one with more documents.
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Probate is the court-supervised process used to administer certain property after someone dies.
The court appoints the person authorized to handle the estate, creditors may be addressed, and property is ultimately distributed to the appropriate beneficiaries.
A properly funded Trust can often allow Trust assets to pass without probate.
Using Clear Path
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Not necessarily.
Clear Path was designed so that people with appropriate circumstances can complete an estate plan using our self-guided process.
If you want or need individualized legal advice, attorney-guided service is also available.
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With a self-guided plan, you use Clear Path's educational materials, guided questionnaire and attorney-designed documents to create your estate plan yourself.
With an attorney-guided plan, an Arizona attorney becomes involved in your planning and can provide individualized legal advice based on your circumstances.
You can choose the level of guidance that's right for you.
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That's fine.
If you later decide that attorney guidance is appropriate, 100% of the amount you paid for your self-guided plan can be credited toward the cost of an attorney-guided plan.
You simply pay the difference.
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We want you to start with confidence.
If you determine that the self-guided documents are not appropriate for your situation and you don't want to move forward with an attorney-guided plan, you may request a full refund within 30 days of purchase.
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No. Purchasing or using a self-guided Clear Path plan does not, by itself, create an attorney-client relationship.
An attorney-client relationship is created only when you separately engage Clear Path for attorney-guided legal services and the required engagement process has been completed.
Creating and Signing Your Documents
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You'll answer a series of guided questions about your circumstances and the decisions you want reflected in your estate plan.
Your answers are then used to generate the documents included in the plan you selected.
The goal is to make the process understandable and manageable one decision at a time.
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No.
You don't need to have your entire estate plan figured out before you begin.
The Clear Path process is designed to help you work through the important decisions as you go, and you can start and stop as often as you like. Additionally, you’ll have access to the plan you purchase even after you complete your documents, which means you can go back and make changes as needed. Just make sure to closely review your documents before signing.
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Different estate planning documents have different legal requirements.
Your Clear Path plan includes instructions explaining how to properly complete and execute the documents included in your plan.
Powers of Attorney and Incapacity
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Powers of Attorney allow you to choose who can make certain decisions for you if you are unable to make them yourself.
A Financial Power of Attorney addresses financial and legal matters.
A Healthcare Power of Attorney allows you to designate someone to make healthcare decisions when you cannot.
Without appropriate planning, your family may have fewer options and could potentially need court involvement to obtain authority to act for you.
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You can, but you don't have to.
The person you choose to make healthcare decisions should understand your wishes and be capable of making difficult medical decisions when necessary.
The person you choose to handle financial matters should be trustworthy, financially responsible, and capable of managing your affairs.
Sometimes one person is well suited for both roles. In other families, two different people are the better choice.
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A Living Will expresses your wishes regarding certain end-of-life medical care if you are unable to communicate those wishes yourself.
It works alongside your Healthcare Power of Attorney but serves a different purpose.
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We believe everyone should have access to these essential documents and that cost shouldn't stand in the way.
For a limited time, you can create your Clear Path Powers of Attorney at no cost and experience the Clear Path process for yourself.
Trusts and Trust Funding
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Creating a Trust is only part of the process.
Funding generally means transferring appropriate assets into the Trust or otherwise coordinating those assets with your estate plan.
A Trust can only provide many of its intended benefits for property that has been properly addressed.
Clear Path Trust plans include funding guidance to help you through this important step.
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Not necessarily. Many people choose to leave an everyday checking account outside their Trust, particularly if they maintain only the amount needed for routine expenses.
What matters is how the account will pass at your death and how it fits with the rest of your estate plan. Accounts can sometimes be coordinated with your plan through beneficiary or payable-on-death designations rather than being titled directly in the Trust.
If you have a significant amount of cash outside your Trust or are unsure how an account should be handled, additional guidance may be appropriate.
Clear Path Trust plans include Trust funding guidance to help you decide which assets should be addressed.
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Your property's legal description is not the same as its street address.
You can usually find it on the recorded deed from when you acquired the property. It may appear in the body of the deed or on an attached exhibit, often labeled Exhibit A.
If you don't have a copy of your deed, you may be able to obtain one from the County Recorder's Office in the county where the property is located.
Watch: How to Find Your Property's Legal Description →
Individuals and Married Couples
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Yes. Clear Path offers estate planning options for one person as well as married couples.
On the Will or Trust plan page, you'll select the option that applies to you before beginning your documents.
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Some estate planning documents are individual documents even when spouses plan together.
For example, each spouse generally has his or her own Will, Powers of Attorney and Living Will. A married couple may, depending on the plan selected, use a joint Trust.
Your Clear Path married-couple package provides the appropriate set of documents for both spouses.
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Estate planning for unmarried couples can involve different considerations than planning for married spouses.
If you and your partner are not married, Ask a Question before purchasing a married-couple plan so we can help you determine the appropriate path.
After Your Plan is Complete
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Yes.
Medical and financial institutions prefer documents to be updated at least every 5 years and whenever something significant changes in your life. For example, marriage, divorce, a death in the family, the birth or adoption of a child, a significant change in assets, or a move to another state would all constitute a need for review.
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Clear Path documents are designed for Arizona estate planning.
If you move to another state, you should have your estate plan reviewed under the laws of your new state to determine whether changes are appropriate.
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Generally, yes.
Wills and Revocable Living Trusts are designed to be changed during your lifetime while you have the legal capacity to do so.
Your estate plan should evolve as your circumstances and wishes change.
Still Have a Question?
Estate planning isn't one-size-fits-all. If you can't find the answer you're looking for, we're happy to help you determine your next step.
Your path. Your plan. Your peace of mind.