Estate planning is the preparation of tasks that serve to manage an individual’s asset base in the event of their incapacitation or death. The planning includes the bequest of assets to heirs and the settlement of estate taxes. Most estate plans are set up with the help of an attorney experienced in the estate law. Estate planning involves in determining how an individual’s asset will be preserved, managed, and distributed after death. It also takes into consideration that the management of an individual’s properties and financial obligations if they become incapacitated. Individuals have a various reason for planning an estate such as preserving the family wealth, providing a surviving spouse and children, funding children’s or grandchildren’s education or leaving their legacy behind to a charitable cause. The most basic step for this is write a will.

Will is a legal document created to provide instructions on how an individual’s property and custody of minor children which should be handled after death. The individual expresses their wishes through the document and names a trustee or executor that they trust to fulfil their stated intentions. The will also indicates whether a trust should be created after death. Depending on estate owner’s intentions, a trust can go into effect during their lifetime for instances trust or after their death.