Estate planning is the process of anticipating and arranging, during a person's life, for the management and disposal of that person's estate during the person's life, in the event the person becomes incapacitated and after death. The planning includes the bequest of assets to heirs and may include minimizing gift, estate, generation-skipping transfer and taxes. Estate planning includes planning for incapacity as well as a process of reducing or eliminating uncertainties over the administration of a probate and maximizing the value of the estate by reducing taxes and other expenses. The ultimate goal of estate planning can only be determined by the specific goals of the estate owner and may be as simple or complex as the owner's wishes and needs. Guardians are often designated for minor children and beneficiaries in incapacity.

Understanding Estate Planning

Estate planning involves determining how an individual's assets will be preserved, managed, and distributed after death. It also takes into account the management of an individual's properties and financial obligations if they become incapacitated.
Assets that could make up an individual's estate include houses, cars, stocks, artwork, life insurance, pensions, and debt. Individuals have various reasons for planning an estate, such as preserving family wealth, providing for 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 in estate planning involves writing a will. Other major estate planning tasks include the following:

Limiting estate taxes by setting up trust accounts in the names of beneficiaries
Establishing a guardian for living dependents
Naming an executor of the estate to oversee the terms of the will
Establishing annual gifting to qualified charitable and non-profit organizations to reduce the taxable estate
Setting up a durable power of attorney (POA) to direct other assets and investments