Welcome
My-EstatePlans.com is a modern estate planning technology company offering customizable tools to take your estate planning process from start to finish while you are working with your estate planning attorney. We are NOT a purveyor of Do-It-Yourself Online Wills and Trusts; in fact, quite the opposite. Take the 15-Minute Estate Assessment™ to uncover the key reasons why you should hire an attorney.
Our mission is to educate our members and provide customizable estate planning tools that supplement and enhance your estate documents drafted by a qualified estate planning attorney. Our hybrid approach allows you to take an active role in the preparation process but also select an estate planning attorney to support you in drafting & implementing your legal estate documents.
Our most commonly used solution is the Willpower App™, an online planning tool that step-by-step ensures you become organized before meeting with an estate planning attorney. Willpower App™ provides your attorney a comprehensive description of your objectives and is the starting point of the 5-Step Modern Estate Planning Process™.
Most importantly, our Member Dashboard creates an estate planning “ecosystem” so that if and when something happens, your plans are seamlessly carried out by your advisors and loved ones.
We support our members throughout their lives and beyond.
What is modern estate planning and why is it so important?
For most families, estate planning hasn’t been about estate tax planning for nearly two decades. Additionally, today only about 35% of American families are comprised of a heterosexual married couple with children. Over 50% of US families are remarried or re-coupled. Blended families are common and civil unions are growing. Thus, becoming the modern family and the modern estate plan encompassing ALL of the following areas:
Incapacity Planning: As life expectancies have increased with medical advances, a much higher likelihood of facing a prolonged phase of incapacity during our lifetime exists.
Digital Planning: Today, a decedent’s fiduciaries must have access to online accounts to close social media accounts, cancel online subscriptions and delete emails and other content.
Maximizing Retirement Accounts: This planning can include exploring ways to reduce taxable income during retirement and passing down such accounts to beneficiaries in the most tax efficient way.
Asset Protection: Asset Protection may include various planning goals such as protecting assets from taxes, long-term care costs, lawsuits, creditors, divorce and more.
Evolution of Assets: 401(k)’s, Roth IRA’s, 529 plans, donor-advised funds, life insurance. Most of these “modern” asset types have only been created over the past few decades and typically transfer to beneficiaries outside of a last will and testament. Modern asset types require modern estate plans.
Legacy Planning: Estate planning is something you do when you reach self-actualization and understand the power of leaving more than wealth behind. Your legacy plans might include establishing education funding for your grandchildren or supporting your most important charitable organizations. The 5-Step Modern Estate Planning Process™ includes each of the five crucial steps to every effective estate plan.
The 5-Step Modern Estate Process™
Frequently asked questions
Why do I need to prepare before I meet with my attorney and other advisors?
Meeting with your advisors is Step 2 of the Modern Estate Planning Process™. To maximize the value of meeting with your estate planning attorney, and all other trusted advisors, you should first complete the Willpower App™.
I have met with an estate attorney, what is there left to do?
When you last updated your estate plans, did you get a sense that some areas felt unresolved?
Very often, a comprehensive letter of instructions, known as a Direction Memo™, can fill in some of these gaps to develop the cohesive execution of your estate plan. This is the 4th step in the process.
Do I need anything more than a will?
Yes. No matter who you are, everyone today needs more than a will to ensure you have completed a “modern” estate plan. What areas of your estate plan would you like to enhance or improve upon?
Why do I need a Last Will and Testament?
The last will ensures that a testator’s wishes regarding their asset distribution are followed and that the state’s intestacy laws do not determine how assets are distributed. Having a Last Will also ensures that you have chosen the executor/personal representative of the estate, or if you have minor children, to name a guardian. We recommend seeking the appropriate counsel to determine the effectiveness of your last will and testament.
I already created an online will. Why do I need My-EstatePlans.com?
Take the 15-Minute Estate Assessment™ to uncover the key reasons why you should hire an attorney.
Read more here about the perils of online wills. Without estate planning professionals’ assistance, a self-prepared will can be easily attacked by discontented beneficiaries after your death, leave loopholes for unintended beneficiaries, and be considered invalid in many situations.
Membership Pricing
Not in proximity and need a notary? For contactless and convenient services, utilize US Notary. Click here to learn more about how simple notarizing your documents can be.
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