Do I need a will if I'm young?

Yes, especially if you have children, own property, or have specific wishes about who should receive your assets. Without a will, the state distributes your assets according to intestacy laws — and those laws may not reflect your intentions. If you have minor children, a will is the only place you can name a guardian for them.

What happens if I die without a will?

Your estate goes through intestate succession, meaning state law determines who gets what. Typically, assets pass to spouses and children first, then parents, then siblings. An unmarried partner receives nothing. A sibling you're estranged from may inherit alongside a spouse. Courts appoint a guardian for minor children — not necessarily the person you'd have chosen.

How much does estate planning cost?

A basic estate plan (will, power of attorney, healthcare proxy, living will) typically costs $500–$2,000 if done through an estate attorney. Online services like Trust & Will, Fabric, or LegalZoom charge $100–$400 for the same core documents. If you need a trust, costs rise to $1,500–$5,000+ depending on complexity.

Estate Planning for Millennials: The Documents You Actually Need (2026)

Why Millennials Ignore Estate Planning (And Why That's a Mistake)

Estate planning has an image problem. It sounds like something you do when you're 70, wealthy, and thinking about death. Most millennials in their 30s push it firmly to the back of the mental queue — there are mortgages to manage, kids to raise, and retirement accounts to fund.

But the consequences of not having these documents are most severe for people in their 30s and 40s — people with young children, joint mortgages, meaningful assets, and family members who depend on them.

Here's what happens without an estate plan:

A court appoints a guardian for your children — and that person may not be who you'd choose
Your unmarried partner of 10 years receives nothing, because the law doesn't recognize the relationship
Your assets go through probate, a public court process that can take 12–24 months and consume 3–7% of the estate in fees
Medical decisions are made by whoever shows up first at the hospital, not whoever you'd trust
Family conflicts arise because you never specified who gets what

The good news: basic estate planning takes a few hours and costs a few hundred dollars. It is one of the highest-impact financial tasks you'll complete.

The Four Core Documents

1. The Last Will and Testament

A will is a legal document specifying how you want your assets distributed after your death, who should handle that distribution (the executor), and — critically — who should care for your minor children (the guardian).

What it does:

Names your executor (the person who manages your estate through probate)
Specifies who receives your property
Names a guardian for minor children
Can set up a testamentary trust for children's assets

What it doesn't do:

Override beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance (more on this below)
Avoid probate (assets distributed by will go through probate unless structured otherwise)
Handle assets owned jointly with right of survivorship

The guardian designation is the most important function of a will for parents of young children. This alone justifies having one. Without it, if both parents die, a judge decides where your children go — and that determination may not match your wishes.

2. Durable Power of Attorney (Financial)

A durable power of attorney (DPOA) authorizes someone — your agent — to manage your financial affairs if you become incapacitated. "Durable" means it remains in effect even if you become mentally incapacitated (a regular POA ends at incapacity).

What it covers:

Paying your bills and managing bank accounts
Filing your taxes
Managing investments
Making real estate decisions
Handling business affairs

Without a DPOA, if you become incapacitated in an accident or due to illness, your family may need to go through a court process (guardianship or conservatorship) to gain legal authority to manage your finances. This process can take months and cost thousands of dollars — while your bills, mortgage, and financial life sit in limbo.

Choose someone you trust absolutely, because this person has broad authority over your financial life. Spouses typically name each other; if you're single, name a trusted parent or sibling.

3. Healthcare Power of Attorney / Medical Power of Attorney

A healthcare proxy (also called a healthcare power of attorney or healthcare agent designation) names someone to make medical decisions on your behalf if you can't make them yourself.

This is a different document from a financial POA, and it's equally important.

Your healthcare agent can:

Make treatment decisions if you're unconscious or incapacitated
Authorize or refuse medical procedures
Communicate with your medical team
Make decisions about life support consistent with your wishes

Without this document, medical staff will turn to your next-of-kin — usually a spouse if married, otherwise parents, siblings. If you have a long-term partner but are unmarried, they may be excluded from medical decisions entirely.

Talk to the person you're naming before creating the document. Make sure they understand your values and wishes.

4. Living Will / Advance Healthcare Directive

A living will is distinct from a healthcare proxy: it's a written statement of your specific medical preferences in end-of-life situations. It tells your doctors and healthcare agent what you want — not just who gets to decide.

It typically addresses:

Whether you want life support continued if there's no reasonable chance of recovery
Your preferences about CPR
Artificial nutrition and hydration
Organ and tissue donation
Pain management preferences

The living will and healthcare proxy work together. The living will provides specific guidance; the healthcare proxy designates someone to make judgment calls when your directive doesn't cover a specific situation.

These conversations are uncomfortable. Do them anyway — the alternative is leaving the people you love to guess what you wanted in the worst moments of their lives.

The Beneficiary Designation Problem

Here is the most misunderstood aspect of estate planning: beneficiary designations override your will.

If your 401(k) names your ex-spouse as beneficiary, your ex-spouse gets your 401(k) — regardless of what your will says. If your life insurance still names your mother from when you were 25, she receives that money even if you have a spouse and children now.

Assets that pass by beneficiary designation (not through your will):

401(k) and other workplace retirement plans
IRAs (Roth and traditional)
Life insurance policies
Annuities
Payable-on-death (POD) bank accounts
Transfer-on-death (TOD) brokerage accounts

Right now, go audit your beneficiary designations:

Log into each retirement account and check your primary and contingent beneficiaries
Contact your life insurance company
Check your bank accounts for POD designations

Name a primary beneficiary (your spouse or partner) AND a contingent beneficiary (your children or a trust). If you name minor children directly, consider whether your state requires a guardian of the estate or whether you should create a trust — minors can't directly receive large sums.

Do You Need a Trust?

A trust is a legal arrangement where a trustee holds and manages assets for beneficiaries. It can avoid probate, provide more control over when and how assets are distributed, and offer privacy (wills are public record once probated; trusts are not).

You may need a revocable living trust if:

You own real estate in multiple states (avoids multi-state probate)
You want to control distributions to your children (e.g., stagger inheritance by age: 1/3 at 25, 1/3 at 30, 1/3 at 35)
Your estate is large enough to justify the complexity
You want to avoid probate and the time/cost it involves
You have a blended family with competing interests

A simple will is sufficient if:

You own real estate in only one state
Your estate is straightforward
Your beneficiaries are adults who can manage an inheritance
You're comfortable with your assets going through probate

For most millennials in their 30s with a primary residence, retirement accounts, and young children, a will with a testamentary trust clause (which creates a trust for minor children's assets within the will) covers the bases without the complexity and cost of a standalone revocable trust.

Don't Forget Digital Assets

Modern estate planning must address digital assets:

Financial accounts: Online banking, PayPal, Venmo, cryptocurrency wallets
Valuable digital property: Domain names, websites, online businesses, royalties
Social media accounts: Facebook, Instagram, Google (what do you want done with these?)
Subscription services: Streaming accounts, software licenses

Practical steps:

Create a digital asset inventory — a document listing your accounts, usernames, and where passwords are stored
Store it in a secure password manager (1Password, Bitwarden) and give your executor access instructions
If you hold cryptocurrency, make sure your executor can locate and access your wallets and private keys
Specify in your will or letter of instruction what you want done with social media accounts

DIY vs. Working with an Estate Attorney

Online services (Trust & Will, Fabric, Policygenius, LegalZoom, Willing):

Cost: $100–$400 for a basic estate plan
Appropriate for: Simple situations — married with children, straightforward assets, standard wishes
Limitations: Generic templates, limited customization, no legal advice

Estate attorney:

Cost: $500–$2,500 for a basic estate plan; $1,500–$5,000+ for a trust-based plan
Appropriate for: Complex situations — blended families, business ownership, real estate in multiple states, large estates, special needs dependents
Benefits: Professional legal advice, customized documents, someone to catch issues you'd miss

For most millennials in their 30s with a home, retirement accounts, and 1–2 kids, online services produce legally valid documents that accomplish the core goals. If your situation involves a business, real estate in multiple states, significant assets, or a complicated family structure, pay for an attorney.

The Estate Planning Checklist

Complete these tasks as a starting point: