Every adult American (i.e., at least age 18) is responsible for making his or her own personal, health care and financial decisions. If a serious accident or illness left you legally incapacitated, then who would make the fundamental life (and death) decisions for you? Who would make important medical decisions, pay your bills and even file your taxes? Answer: Either someone you appoint in advance through proper legal planning, or someone selected for you by a judge (who likely does no know you and your family) through a process that can be expensive, chock-full of red tape and invasive of your privacy.

Death is a 100% certainty. However, each of us has a choice in how our estate (i.e., all of our assets) is transferred at that time. There are two methods by which your estate can be transferred to your loved ones (however, you define "loved ones"):

1. Probate
2. Probate Avoidance

Despite what you may have heard, read or even experienced following the death of a family member or friend, each method has its benefits and pitfalls. In some states, the probate method may be more expensive (especially if you own real estate in more than one state) and it may make public your private matters (e.g., who is inheriting what, when and how). In reality, however, either method can basically achieve the same end result, especially if you have kept accurate, up-to-date records regarding your assets and your liabilities, have identified where those assets are and who your professional advisors are, and have identified where you keep the originals of your estate planning legal documents. In short, one of the fundamental keys to estate planning success is organization and recordkeeping. By the way, we have the tools to help you with this.