Your parents worked too hard for probate court to decide what happens next.
Family Estate Guide is a free resource built by a son who went through the estate planning process with his own aging parents — from the first awkward kitchen-table conversation to the final signed trust documents. No legal jargon. No law-firm sales pitch. Just clear, honest guidance to help your family protect what one generation built so the next generation actually receives it.
Where Are You in the Process?
Every family starts somewhere different. Pick the path that fits where you are right now:
My Parents Are Getting Older
You’ve noticed mom or dad slowing down, or you just realized your family should probably talk about this. No urgency yet — just a growing awareness that it’s time to learn what estate planning looks like and how to start the conversation.
We Need a Plan Now
A health scare, a diagnosis, or a wake-up call. Something happened and your family needs to act — this week, this month. Here’s what to prioritize when time is short and the stakes are high.
Settling an Estate
A parent has passed, and you need practical guidance — not condolences. What to do in the first 30 days, how to work with or without a trust, and when to get professional help.
Learn the Essentials
These seven guides cover everything most families need to understand about estate planning — written in plain English from personal experience.
What Is a Living Trust?
The cornerstone guide. What a trust is, how it works, who needs one, and what it costs. Start here if you’re new to all of this.
How to Avoid Probate
The #1 reason families create trusts. What probate is, what it costs, and every method to avoid it — not just trusts.
Having the Family Conversation
How to bring up estate planning with your parents — the guilt, the awkwardness, the resistance, and why it’s an act of love.
Estate Tax, Gift Tax & What Your Family Owes
Federal and state taxes, exemptions, the 2026 sunset, and why most families won’t owe federal tax but might owe state tax.
How to Fund a Living Trust
The step everyone forgets. Creating a trust isn’t enough — you have to move your assets into it. Here’s exactly how.
The 5 Documents Every Family Needs
A will isn’t enough. Your family needs a package of documents that work together. Here’s what they are and why each matters.
Protecting Your Parents’ Legacy
The bigger picture — long-term care, Medicaid, blended families, and the things nobody warns you about until it’s too late.
Quick Answers
Trust vs. Will — Which Do You Need?
Side-by-side comparison to help your family decide. Spoiler: most families need both.
Compare State Rules
Estate planning rules vary dramatically by state. See how probate costs, timelines, and taxes differ where you live.
Find Your State
Estate planning is state-specific. Probate costs, timelines, estate taxes, and available tools all depend on where you (or your parents) live. We’re building comprehensive guides for all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
Find your state’s estate planning guide.
Every guide covers your state’s probate rules, estate and inheritance taxes, trust costs, available planning tools, and how to find a local estate planning attorney.
Northeast
Southeast
Midwest
Southwest
West
Why This Site Exists
I’m Randy Smith — a son from Tallahassee, Florida, who sat at his parents’ kitchen table and tried to figure out how to protect what they’d spent a lifetime building. I’m not a lawyer. I’m not a financial advisor. I’m someone who’s been through this process and wished a resource like this had existed when my family started.
The “Great Wealth Transfer” is underway — an estimated $84 trillion passing from baby boomers to their children and grandchildren. That’s not an abstract statistic. That’s your parents’ house. Their savings. The life insurance they’ve been paying into for decades. Too much of it will be lost to probate courts, unnecessary taxes, and planning failures — not because families don’t care, but because nobody showed them what to do.
This site exists to change that. Read more about how this started.
Not sure where to start? Read Having the Family Conversation — it’s the page that makes this site different from every law firm website on the internet. It’s about the emotional reality of bringing up estate planning with your parents, and it’s where most families should begin.
You’re not alone in this. Take a breath. You’ve found the right place.