Independent educational guides for families. Written by Randy Smith, with links to sources and clear editorial standards. We may earn commissions from eligible purchases through affiliate links.
What are you working on?
Choose your documents
Understand what a will and a living trust do, how they fit together, and what else your plan may need.
Compare wills and trusts →Compare online services
Look at Trust & Will and LegalZoom package prices, updates, ongoing charges and legal support.
Compare services →Help your parents plan
Start with the family conversation, existing documents and the people who may need to help.
Start the planning conversation →Handle an estate after a death
Find the right starting point for probate, an existing trust, property and the work ahead.
See the after-death guide →Before you buy, compare the full job
What does a will cost?
Compare preparation routes and follow the links to your state’s will requirements.
Explore will costs →What does a living trust cost?
Separate document preparation from asset transfers, updates and later administration.
Explore trust costs →A low package price is one part of the decision. Check the documents, state availability, support, renewal terms and work you still need to do. Our Trust & Will buying guide explains those questions for one provider.
Find your state
Choose where you or your parents live. Each state has a planning guide, a will guide and a living-trust cost guide. Property in another state may need separate attention.
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arizona
- Arkansas
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- District of Columbia
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York
- North Carolina
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Explore the state-guide directory · Compare state planning rules
Useful tools and evidence
Checklists and planning resources
Organize the information and questions you need before choosing a service.
Open the resource library →Estate planning data and research
Explore sourced studies and reference tables on care, probate, taxes and household circumstances.
Explore the research →Time is short? If a health change or decision-making concern is driving the planning, start with what to do when you need a plan now. Choosing an online product does not resolve every urgent legal issue.
A clearer plan starts with better questions
This site grew out of helping my own parents understand their options. The goal is to make the documents, costs and next steps easier to assess—not to make every family choose the same product.
Read why I built Family Estate Guide, how the content is prepared, and how to suggest a correction. These guides provide education and shopping research, not individualized legal advice.