Recently, Money posted an article with video regarding what you should consider in your estate planning. Every state has default laws in place to help with dividing up your property if you do not have a will saying how you want it to done. If you want something different from what the state's defaults laws are, you should have a will, trust, or other plan in place.

The same applies for decisions to be made on your behalf when you are unable to make them. Not already having something in place (like a power of attorney, or an advanced health care directive) means that someone will need to get permission to act through the court since you will not be able to give permission at the time.

While it is possible to get good results without an estate plan, it might waste time and money.

http://time.com/money/4300166/checklist-estate-planning-documents/