Estate Planning Basics: free beginner lessons
Estate Planning Basics is a FinCon topic with 4 short lessons. Protect your loved ones with wills, beneficiaries, and essential legal documents. Each lesson takes about five minutes and ends with a quiz.
What will I learn in Estate Planning Basics?
You will work through: Why Everyone Needs an Estate Plan, Creating Your First Will, Trusts & Avoiding Probate, Your Digital Estate Plan.
What is in each Estate Planning Basics lesson?
Why Everyone Needs an Estate Plan
Estate planning isn't about mansions and yachts. It's about answering: ❓ Who gets your stuff if something happens to you? ❓ Who makes medical decisions if you can't? ❓ Who takes care of your kids? ❓ How do you avoid leaving a legal mess for your family? ⚠️ 67% of Americans have NO estate plan. Without one, the state decides everything—and it probably won't match your wishes.
Every adult should have these 4 documents: 📄 Will — Who gets your assets, who cares for your kids 📄 Healthcare Directive — Your medical wishes if you can't communicate 📄 Power of Attorney — Who handles your finances if you're incapacitated 📄 Beneficiary Designations — Who gets your retirement accounts & insurance 💡 These override your will! A beneficiary on your 401(k) gets that money regardless of what your will says.
Which document determines who gets your 401(k) when you die? Beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and insurance override your will. That's why keeping them updated is critical!
David and Sarah lived together for 15 years but never married. They owned a home together, shared finances, and considered each other family. When David passed unexpectedly without a will, state law gave everything to his parents—not Sarah. She had no legal right to the home they shared, his retirement accounts, or any of his assets. It took 2 years and $40,000 in legal fees for Sarah to recover partial ownership of their shared home.
Without a will, state law determines who inherits your assets—and it doesn't recognize unmarried partners, close friends, or chosen family. A simple will can prevent devastating outcomes.
What happens to your assets if you die without a will? Without a will (dying 'intestate'), state law determines distribution—usually to legal relatives in a fixed order. Your actual wishes don't matter.