Estate
Your Legacy in Living Color
There are many ways to add color to your estate plan—ways that help paint a true-to-life picture of who you are within the standard planning canvas.
July 29, 2026
There are many ways to add color to your estate plan—ways that help paint a true-to-life picture of who you are within the standard planning canvas.
For many families, traditional services offer comfort and continuity; for others, a conventional funeral may feel disconnected from the life being honored. In addition to options such as cremation, more Americans are exploring memorial alternatives that include celebrations of life and even living funerals. Whatever your preferences, you may wish to plan for your memorial services well ahead of time.
The overall rate of estate planning in the United States is low, with less than one-quarter of Americans having a basic will. Within those already low numbers, men are more likely than women to have formal estate plans. This disparity is due not simply to differences in income or asset levels but also to timing, priorities, and the roles men and women tend to occupy over the course of their lives. Closing the estate planning gap may be addressed at an individual level through education, conversations, and professional guidance.
Many people own property in more than one state, such as an ocean-side vacation home or a rental property in a former home state. It is important to think about how that property will be handled after you pass away. Through proper estate planning, you can help minimize the burdensome court proceedings your loved ones may otherwise face after your death.
Regardless of the citizenship status of your family members or loved ones, it is crucial to create a well-thought-out estate plan to provide for them in the way you intend and to minimize your potential tax liability.
The title of your real estate can play a significant role in how your estate plan is set up and how your assets are ultimately distributed.
Beyond the practical purpose of transferring assets and reducing taxes, an estate plan reflects love, responsibility, and values.
While your estate plan may describe in detail who will receive big-ticket items, your loved ones may argue over small nostalgic items that you unintentionally omitted. To prevent family strife and forestall bickering among your loved ones, you also need to think in a big-picture way about the little things in your estate.
After notifying loved ones of your impending surgery, your first call to a professional should be to your estate planning attorney. Time is of the essence, and your attorney can quickly triage the documents that provide the most immediate protection for you and your family.
Estate planning is a love language all of its own that can communicate care not only through gifts of money and property but also through the act of planning for what will eventually happen to us. It is a way of showing love to the people who depend on us by creating clarity and support so that they are not left guessing or scrambling when we are no longer here.