Estate, Will & End-of-Life Planning

The "if I die or am incapacitated, my family knows what to do" preparation. Three tracks: legal documents (will, trust, POA, advance directive), a vault for everything (Everplans, Cake), and the letter (the hardest, most important, least-tooled). For the document storage layer underneath see Insurance & Vital Documents; for the password-vault overlap see Self-Hosted Passwords; for the family wiki / runbook side see Family Communication & Wiki.

Online wills (DIY legal)

• ★ Trust & Will — paid (~$160 for a will, ~$600 for a trust); the 2026 default for online estate planning; clean UX; state-specific; lawyer review available. Probably the right pick for most middle-class families.
• LegalZoom — paid; older incumbent; pricier; mature.
• Quicken WillMaker — paid (~$110/yr); desktop; created by Nolo; been around forever; comprehensive.
• Rocket Lawyer — paid (subscription); will + ongoing legal-doc subscription.
• DoYourOwnWill — free; basic; state-aware.
• FreeWill.com — free; funded by nonprofits; basic will; you can name a charity beneficiary as the funding model.
• Tomorrow.app — free + paid; mobile-first will + life-insurance upsell.

Trust + estate (more than a will)

• Trust & Will — see above; tier for living trusts.
• LegalZoom — same.
• Local estate-planning attorney — paid (~$2-5K); for net worths > $500K, blended families, business owners, special-needs dependents, multi-state property, anything complicated. The "online tools are not the answer" answer.

Estate vault apps (the everything-else)

• ★ Everplans — paid (~$75/yr); the comprehensive estate vault; documents, account list, wishes, contacts, accessible by named deputies. The 2026 default for "I want one place." See also Insurance & Vital Documents.
• ★ Cake — paid + free; end-of-life-wishes-flavored; lighter Everplans-shape; great for "advance directives + funeral preferences + final letters."
• Trustworthy — paid; "family operating system" pivot; vault + sharing + automations.
• GoodTrust — paid; digital-legacy-flavored (social media accounts, email).

The legal documents you should actually have

• ★ Will — designates beneficiaries, names guardians for kids, names an executor.
• ★ Durable Power of Attorney (financial) — someone can manage your money if you can't.
• ★ Healthcare Power of Attorney — someone can make medical decisions for you.
• ★ Advance Directive / Living Will — your medical wishes (life support, DNR, etc.).
• HIPAA Release — lets named people get your medical info.
• Beneficiary forms (401k, IRA, life insurance, brokerage) — these override your will; check them annually.
• Trust — for larger estates / specific family situations.
• Five Wishes — paid (~$5); a popular standardized advance-directive form, valid in 42 US states.

Digital legacy

• ★ Apple Legacy Contact — free; Apple ID feature; named contact gets access to your iCloud after your death (with a death certificate). Set this up. iOS 15+.
• ★ Google Inactive Account Manager — free; sets what happens to your Google account after inactivity (delete, share with someone).
• Facebook Legacy Contact — free; memorialize or delete the account.
• 1Password / Bitwarden emergency access — most major password managers have a "trusted contact gets in after X days." Use it. See Self-Hosted Passwords.
• A printed list of accounts in the fire safe — the unsexy backup.

The letter

The single most useful thing you'll never get prompted to write: a letter to your family / executor explaining where everything is, what your wishes are, what you'd want them to know.

• Write it once. Update annually. Keep it in your vault.
• Topics: passwords + access + accounts; insurance; pets / kids; wishes for funeral; people to call; what to do with your stuff; what you want them to remember.
• Don't make it the will — keep them separate.

License / pricing

• Trust & Will: paid only.
• LegalZoom, Quicken WillMaker, Rocket Lawyer: paid.
• DoYourOwnWill, FreeWill, Tomorrow.app: free.
• Everplans: paid (~$75/yr).
• Cake: paid + free.
• Trustworthy, GoodTrust: paid.
• Apple Legacy Contact, Google Inactive Account Manager: free.

Pick this if…

• Default DIY will, middle-class family: Trust & Will or Quicken WillMaker.
• Free DIY will: FreeWill.com or DoYourOwnWill.
• Anything complicated (blended family, special needs, business, > $500K): a real estate attorney.
• All-in-one vault, willing to pay: Everplans.
• End-of-life-wishes-only, lighter: Cake.
• Digital legacy basics (free): Apple Legacy Contact + Google Inactive + 1Password emergency access.
• The letter: a doc in your vault, updated annually.