Skip to content
Legacy Buddy
Guides

The long version,in plain English

Each of these answers one question completely, in the order the decisions actually come up. Written to be useful whether or not you use the platform.

Start With WillsOr the FAQ

Free to read. No account required.

7 guidesNo jargonUpdated as law changes
The library

Start wherever your question is

Most people read the will guide first, then whichever of the others describes their household. The checklist is the fastest one if you would rather just get on with it.

Wills

How to write a will: the seven decisions

A will is not a document you write. It is seven decisions you make, and then a document that records them. Here they are, in the order they are easiest to answer.

9 min read

Family

Choosing a guardian, without falling out about it

The decision parents postpone longest, broken into the four questions that actually decide it.

7 min read

Trusts

Trust or will: how to tell which one you need

Both, usually. But the question worth asking is what a trust adds for your situation, and whether you will do the work it requires.

8 min read

Incapacity

Powers of attorney: the documents everybody skips

A will speaks after you die. A trust holds what you own. Neither helps on the Tuesday you are alive and cannot sign your name, and that is the gap most plans still have.

8 min read

Family

Planning for a blended family without picking sides

Default rules follow marriage and bloodlines. They have no way of knowing about the stepdaughter you raised from four, and that is the whole problem to solve.

9 min read

After a death

The first fortnight after a death, in order

What actually has to be done in the two weeks after somebody dies, and, more usefully, what does not have to be done at all yet.

8 min read

Getting started

The one evening estate planning checklist

Everything a household needs, in the order it is worth doing, with the parts you can genuinely skip marked as skippable.

6 min read

More are being written, on trust funding, special needs planning and business succession. They appear here as they are finished rather than as empty headings.

Also useful

Two shorter routes to the same answers

If you already know what you are looking for, these are quicker than a guide.

One minute

Which documents do I need?

Five questions about your household, then a list of the documents that fit it and the ones that do not.

A to Z

The glossary

Every term this industry uses without explaining it, defined in a sentence or two.

Back to Learn
When you are ready

You have read enough. Fifteen minutes finishes it.

Start FreeSee Pricing

Joining is free and stays free: your LQ™ Score, your recommendations and your vault, with no card. A plan is for when you want the documents themselves.

Free forever. No card. You pay only when you want documents.