Advance Directive
A legal document that shares your medical care wishes if you cannot communicate them yourself.
Glossary
Legacy Life Planning Glossary
Plain-language definitions of common planning terms. Use this page as a quick reference while building your family readiness plan.
Showing all terms.
Beneficiary
The person or organization named to receive money, property, or account proceeds.
Digital Assets
Online accounts and digital property such as email, cloud files, photos, subscriptions, and social profiles.
Durable Power of Attorney
A legal authorization that allows someone you trust to handle financial or legal matters on your behalf.
Estate
Everything you own at the time of death, including property, accounts, and personal belongings.
Executor
The person named in a will to carry out the instructions and help settle the estate.
Guardianship
The legal responsibility to care for a minor child or dependent adult when needed.
Living Will
A document that explains your preferences for medical treatments in serious or end-of-life situations.
Probate
The court-supervised process of validating a will and distributing assets after someone dies.
Revocable Living Trust
A trust created while you are alive that you can change, cancel, and fund or defund by moving assets in and out over time.
Successor Trustee
The person or institution named to manage and distribute trust assets after your death or if you become unable to serve.
Trust
A legal arrangement where assets are managed by a trustee for beneficiaries according to your instructions. With many trust plans, a successor trustee can distribute assets with fewer delays than probate.
Will
A legal document that states who should receive your property and who should carry out your final instructions.
Trust planning in plain language
A revocable living trust is created while you are alive. You can update it, move assets in and out, and adjust instructions as life changes. After death, your successor trustee can carry out distributions according to your plan, often with fewer delays than probate.
Main trust types
| Type | What it means | Common use |
|---|---|---|
| Revocable living trust | Created while alive; you can change or cancel it. | Avoid probate, privacy, easier family transition. |
| Irrevocable trust | Usually cannot easily be changed once created. | Asset protection, tax planning, Medicaid or long-term care planning. |
| Testamentary trust | Created by your will after death. | Control money for minors or beneficiaries after death. |
| Special needs trust | Protects assets for a disabled beneficiary. | Helps preserve benefit eligibility. |
| Charitable trust | Benefits charity and or family. | Tax and legacy planning. |
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