Estate Planning Long-Form Questionnaire

Why This Form Is Detailed

Without an estate plan, your family may have to rely on default legal rules instead of your written choices. If something happens to you tomorrow, who makes your medical decisions? Who manages your finances? Who raises your children? In New Jersey, the intestacy statute, N.J.S.A. 3B:5-31, controls how probate property passes when there is no will -- but it does not appoint your lifetime financial agent, healthcare representative, or preferred guardian for minor children. A court-appointed administrator, not your spouse or partner, may end up managing your estate. A judge, not you, may decide who raises your children.

This page is not the short estate-planning contact form. It is the long-form questionnaire used to build a full planning file: family information, fiduciary choices, asset categories, beneficiary wishes, healthcare preferences, tax concerns, and any issues that could later create probate or estate disputes.

Complete the Long-Form Questionnaire

Complete as much as you can. Estimates are fine. If a section does not apply, leave it blank. The goal is to give our estate-planning team enough context to prepare the right documents and avoid preventable drafting gaps.

What Happens After You Submit

Once our team receives your long-form questionnaire, the estate-planning team reviews the file for planning scope, document structure, fiduciary choices, beneficiary issues, and any special concerns. We may follow up for clarification before drafting or before the planning conference.

Preparation Checklist

You can submit the form with estimates, but having the following information nearby will speed up the process:

• Family information: Full legal names and dates of birth for you, your spouse or partner, children, and anyone you want to name as a beneficiary, executor, trustee, guardian, or agent
• Asset summary: Approximate values of real estate, bank accounts, investment accounts, retirement accounts (401(k), IRA, pension), and life insurance policies
• Current beneficiary designations: Who is currently named as beneficiary on your retirement accounts, life insurance, and any payable-on-death accounts
• Existing estate planning documents: Any prior will, trust, power of attorney, or advance directive you have signed
• Real estate information: Addresses of properties you own and how they are currently titled (individual, joint, LLC)
• Special circumstances: A beneficiary with a disability, a blended family situation, a business interest, concerns about a specific family member, or Medicaid/long-term care planning needs

What Your Plan May Include

The right combination of documents depends on your goals, your assets, and your family structure. Common components of a New Jersey estate plan include:

A few of these documents do different jobs, and the difference matters. A will speaks only after death and only for assets that pass through your estate; a power of attorney and an advance directive speak while you are alive but unable to act for yourself; and a trust, where it fits, can carry assets through both incapacity and death without a court process. Most complete plans pair a will with the two incapacity documents so that nothing is left to a court to decide; whether a trust belongs on top of that depends on the facts we review together at the consultation.

• Last Will and Testament: Directs how your assets are distributed and names a guardian for minor children. A will is typically admitted to probate through the county Surrogate before its directions take effect, so it ordinarily governs assets that pass through your estate rather than assets that already transfer by beneficiary designation or joint title.
• Revocable Living Trust: Assets titled in the trust typically pass outside probate, a successor trustee can usually manage them during incapacity, and the trust instrument is generally not filed publicly. A trust is not an upsell and it is not required for everyone -- a will is genuinely sufficient for many people. It often earns its place once there is real estate (especially out of state), a net worth above roughly $250,000, a blended family, or a beneficiary who should not receive a lump sum at eighteen. The consultation is where we look at your actual facts and tell you which structure fits.
• Durable Financial Power of Attorney: Names a trusted agent to manage your finances if you become incapacitated, under the Revised Durable Power of Attorney Act (N.J.S.A. 46:2B-8.11). Without one, your family ordinarily has to petition the court to be appointed guardian under N.J.S.A. 3B:12-24.12 -- a slower, public process that generally costs far more in legal fees and court costs than putting the power of attorney in place beforehand.
• Advance Healthcare Directive: Names a healthcare proxy and states your medical treatment preferences under the NJ Advance Directives for Health Care Act (N.J.S.A. 26:2H-533).
• HIPAA Authorization: Authorizes the people you name to receive your protected health information so a healthcare agent or trusted family member can speak with providers and coordinate care when you cannot.

Prefer to Schedule a Call?

If you are not ready for the long-form questionnaire and only want a short consultation request, book a consultation request below.