🕊️ Free Estate Planning & Family Documents
Free estate planning and family documents — last wills, living trusts, powers of attorney, health-care directives, HIPAA releases and codicils.
Revocable Living Trust (Declaration of Trust)
Want to pass your home, your savings and your belongings to your family WITHOUT putting them through probate — the slow, public, expensive court process that settles an estate? A revocable living trust is the estate-planning workhorse that does it. You (the settlor) declare a trust, move your assets into it, name yourself trustee so nothing changes in your day-to-day control, name a successor trustee to take over when you die or become incapacitated, and name the beneficiaries who inherit — all outside probate. While you’re alive and well it stays fully revocable: add or remove property, change beneficiaries, or tear it up entirely, any time. This builds that whole declaration of trust. Pick who’s creating it and PaperKit reshapes the instrument: an INDIVIDUAL trust for one person, or a JOINT trust for a married couple as co-trustees (the survivor carries on as sole trustee). Choose how your beneficiaries take — a single beneficiary, several in equal shares, or a primary with a named alternate if the primary predeceases you. Name your successor trustee, list the assets that fund the trust (the real estate, accounts and securities you’ll retitle into it), add optional specific gifts, and toggle the core provisions: the right to amend and revoke during life (uncheck it to make an irrevocable trust), the probate-avoidance recital, and an incapacity clause that lets your successor trustee step in without a court-ordered guardianship. PaperKit assembles every section — declaration and name of trust, settlor and trustee, trust property and funding, revocation and amendment, administration during your life (and incapacity), distribution on death, successor-trustee powers, and governing law. It’s a self-declaration: the settlor reviews and e-signs it online. Clean PDF you can take to a notary. (Funding the trust — actually retitling assets — is what makes it work; execution, witnessing and tax rules vary by state, so confirm your state’s requirements and consider an attorney.)
Open tool →Last Will and Testament
The single most-searched estate document there is — the will that says who gets what when you’re gone, who’s in charge of carrying it out, and who raises your kids. You (the testator) declare your last will, revoke any older ones, appoint an executor (your personal representative) to gather your estate and pay your debts, name a guardian for your minor children, hand out specific gifts, and dispose of everything left over (your residuary estate). This builds that whole will. Pick the kind and PaperKit reshapes it: a SIMPLE will that leaves your estate directly to the people you name, or a POUR-OVER will that sweeps everything into a revocable living trust you’ve already set up (the perfect companion to PaperKit’s Living Trust — the will catches anything you didn’t retitle into the trust and pours it in). Choose how your beneficiaries take — one person, several in equal shares, or a primary with a named alternate if the primary predeceases you — and toggle the core clauses: revoke prior wills, executor without bond, guardian for minors, residuary clause, a no-contest (in terrorem) clause, and a self-proving affidavit. PaperKit assembles every section — declaration and revocation, family, appointment of executor, guardian, specific gifts, residuary distribution (direct or poured into the trust), executor powers, no-contest, survivorship and governing law — and lays out the attestation with two witness lines and a self-proving affidavit placeholder. It’s a self-drafted will: you review and e-sign it online, then print the clean PDF. (A will must be signed and WITNESSED under your state’s rules — usually two witnesses, sometimes notarized — so complete the witnessing on execution, and a will does not avoid probate the way a funded living trust does. Formalities vary by state; consider an attorney.)
Open tool →Financial Power of Attorney (Durable / Springing)
The document that lets someone you trust handle your money and property if you can’t — pay your bills, manage your accounts, deal with your house, file your taxes — one of the most-searched legal forms there is. You (the principal) appoint an agent (your attorney-in-fact) and decide exactly what they can do. Pick the kind and PaperKit reshapes it: a DURABLE power that works the moment you sign and keeps working if you later become incapacitated (the whole point — an ordinary POA dies exactly when you need it most), or a SPRINGING power that stays dormant and only kicks in if a doctor certifies you can’t manage your affairs. Choose one agent, or two co-agents who must act together (jointly) or can each act alone (severally), and name a successor in case your first choice can’t serve. Then tick precisely which powers you grant — real estate, banking, investments, business, taxes, insurance, government benefits (Social Security, Medicare, VA), and estate/trust transactions with limited gift-making — and add any limits (‘my agent may not sell my home’). PaperKit assembles every section — designation of agent, effective date and durability, successor agent, the enumerated grant of authority, your special instructions, the agent’s fiduciary duties, compensation, third-party reliance so banks will accept it, and governing law — and lays out the execution page with witness lines and a notary acknowledgment block. It’s self-drafted: you review and e-sign online, then take the clean PDF to a notary. (A POA must be signed and, in most states, NOTARIZED — sometimes witnessed — to be accepted; this covers finances only, not health care, and ends at your death. Formalities vary by state; consider an attorney.)
Open tool →Advance Health-Care Directive (Living Will + Health-Care POA)
The medical companion to the financial power of attorney — and one of the most-searched legal documents there is. An advance health-care directive says what medical care you do and don't want, and names someone you trust to make health decisions for you, if you're ever too sick or injured to speak for yourself. You (the declarant) stay in control of your own wishes. Pick the kind and PaperKit reshapes it: a COMBINED directive that is both a living will AND a health-care power of attorney in one; a LIVING WILL only, stating your own treatment wishes with no agent; or a HEALTH-CARE POWER OF ATTORNEY only, appointing an agent (health-care proxy) without fixed treatment instructions. Then make the big call on life support — if you're terminal or permanently unconscious, do you want treatment WITHHELD so you can die naturally with comfort care, life PROLONGED to the extent medically feasible, or the decision left to your AGENT? Name your health-care agent and a successor, and toggle the recitals that matter: artificial nutrition and hydration, an always-on comfort-care instruction, organ and tissue donation, a HIPAA release so your agent can see your medical records, and a pregnancy clause. PaperKit assembles every section — the declaration, appointment of your agent and their authority, your living-will life-support directive, nutrition, comfort care, organ donation, HIPAA access, your personal values and any limits, and governing law — and lays out the execution page with two witness lines and a notary acknowledgment. It's self-drafted: you review and e-sign online, then print the clean PDF, give copies to your agent, family and doctors, and complete your state's witnessing/notary step. (Covers health care only — money and property are a separate financial POA. Witness and notary rules vary by state; consider an attorney.)
Open tool →Codicil to a Will (Amend an Existing Will)
Already have a will and just need to change one thing? Don’t rewrite the whole thing — add a codicil. A codicil is a short, legal add-on that amends your existing last will and testament: it keeps everything you already decided and changes only what you tell it to. You (the same testator who made the will) pick the change and PaperKit builds the right instrument: ADD OR CHANGE A GIFT (leave a new bequest, or update who gets what); CHANGE YOUR EXECUTOR OR GUARDIAN (swap in a new personal representative or a new guardian for your kids); REVOKE A PROVISION (strike a clause you no longer want); or a GENERAL AMENDMENT (any free-form change). Then decide whether to expressly REPUBLISH your will — re-declaring and re-dating it as amended, so the whole plan reads as one current document — or amend only. PaperKit references your original will by date, reaffirms every unchanged provision so nothing else is disturbed, and lays out the execution page exactly like a will: a codicil must be signed and WITNESSED with the same formalities as the will it amends, so you get two witness lines and an optional self-proving affidavit placeholder. It’s self-drafted: you review and e-sign online, print the clean PDF, and keep it WITH your will. (Where the changes are big, a new will is often better than a codicil. Signing and witnessing rules vary by state — complete them on execution; consider an attorney.)
Open tool →Revocation of Power of Attorney
Gave someone power of attorney and now need to take it back? This is the document that does it — cleanly, on the record, and effective right away. A revocation of power of attorney is how you (the principal) formally cancel the authority you once handed an agent (your attorney-in-fact), so banks, doctors and the agent themselves stop relying on the old power. You pick the scope and PaperKit builds the right instrument: REVOKE THE ENTIRE POA (end all of the agent's authority); REVOKE ONLY SPECIFIC POWERS (pull back part of it and leave the rest in force); or REVOKE AND APPOINT A NEW AGENT (cancel the old power and name a replacement). Then choose which kind of power you're undoing — a FINANCIAL power of attorney (money and property; notice goes to banks and financial institutions) or a HEALTH-CARE power of attorney / medical proxy (notice goes to your physicians and providers). PaperKit references the original POA by date, terminates the former agent's authority, and lays out the directives that actually make a revocation stick: notice to your former agent, notice to the third parties who relied on the old power, and recording the revocation where the original was recorded — plus whether it's effective immediately or on a date you set. It's self-drafted: you review and e-sign online, then take the clean PDF to a notary (a revocation is executed with the same formalities as the power it revokes). Deliver signed copies to your former agent and everyone holding the old power — a revocation isn't effective against a third party until they have actual notice. (Revoking a financial POA doesn't touch a separate health-care POA, and vice versa. Signing, notarization and notice rules vary by state; consider an attorney.)
Open tool →HIPAA Authorization (Release of Medical Records)
Need your medical records sent to you, a family member, a new doctor, or an insurer or lawyer? This is the form that lets it happen — a HIPAA authorization that tells your doctor, hospital or health plan they have your permission to release your protected health information. You (the patient — or a parent or guardian signing for someone) stay in control of exactly what goes out. Pick the scope and PaperKit builds the right release: your COMPLETE medical record; only SPECIFIC records you describe (and nothing else); or just the records from a DATE RANGE you set. Then choose why you're releasing it — for your OWN use, to share with a CAREGIVER or family member, for a LEGAL, disability or INSURANCE matter, or so ANOTHER PROVIDER can continue your care — and PaperKit reshapes the purpose language to match. It names the covered entity that may release the records and the recipient who may receive them, and it handles the parts people miss: the specially-protected categories the law makes you opt into one by one — mental-health, substance-use-disorder (42 CFR Part 2), HIV/AIDS and genetic information — plus the HIPAA-required expiration date or event, your right to revoke in writing, and the redisclosure warning. It's self-drafted and NOT notarized: you review and e-sign online (a personal representative can sign for a minor or someone who can't sign), then print the clean PDF and hand it to whoever holds your records. (What's protected and how records are released can vary by provider and state; consider an attorney for complex situations.)
Open tool →Minor / Child Medical Consent (Caregiver Authorization)
Leaving your kids with grandparents, sending them to camp, or handing them off for a school trip? This is the form that lets the adult in charge get them treated if something happens and you can't be reached. A minor medical consent (also called a caregiver authorization or consent to treat) is how you — the parent or legal guardian — give a trusted adult the authority to say 'yes' to medical, dental and emergency care for your child while the child is in their care. You pick the scope and PaperKit builds the right consent: FULL medical, dental and emergency care; EMERGENCY / urgent care only (for when you just want a safety net); or only the SPECIFIC care you describe. Then set how long it lasts — a single TRIP or event (the most-searched version: a travel consent for a trip away), a fixed RANGE of dates, or an ONGOING arrangement until you revoke it. Name the caregiver who may consent (grandparent, relative, family friend, school or camp), and lock in the details providers actually ask for: your child's date of birth, treating physician, health-insurance information, allergies and current medications. Toggle the exact authorities you're granting — emergency and surgical treatment, dental care, administering medication, sharing insurance and accepting financial responsibility, and a HIPAA release so the caregiver can see your child's records. Because these are so often used for travel, school and camp, PaperKit lays out an OPTIONAL notary block you can switch on. It's self-drafted: you (the parent) review and e-sign online, print the clean PDF, get it notarized if you like, and hand it to the caregiver to carry. (Some states have their own caregiver-authorization or minor-power-of-attorney forms, and a provider can still give emergency care to protect a child regardless. Notary and witness rules vary; consider an attorney for long or international arrangements.)
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