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A Kiplinger article outlines six estate planning documents, from wills and trusts to powers of attorney and health care directives. It cites Trust & Will’s 2026 survey, which found that 56% of 5,000 U.S. adults surveyed had no estate planning documents; the figures are survey results, not a count of all Americans.
Kiplinger has published a guide to six estate planning documents, citing a 2026 Trust & Will survey in which 56% of 5,000 U.S. adults said they had no estate planning documents. The report describes documents that can direct asset distribution and designate who manages financial or medical decisions if someone cannot act for themselves.
The survey, as summarized by Kiplinger, also found that 26% of respondents had a will, down from 31% a year earlier. Those percentages reflect the surveyed adults; the supplied material does not provide further information about the survey’s methodology or whether its results represent the entire U.S. population.
The six documents discussed are a will, revocable living trust, financial power of attorney, health care directive, and two other documents the supplied source excerpt does not identify. The excerpt ends while describing health care directives, so details about the final documents cannot be confirmed from the material provided.
Kiplinger says a will can name an executor, direct the distribution of assets covered by the will and nominate a guardian for minor children. It also points out that retirement accounts and life insurance generally pass according to their beneficiary forms, rather than the instructions in a will. A revocable living trust can avoid probate for assets properly titled in the trust, the article says, while a pour-over will can direct certain assets not transferred into the trust to be handled under its terms.
How Documents Direct Care and Assets
Estate planning can affect both who handles a person’s affairs and how assets are distributed. Without a will, state intestacy rules generally determine who inherits property covered by those rules. Those default rules may not match a person’s wishes, particularly where there are blended families, business interests or other arrangements that require individual planning.
Documents for incapacity address a different situation: the person is alive but may be unable to make or communicate decisions. Kiplinger says a financial power of attorney can authorize a chosen agent to manage matters such as bills, investments and real estate. A health care directive records medical preferences for a time when someone cannot speak for themselves. Having instructions and an authorized decision-maker may help families avoid uncertainty, though the legal effect and requirements depend on applicable state law and the institutions involved.
The report also distinguishes a trust’s probate role from tax planning. A revocable living trust does not, by itself, reduce estate taxes, according to the article. That distinction matters because readers may otherwise assume one document addresses every issue in an estate plan.
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What the Report Says About Planning
The Kiplinger article frames its list as a response to delays many people face when organizing their affairs. Its cited survey numbers suggest a gap between having a will and having a broader set of estate documents: 26% reported having a will, while 56% reported having none of the estate planning documents covered by the survey. The supplied excerpt does not explain how respondents interpreted “estate planning documents.”
For wills, Kiplinger notes that a will normally goes through probate, a court-supervised process, while assets properly held in a revocable living trust can pass outside that process. The article also says married couples are often better served by separate wills than a single joint will, which may restrict a surviving spouse’s ability to change terms. Whether a joint will is valid varies by state, according to the report.
The source gives estate-tax figures as 2026 examples, including a federal exemption of $15 million per person and a New York threshold of $7.35 million. Those are time- and jurisdiction-specific figures reported by Kiplinger, not a substitute for checking current rules or obtaining advice about an individual situation.
“26% of respondents had a will, down from 31% a year earlier; 56% had no estate planning documents.”
— Trust & Will’s 2026 Estate Planning Report, as cited by Kiplinger
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Survey Scope and Missing Documents
The supplied source excerpt does not identify the last two documents in the six-document list, and it cuts off during its explanation of health care directives. Their names and details therefore cannot be reported from the material provided. The excerpt also does not provide survey methodology, such as respondent selection or the exact wording used to define estate planning documents.
Rules for wills, trusts, powers of attorney and health care directives can vary by state, and financial institutions may have their own paperwork requirements. Kiplinger specifically advises asking banks and brokerages what forms they accept for a financial power of attorney. The article’s tax examples are tied to 2026 and particular jurisdictions; readers’ circumstances and applicable rules may differ.
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Review State Rules and Beneficiaries
The immediate practical next step described in the report is to review existing arrangements rather than assume one document covers everything. That includes checking beneficiary designations on retirement accounts and life insurance, asking financial institutions about their power-of-attorney forms, and considering whether assets intended for a trust have actually been titled in its name.
People preparing or updating documents may need to check the requirements in their state and consult a qualified estate-planning professional about how the documents fit together. The supplied source does not announce a policy change or deadline; it is a planning guide, and no further development or official next milestone is identified.
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Key Questions
What estate planning documents does the report name?
The supplied excerpt names a will, revocable living trust, financial power of attorney and health care directive. Although the article is titled around six documents, the excerpt does not identify the other two.
Does a will control retirement accounts and life insurance?
Not generally, according to Kiplinger. Those assets typically pass according to the beneficiary designations on file, so they may not follow the distribution instructions in a will.
Does a revocable living trust reduce estate taxes?
Kiplinger says a revocable living trust can help assets titled in it avoid probate, but does not itself reduce estate taxes. Tax outcomes depend on applicable law and individual circumstances.
What does a financial power of attorney do?
It can authorize a chosen agent to manage financial or legal matters if the person who signed it cannot act. Kiplinger advises checking with banks and brokerages because some may require their own forms.
Are the survey figures an estimate for all Americans?
The figures reported by Kiplinger come from a survey of 5,000 U.S. adults. The supplied material does not include enough methodology to determine how broadly the results represent the U.S. population.
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