What Comes Before A Will and A Trust?

Feb 5, 2026

Here is some good news for the many of us who put off estate planning: we don’t need to start with making a will, and or setting up a trust. The first step requires some attention, but is completely doable with a bit of effort. Ready? Here’s step one of estate planning: review and update the beneficiaries designated on all of your accounts. Why? Being intentional, orderly and up to date with beneficiary designations on accounts goes a long way toward ensuring those assets are distributed directly as you wish, should the unexpected occur.

Beneficiary Designations

Though fulsome estate planning is important for so many reasons, including putting financial and care plans in place for our own potential capacity declines, the first steps don’t have to be as arduous as we may think. Rob Williams, Head of Wealth Management Research at the Schwab Center for Financial Research, points out that beneficiary designations, though frequently overlooked, are a great first step toward a complete estate plan:

I’ve found that if you ask a roomful of people what the most important estate planning document is, most will say, “a will.” It’s important to have a will, of course. But for many people, I don’t think that answer is quite correct. For most investors, beneficiary designations are the highest-priority, highest-impact estate instructions. Legally, they come before a will, before a trust, and far before any verbal instructions. Beneficiary designations directly control the transfer of retirement accounts (401(k)s, IRAs), life insurance policies, annuities, and many financial contracts. They override every other document. If they contradict your will, the beneficiary designation wins. Asset titling, or how property is owned, comes next in legal priority. Only after these two layers does a will or trust take effect. This means a simple mistake like an outdated beneficiary, a missing contingent, or an account opened years ago and never reviewed, can derail your entire plan.

It is wise for all of us to periodically review and update the beneficiaries designated on accounts, as well as the names listed on real estate titles, and it is especially key for those who’ve married, divorced or built a blended family: outdated provisions can really come back to haunt families, creating conflicts and delays in the transfer of assets. Another critical and relatively straightforward step toward a complete estate plan is assigning a power of attorney. This is essential because in the event of a capacity decline during our lifetimes, a person to whom we’ve given power of attorney can officially step in to make financial and other decisions on our behalf.

As Investopedia explains: “Power of attorney (POA) is a legal authorization that gives a designated person, termed the agent or attorney-in-fact, the power to act for another person, known as the principal. The agent may be given broad or limited authority to make decisions about the principal’s property, finances, investments, or medical care.”

What Is A Complete Estate Plan?

Attorneys at Shaila Buckley Law advise that a complete estate plan typically includes:

A Will that sets forth who receives your assets when you pass AND/OR
A Revocable Living Trust that designates who receives your assets when you pass and how those assets should be managed until they are distributed according to your wishes
A Designation of Guardian for minor children (if applicable)
A Durable Power of Attorney for Finance that designates someone to make decisions and manage your financial assets that are outside of a living trust if you become disabled or incompetent
An Advanced Health Care Directive that appoints an agent to make health care decisions for you, if you are unable, and sets forth your wishes concerning end-of-life care.
A HIPAA Authorization that allows your health care providers to discuss your medical conditions with your designated agents

When completing an estate plan, you also name a fiduciary to administer it. Depending on location and the details of your plan, this person may be specifically referred to as an executor, personal representative, or trustee. Because of the serious responsibilities involved in administering an estate, a type of bond, often referred to as an estate bond, can be required or requested. The purpose of an estate bond is to guarantee that a designated fiduciary carries out the plans made in a trust or will in accordance with the law. Essentially, an estate bond acts as a financial guarantee to heirs and creditors until affairs are settled, providing recourse in the event the fiduciary fails in their duties.

Colonial Surety Company makes it quick and easy to obtain estate bonds of all kinds. Our user-friendly online service enables quotes, purchases and bond downloads instantly. Fiduciaries in every state can efficiently obtain their estate bonds right here:

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