Estate Structure Explorer

Which estate structures should you discuss with an attorney? Ranked by relevance to your situation — this builds your meeting agenda, not your documents.

Not legal advice. This tool ranks structures worth discussing with a licensed estate attorney in your state — it cannot tell you what to set up, and estate law varies significantly by state.

Your situationresults update live — no account needed, no AI

HouseholdRough estate size (incl. home & life insurance)The 2026 federal exemption is $15M per person ($30M per couple, indexed) — but a dozen-plus states tax estates starting as low as $1M–$3M.Primary goalYour state’s probate reputationIn your own words (optional)Recognized signals become chips — click each one to set how much it counts.

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Property & business

0/2

Assets that make settling an estate harder across state or business lines.

Property in another state?

Own a business?

Coverage & concerns

0/3

Insurance, privacy, and how your heirs would handle the money.

Large life insurance policy?Is keeping your estate private important?

Worried how an heir would handle money?

Where you are

0/2

What you’ve already set up, and any giving plans.

Existing documents

Meaningful charitable plans?

Ranking confidence Early read (22%) · Answer next: Household, estate size, Primary goal

How these results work

Each structure carries curated relevance scores on four dimensions — goal match, estate size, household fit, and benefit-vs-complexity — and your answers adjust them; every card shows its own breakdown so you can see exactly why it ranked where it did.

The output is an agenda, not a plan: the top-ranked structures are the ones worth raising with a licensed estate attorney, who is the only one who can tell you what to actually set up.

Scores are computed instantly in your browser. Your answers are saved to your account only if you sign in; otherwise they stay on this device.

Scores start neutral — answer anything on the left and the list below re-ranks instantly.

Researched context is coming

The relevance ranking above is mechanical and instant. A research layer is planned on top: your state’s probate thresholds, current exemption figures, and your top structures turned into a concrete agenda for a (human) attorney.

My state’s specifics

Probate thresholds, small-estate shortcuts, state estate tax

Build my attorney agenda

Your top structures as questions, with your facts attached

Explain the tradeoffs

Plain-English comparison of your top 3 — cost, control, upkeep

Planned — the instant ranking above never waits on it. Tell us which research you’d want first.

Not legal advice — estate law is state-specific and fact-specific. Every output here is a discussion item for a licensed estate attorney. Scores are computed in your browser; answers are saved to your account only if you sign in.